CHAMOUNI, or Chamonix, a celebrated valley and village of the French Alps, in the department of Upper Savoy, and the arrondissement of Bonneville. The village, which is the great centre for tourists in the Mont Blanc district, is situated 22 miles S. of Martigny, and 50 miles E.S.E. of Geneva, at a height of about 3400 feet above the level of the sea. A great part of it was destroyed by fire in 1855, and it has thus undergone a striking change in its appearance. It now possesses numerous hotels, a museum, and baths; and an English chapel was opened in 1860. Upwards of 15,000 tourists are accommodated in the course of a year, the greater proportion being from England, America, and France. The busiest months are August and September. Excellent butter and cheese are prepared by the peasants, and flax and honey are exported. The valley, which is bounded on the S. and E. by Mont Blanc and others of the Pennine Alps, and on the W. and N. by Brévent and the Aiguilles Rouges, is about 12 miles in length from north-east to south-west, with an average breadth of two miles; it forms the upper part of the basin of the Arve, which traverses its entire length. It is the most celebrated in the Alps for the picturesque grandeur of its glaciers, which are only rivalled by those of the Zermatt in the Bernese Oberland. The view from the village up to the top of Mont Blanc is remarkable for its simple and massive sublimity....
The name of Chamouni is a corruption of the words Campus Munitus, or Champ Muni, the Defenced Field, applied by the Benedictine monks to the site of the monastery here, probably with allusion to the protection afforded by the “strength of the hills.” This establishment was founded some time before 1099, on the spot that is now occupied by the village church; and it has left but little trace of its existence save the name of Le Prieuré, sometimes used instead of Chamouni. In 1530 the right of holding fairs at the priory was granted by Philip of Savoy, and the place thus became a rendezvous for the surrounding population. The reputation of the valley, however, for the savagery of its inhabitants was so great that the nickname of The Cursed Mountains—Les Montagnes Maudites —was given to the district; and in the 17th century it was regarded as a proof of remarkable heroism on the part of Francis de Sales that he ventured to visit that part of his diocese. General interest was excited by the explorations of Pococke and Wyndham, who published an account of their adventures in the Transactions of the Royal Society for 1741. They were followed by Saussure (1760), De Luc (1774), Bourrit (1775) and others; and the number of visitors gradually increased, until the valley became the place of resort it now is.
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