Situated beneath the crests of the Montagne de Chabre at the foot of the Col Saint-Jean, Ballons, a small village in the canton of Séderon, is the last village in the Drôme département, comprising a village and three hamlets: La Calandre, Le Vesque and Les Granges.
Description
Excavations in 1990 uncovered the site of a Neolithic-Bronze Age settlement on the Tresclard plateau.
The village was also inhabited in Roman times: tiles have been found in the fields.
In the Middle Ages, the village was perched on the Vière hill. It moved to its present location around 1850. The school, built during the 1914 war, was converted into a guest house in 1980.
The church dates from the 1880's. It was built thanks to the perseverance of Abbé Chambon, who died in 1884, and was renovated in 1954.
The interior has just been restored and features a metal pulpit.
In the past, the village was renowned for its truffle market and goat breeding: the goats, belonging to several owners, would gather in the morning to the sound of a trumpet to graze all year round on the Chabre mountain under the care of a single shepherd. In the evening, they returned to their respective stables.
Spoken languages
- French
Themes
- Historic patrimony
- Town / Village