History of the Hamlet

Once upon a time there was the village of Anchical. During the modern era, the village had two spellings: Anchical and Enchical. According to Adolphe Gros's 1935 dictionary, Anchical would be a man's name of Germanic origin: Engescaldus. In reality, Anchical is a satellite of the village of la Combaz. To understand Anchical, one must understand the village of la Combaz.

Around the year 1000, the villages of les Combes, les Mélèzes, la Ville-Dessous and la Ville-Dessus were already well established. The population was growing and looking for new places to settle. The hamlet of la Combaz sits astride the commune's most important thoroughfare, and it was in this fold of land that the first structures were born. An old legend passed down by the elders tells that the founding of the village of la Combaz is owed to a group of religious men, who took an active part in opening up the landscape to create new farmland.

From the year 1000 to the 14th century, the landscape kept changing to meet people's needs. From the 14th to the 17th century, many areas were built up: Pierre-Benoit, Grange-Bernard, le Châtelard, la Saussette, Buffard, le Chapet, and of course Anchical.

In Anchical, the inhabitants lived there year-round. An oratory was built in the 19th century. The people of Anchical also raised a great wooden cross 4 metres tall — the third-oldest dated cross in the commune: 1816. It is now being rebuilt to its original design.

From the end of the last war onward, the village began to empty out. Starting in 1946, the houses weakened and collapsed one after another. Little by little everything crumbled, giving way to dense vegetation that laid a blanket of green over the old village.

One of the distinguishing features of the village of Anchical is its carved stones. It is the place in the commune with the most engravings relative to the number of houses — clear evidence of a wish to leave one's mark.