Niouc suspension bridge celebrates its 100th anniversary!
According to legend, it was Saracens who, in the 15th century, built the bisse of the same name which is located in the Val d'Anniviers between Pinsec and Vercorin. The purpose of this bisse was to irrigate the land, to supply water to the livestock, as well as to provide driving force for the mills and sawmills of the hamlet of Briey.
In 1720, while the men were busy restoring the bisse which had suffered during the winter, an accident occurred north of the Vallon de Crougeaz; resulting in the death of several men. After this sinister episode, no one dared to venture into this area and the hamlet no longer being supplied with water, the inhabitants left it.
In 1905, agreements were made between the consortia of Niouc and Saint-Luc which resulted in a water right for the municipality of Niouc for a period of 99 years. Similarly, an agreement is made between the consortages of Niouc and the driving forces of the Navizence.
In 1907, the Chippis aluminum factory and the Niouc consortage decided to build a water intake at Vissoie on the intake canal. From then on, it was the waters of the Navizence that supplied the hydroelectric plant of Chippis.
On the other hand, the consortage of the bisse-siphon of Briey was formed. Indeed, the transformation of the old bisse des sarrasins into a modern aqueduct would have cost too much. Arrangements between the consortages of the different municipalities of Val Anniviers led to the project of the bisse siphon, the creation of reservoirs and the footbridge. This was completed in 1922.
In 1981, the suspension bridge was sold to Mr. Claude Forclaz for the symbolic sum of CHF 1.- and it was in 1988 that the association of friends of the Niouc suspension bridge was formed, who buys the bridge for the sum of CHF 2.-
In the following years, the bridge will be renovated and maintained by volunteers. And it was finally in 1997 that the bridge became accessible to the public again. Currently, the bridge is used as a support for extreme activities such as bungee jumps, pendulum jumps, zip line crossings and "Rope Jump". All these activities are managed by the company_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_bungyniouc:
And if you are interested in taking a fear of heights management course, you can contact:
For those who would like to know more about the bridge, you can consult the site of the friends of the Niouc suspension bridge on the following page:
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Source: The Association of Friends of the Niouc Bridge
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Swisstreks particularly thanks Mr. Julien Torrent for his kind collaboration.