Mont-Saxonnex

Mont-Saxonnex (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ saksɔnɛ]; Arpitan: L Mon) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

Mont-Saxonnex
Commune
The church of Mont-Saxonnex
Coat of arms
Location of Mont-Saxonnex
Mont-Saxonnex Show map of France Mont-Saxonnex Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 46°03′17″N 6°29′06″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Savoie
Arrondissement	Bonneville
Canton	Cluses
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Frédéric Caul-Futy[1]
Area 1	26.28 km2 (10.15 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	1,637
• Density	62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Demonym	Dumonts
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	74189 /74130
Elevation	580–2,438 m (1,903–7,999 ft)
Website	mont-saxonnex.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toponymy

Mont-Saxonnex (pronounced Saxonney) is said to take its name from mons saxorum nigrorum, meaning "mountain of black rocks." Legend has it that a fire in the Middle Ages lasted seven years, turning the rocks as black as coal. Another explanation attributes the name to a Roman named Sersunay. Saxonnex could also come from an Indo-European legend involving Neptune (nay). This legend relates that the region was saved from the overflowing of Lake Bénit by a procession of priests who circled it three times.

Mont Saxonnex is attested as Sersenaco in 1339. The derivation -aco is a typically Gaulish location suffix. It is a Celtic place name composed of two roots: serra- "scythe, sickle, billhook" and -senos "ancient, old." In Gaulish, Sersenaco means something like "the domain of the old man with the scythe" or "the domain of the old reaper" (a link with the appearance of the neighboring Bargy?).

In Franco-Provençal, the name of the commune is written L Mon, according to the spelling of Conflans.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Savoie department