The Vigneaux clock
The right time since 1976!
Hanging from the bell tower of the Saint-Laurent church, the Vigneaux Clock has been beating time for more than two centuries. Forged in 1786 for the collegiate church of Briançon, this “eight-day” clock (autonomy of one week) has had several lives… before finding refuge in Les Vigneaux. In 1890, considered outdated, it was dismantled. But he did not count on the village priest, Henri Faure, who recovered it with the help of the inhabitants to install it in the bell tower. There was a long silence afterwards, until high school students from the Briançon high school resurrected it between 1989 and 2011, as part of the “Altitude Clocks” project. Since then, it has been turning, ringing, living.
There are no minute hands here: we live on a slow hour. Three strokes a day — 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 7 p.m. — and every six days, a team of volunteers cranks the weights. Without them, total silence. It’s living heritage, in the literal sense.
How to discover the Vigneaux Clock?
- Guided tour of the bell tower – on registration (beware, steep staircase!)
- Winding demonstration – every other Saturday
- LegendR tour – augmented reality around the church
- Wine trail – 1h30 from the bell tower
- Irrigation canal loop – 2-hour walk nearby
- Frescoes of the Saint-Étienne church in Vallouise – 5 km away
- Vigneaux town hall car park – access in 2 minutes
The Vigneaux Clock is much more than an old mechanism: it is a collective project, a ticking passed down from generation to generation. And you, are you coming to see it film?