Sundial Sightings

Chartreuse - South

The south-facing sundial. The dial shows hourlines from 7 to 6 pm. It has also shortened half-hour markers. The hourlines emanate from a moon circle.

The decoration seems a bit baroque.

The dial face has a motto “Nos Jours Secoulent Com…” The rest is no longer readable.

The dial has been restored in 1988 by Atelier Tournesol.

	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Colonie de Vacances, Chartreuse, St. Julien en BeauchÃªne, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.753	44.6325

Chartreuse - Ouest

This is an west-facing sundial. It shows hour and half-hour lines from 2:30 to 6:30 pm, although from the gnomon you can see that it indicates already much earlier.

Unfortunately the dial face is broken by a new building addition.

		Longitude	Latitude
		5.753	44.6330

MF des Etroits

This sundial can be found on a building next to the Maison Forestiere.

It is a simple dial showing hourlines from 7 to 4. The hourlines are difficult to see and only the hour markers can be seen. The gnomon seems a bit bent.

Unfortunately there is a ghost shadow on the dial face due to an electricity post.

	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Maison ForestiÃ¨re des Etroits, St. Julien en BeauchÃªne, Hautes-Alpes, PACA, France	5.7244	44.6297

La Germanette

This sundial can be found on the bar/restaurant at La Germanette, the public open swimming pool in Serres. The dial had hourlines from 6 to 6. Is this for real, it seems very symmetric. And at the top a boat, which relates to the pool.

	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Bar, La Germanette, Serres, PACA, France	5.724391	44.407481

St. Chapelle en Valgaudemar

A nice simple sundial with hourlines 5 to 2 o’clock. It has been created in 1975. The imagery reminds of the high mountains of that village. The motto reads “Tuer le temps ou vivre l’instant”, which translates to “Kill the time or life now”.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Mairie, St. Chapelle, Valgaudemar, Hautes-Alpes (05), France	6.194314956665039	44.81659587023684

Analemna, Le Chevalet

On the field at Le Chevalet one of the dials is an alemnetic one. The dial shows hour points from 5 to 7. The gnomon marker has some lines reminiscent of a real analemna, but it is just an artistic one. There are declination points however.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Le Chevalet, Aspres-sur-BuÃ«ch, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.734346	44.519448

Les Crayons

The design of this horizontal sundial is very original. The dial has been created from gigantic pencils. There are pencils lying on the ground that indicate the hourlines. These pencils point to the hour marks, which are created as pencils driven into the ground. And finally the the gnomon has been implemented as three pencils with one parallel to the earth axis.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Le Chevalet, Aspres-sur-BuÃ«ch, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.734621	44.519388

Table, Le Chavelet

In this area with several sundials this horizonal dial on a table can be found. The dial is made from baked tiles. The dial shows hourlines and halfhourlines in alternating colours. There are also three declination lines, for winter and summer solstice and the equinoxes.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Le Chevalet, Aspres-sur-BuÃ«ch, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.734658	44.519501

Chateau, Aspres-sur-Buech

This sundial can be found above the entrance of the old chateau in Aspres-sur-BuÃ«ch. Currently this buiding hosts a bread&breakfast.

The dial shows hour and half-hour lines from 5:30 to 4:30. The hourlines start in a classic moon around the gnomon. Below the dial proper there is a drawer of a woman sitting on the ground with a child and pidgeon.

The motto reads “une parole vaut mieux qu’un ecrite”, a word is worth more than a letter”.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Aspres-sur-Buech, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.752318	44.522345

Manteyer

This sundial is hidden in the garden of a large mansion. I could not get a good look. It seems to have only some hourlines.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Manteyer, Hautes-Alpes, France	5.967255	44.539431

Number 16, Main Street, Sainte Blaise

This dial is not in a very good shape. In the upper left corner I can discern an 18?1.

One can see hour and halfhour lines starting at 5 am to probably 2 pm. One can only discern the 5.

The seems to have been a motto at the bottom, but it is now unreadable.

The dial reminds of the designs of Zarbula: trompe l’oeil setting, gnomon in a sun and below it a moon. Also the colouring seems to remind of him.

Album		Longitude	Latitude
		6.613310	44.87562

Destroyed Chamandrin

Of this dial not much is left. One sees some hourlines and the gnomon is still there. But the people in the house put a window straight through the sundial. The end the the hourlines are fitted in a round circle, suggesting that the dial was fairly modern.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Main Street, Chamandrin, Hautes-Alpes, France	6.618315	44.880539

Eglise, Villard St. Pancrace

This dial is on the main church in Villard St. Pancrace. On the dial one can see the date MVIIICXXI, 1821, which is a very strange way to write roman dates.

The dial shows hourlines and half hour lines (as arrows) from 8 am to 6 pm.

The dial has multiple motto’s. At the top it says in latin “vulnerant omnes, ultima necat morte tua”, “bless all, the last one kills you”. In the dial face one can see another motto, but it is fragmented to “hic umbra ....”

The dial is in Louis XV style. The stylus is set in a classic sun and moon.

It has been restored in 1984 by le Club du Vieux Manoir, but seems to be deteriorating since.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Church, Villard St. Pancrace, Hautes-Alpes, France	6.627468	44.873783

Impasse Villard St. Pancrace

This dial can be found in the village of Villard St. Pancrace close to BrianÃ§on. It is in a small street off main street near house number 18.

The dial shows hourlines and halfhour lines from 12 am to 6 pm.

The dial dates from 1773 and has first been restored in 1905 by ZZ. And in 1997 by Evelyne and Norbert Peyrot (link).

The motto is “vous qui passe souuvene vous an que tout passe comme je passe”, which translates to “you who comes by, remember everyting that happens when I pass”. Note that the “u"s are spelled as “v"s. And there are some typo’s.

The dial is a a baroque style.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Maison Borel, Impasse du Cadran Solaire, Off Main Street No 16, Villard St. Pancrace, Hautes-Alpe, France	6.624735	44.872316

Mairie Cervieres

A classic design created by Zarbula. It looks like an early work of Zarbula. The house is from 1747.

The hour- and halfhourlines can just be seen from 7 am to 3 pm.

The dial has some classic marks of Zarbula: a curtain on 3 points (later 4), the flower pots and a trompe l’oeil design. The flower post are interesting as they show faces, which is called “ghybizzi”. Note at the top the “rose the sable” with 8 branches.

The sundial has been restored by FranÃ§ois Gavoty in 1983.

Album	Location	Longitude	Latitude
	Mairie CerviÃ¨res, Hautes-Alpes, France	6.721162	44.869642