Martigny - La Bâtiaz Castle

Sculptural Watercolour™ in a box frame 50 x 70 x 5 cm

In the summer of 1818, Martigny suffered a catastrophic flood. The River Dranse that flows through the town had been blocked well above the town by a joining glacier that had slid across the valley forming a dam of ice-blocks and mud, and an ever-deepening lake behind. Men constructed a tunnel to drain the water, and initially this appeared to be solving the the problem.  But suddenly the entire dam gave way, completely destroying many villages and flattening Martigny.

Today, Martigny is a mass of cranes and construction work as the town expands rapidly. This 'new town' is shown in the mists in the centre-left of the painting, whilse a few of the old buildings that were protected by the castle rock from the 1818 flood are in the foreground.

The River Dranse is carefully monitored and managed, thereby obviating a further catastrophe that could otherwise sweep away both old and new towns, especially now that we are experiencing more extreme weather events due to climate change.