La Cure

Origin of the name La Cure

Name origin: no source consulted explains the name La Cure or gives its first written mention.

Founding of La Cure

La Cure is a Jura hamlet of the municipality of Saint-Cergue, shared with the French municipality of Les Rousses (Jura department), at an altitude of 1'209 metres, near the Col de la Givrine. No source consulted describes its founding. Its present status stems from the Treaty of Dappes, concluded between France and Switzerland on 8 December 1862: in exchange for territory in the Vallée des Dappes, most of the village became Swiss and was attached to Saint-Cergue, while the new border cut some houses in two.

History of La Cure

1802. The neighbouring Vallée des Dappes is annexed by Napoleonic France.

1815. The Congress of Vienna returns the Vallée des Dappes to Switzerland; France later tries several times to recover it.

1862. On 8 December, Treaty of Dappes between France and Switzerland, signed in Bern: slightly less than 8 km² change hands. Most of La Cure becomes Swiss and is attached to Saint-Cergue; some houses are crossed by the new border.

1863. Taking advantage of the clause protecting existing buildings cut by the border and of the delay in ratification, Alphonse Ponthus builds a three-storey house straddling the future border, about one third in Switzerland and two thirds in France.

1918. The Nyon-Saint-Cergue railway, opened in 1916, is extended to La Cure.

1921. Opening of the line between La Cure and Morez. The same year, Jules Arbez buys the Ponthus house and turns it into a hotel, the Hôtel franco-suisse.

1940-1944. During the German occupation of France, German soldiers may enter the French part of the hotel but not the Swiss part. Max Arbez hides British and American soldiers there and helps Jewish families flee to Switzerland.

1958. Closure of the French section of the line (Morez-La Cure); La Cure becomes the terminus of the line from Nyon. The same year, Max Arbez satirically declares the hotel the micronation « Arbézie » (to be cross-checked).

1961. On 9 December, the hotel hosts preliminary negotiations for the Evian Accords: French diplomats enter from France, Algerian representatives from Switzerland.

2012. Max Arbez and his wife Angèle are posthumously recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for rescuing Jews fleeing occupied France.

Historic sites in La Cure

Hôtel Arbez (Hôtel franco-suisse). House built in 1863 by Alphonse Ponthus on the line of the new border and turned into a hotel by Jules Arbez from 1921. The border runs through the dining room, the kitchen, the staircase and several rooms; in 1961 it hosted preliminary negotiations for the Evian Accords.

Terminus of the Nyon-Saint-Cergue-Morez railway. Metre-gauge line that reached La Cure in 1918 and was extended to Morez from 1921 to 1958; La Cure is today the terminus of the line from Nyon.

Col de la Givrine. Nearby pass at an altitude of 1'229 metres, on the road linking Saint-Cergue to La Cure.

Remains in La Cure

Houses cut by the border. The line set by the Treaty of Dappes of 1862 split the village in two: at least three houses and a café are crossed by the border and remain so today.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Cergue » (version italienne)
• Wikipédia, « La Cure »
• Wikipédia, « Traité des Dappes »
• Wikipedia (EN), « Treaty of Dappes »
• Wikipedia (EN), « Hotel Arbez »
• Swissinfo, « Border hotel offers a taste of two cultures »
• Wikipédia, « Chemin de fer Nyon-Saint-Cergue-Morez »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near La Cure

• Saint-Cergue (VD)
• Gingins (VD)
• Arzier-Le Muids (VD)
• Givrins (VD)
• Chéserex (VD)