L'Echaud Fountain

The first, from 1909, evokes a period of transformation of habits. There was a pond on the other side of the main road, on the banks of the Avançon, where the animals used to quench their thirst. But with the arrival of the train, which was to become the BVB, the Bex-Villars-Bretaye, the cohabitation of traffic and horses became too difficult.

To find a place to install a new fountain, the commune bought a plot of land behind the restaurant of a certain Emile Cherix, in the Echaud district. The deal was not easy. The two parties did not agree on the price of the land. The Justice of the Peace got involved and an agreement was finally reached.

One might imagine that the other fountain, built in 1923, is the normal continuation of the first. In fact, it is not. On enquiry, this fountain bears the date of birth of a Municipal and a Syndic of the last century, Albert Roux and Aimé Desarzens, both born in 1923 and who installed this fountain, in a nice nod to history, towards the end of the 20th century.

The location of this 1923 fountain owes nothing to chance. The Municipal Albert Roux was none other than the owner (with all his family) of the famous Maison Tavelli, the oldest house in Bex, dating from 1563 and clearly recognizable with its balcony, a sort of loggia, on the first floor. Behind this house is a square commonly known as the Cour des miracles.

A word about the cliff that overlooks the area. The area around the Szillasy property (where the Bex & Arts exhibition takes place) has always threatened the Echaud district. In 1875, a landowner was paid 400 francs to clear away a block of gypsum that was falling apart. At the beginning of the 21st century, the local authorities continued to warn the inhabitants of Echaud to take protective measures.