An hour from Nice, between the Clans du Var and Tinée valleys, Thiéry is a beautiful village whose inhabitants, the Thiérois, are also known as the Tubans. This nickname comes from “tubassine,” which means thick smoke in the local dialect.
In the past, farmers used to light their homes with resinous wooden torches called “lumés,” which produced thick, oily smoke. This smoke filled the interior of the houses and, at the same time, the inhabitants.
At an altitude of 1,050 meters, Thiéry is an alpine village located at the top of a rocky peak surrounded by wooded mountains.
A castle once stood at the top of the village, but it was destroyed around 1650 after the war between the County of Savoy and the Grimaldi family of Beuil. Some traces of it remain behind the inn and below the road under the wash house.
A model of Thiéry and its castle has been made and is on display in the village church.
A rich heritage
For many years, the village of Thiéry was the breadbasket of the canton. A famous saying summed up this fact: it was as difficult to find “Thierry without grain as Villars without wine!”
After Villars sur Var, a winding 14 km road through the mountains leads to Thiéry. The road goes no further. The villages of Touët-sur-Var, Lieuche, Ilonse, Bairols, and Pierlas are only accessible on foot via marked trails.
The communal inn in Thiéry, with its six rooms, offers lodging for hikers and tourists. The millstone from the old flour mill decorates the entrance.
The steep village is home to old stone houses and winding streets with numerous vaulted passageways.
Some of the facades feature stones from the castle.
The parish church of Saint-Martin
Located in the upper western part of the village. Built in the 11th century and restored many times, it is a Romanesque-style church with two bells under two arcades on the roof, in a “comb” style bell tower. Inside, you can admire the holy water font on a monolithic column, magnificent paintings including an oil on canvas from 1698 depicting the death of Saint Joseph (patron saint of “good death”) and the painting of Saint Anthony with his staff. In the niches on either side of the altarpiece, you can admire the statues of Saint Martin and Saint Roch, protector of the village against the plague.
The Notre-Dame Chapel located at the Col de la Madone.
It is a place of pilgrimage on the first Sunday in September.
The wheel of the Arzilagne flour mill.
Located at the entrance to the village in front of the inn with part of its rack, the mill wheel bears witness to the region's agricultural activity over the centuries. The mill, located on the banks of the river 400 meters below the village, was built in the Middle Ages.
The central bell tower, with its clock, can be admired up close from the Place deï Tubans. It was an old dovecote that was converted in 1935 to house a weight-driven clock. Carrier pigeons are said to have been bred there before the First World War. Restored in 1978, the clock is now automatic. The bell tower's chime remains unique.
The Place du Four, known as “Dar Fourn” in the local dialect, has a communal oven where bread is still baked at least once a year. This oven was rebuilt around 1930 and was used until the war. Due to the large amount of wood required to fuel it, the villagers preferred to bake their bread in private ovens, which required less effort. It fell into disuse until 1998, when the local council had it renovated. Since then, every year at the end of May, it is lit for the “bread festival.”
The traditional village square, the “Place deï Tubans” with its coat of arms embedded in the ground, is the meeting place for summer events. On August 15, the Thiéry feast is the most important festival of the year: people dance and play mourra, a traditional game in Thiéry.
Théry Town Hall
Rue Principale, 06710 Thiéry
Tel.: +33 (0)4 93 05 79 98
Translated with DeepL.com
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