Information panel Icogne

The Louable Contrée stretches from the area of Le Grand Lens up to Diogne. Beyond this point is the Noble Contrée, which stretches from Bella-Lui to Sierre. The “Chemin des Contrées” offers hikers the adventure of travelling between the Louable Contrée and the Noble Contrée via a completely new route.

The region was once under the jurisdiction of Le Grand Lens, a vast territory that covered 5,000 hectares. After an independence movement, the jurisdiction was split into four municipalities in 1905: Lens, Icogne, Chermignon and Montana. Icogne received the entire La Lienne valley, whose hydroelectric potential was unknown at the time.

Did you notice the two impressive old millstones as you arrived in the village? They are the symbol of a valuable and ancient resource in Icogne: its waters. As early as the 15th century, numerous mills and sawmills prospered on the left bank of the River Lienne.

Icogne continues to make good use of its waters today, and the village is blessed with considerable hydroelectric resources. Built in 1907, the first electrical development to exploit the Lienne supplied power to the town of Sion. Fifty years later, the Rawyl dam was built. The income generated by this 50 million cubic metre impoundment area contributes to the prosperity of the municipality.