Close protection
The growing notoriety of the site, thanks to the ascent of the Roche de Solutré by François Mitterrand each year between 1946 and 1994, triggered a sharp increase in attendance. With more than 200 visitors per year, erosion of the environment and soil, illegal parking, increase in waste, incivility and conflicts of use have led the region's elected officials to take measures to deal with the consequences of this influx of visitors.
The multiplication of uses
Whether used as a tourist site , a scientific site , a recreational site, a landscaped site, a pilgrimage site , or a peri-urban green space, the visitors are motivated by very different reasons. This endangers not only the environment, but also, in the absence of infrastructure for welcoming visitors and securing pathways, the public.
While these diverse uses have cemented its fame, they generate very little economic benefit for the local communities. This translates into a lack of resources for the site's upkeep and management, creating nuisances for residents.
A fragile landscape
The landscape , even when protected by a law aimed at "maintaining its current state," is never static. It evolves. The abandonment of grazing practices on calcareous grasslands paves the way for the environment to become overgrown. Without human intervention, shrub encroachment threatens the quality of the landscape, and this spontaneous process of revegetation risks making it commonplace.
Without active , sustainable, and coordinated management, numerous other forms of site degradation are occurring. Dry stone walls , stone huts, and wash houses are crumbling. These elements of local heritage contribute to the spirit of the place but are left to decay and detract from the site's surroundings, while other elements, such as advertising signs, are also harming it. Without any preservation measures , this remarkable site is ultimately threatened.
©Stéphane GodinAct to preserve
As early as 1994, the municipalities of Solutré-Pouilly and Vergisson mobilized and requested state aid for a comprehensive project . In 1996, the " Grand Site Operation " initiative was launched.
Consequently, an ambitious program for the preservation , restoration , and enhancement of this exceptional national heritage site was implemented. The actions undertaken significantly improved access to and visits to the site, both functionally (complete overhaul and relocation of parking , restoration of access paths to the rocks, organization of hiking trails ) and in terms of interpretation and understanding of the site. The connections between the site's natural environments, its history, and its wine-growing activity are now clearly expressed in the facilities ( Maison du Grand Site , Musée de Préhistoire ) and interpretive tools: signage, communication materials, etc.
The reintroduction of grazing on the summits of Roches de Solutré and Vergisson, Mont de Pouilly and Monsard, helps to combat the encroachment of shrubs on limestone grasslands.
Between 2007 and 2023, the Landscape Management Brigade , composed of people in professional reintegration, focused on renovating small rural heritage.
recognition of the label
In 2013, the Grand Site de France label , awarded by the Ministry of Ecology, crowned nearly twenty years of efforts to restore the site. It motivated and encouraged local decision-makers to commit to a new action plan.
Nourished by a history spanning millennia, combining the past with the present and the present with the future, the Grand Site de France Solutré Pouilly Vergisson is resolutely turned towards the future.