Articles
In-depth articles on subjects that concern many villages at once: place names, archaeology, religious history, institutions. Each article links to the pages of the places it mentions.
Abbeys and priories of French-speaking Switzerland
Saint-Maurice, Romainmôtier, Payerne, Hauterive, Bellelay: how monasteries founded, owned and shaped villages in western Switzerland since the 6th century.
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The Jura water correction and the villages of the Three Lakes
From 1868 to 1891, canals lowered the lakes of Neuchâtel, Biel and Murten. The Grand-Marais became a market garden and lakeside villages gained land.
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Bernese Vaud: the bailiwicks (1536-1798)
From 1536 to 1798, Bern ruled the Pays de Vaud through sixteen bailiwicks. Who was the bailiff, where did he live and what did he do in the villages?
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The Prince-Bishopric of Basel and the Jura (999-1815)
For over eight centuries, the Jura and the Bernese Jura were ruled by the Bishop of Basel. How the prince-bishopric was formed, governed and ended in 1815.
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Village names ending in -ens and -ins
Renens, Lucens, Échallens, Bursins: where do French-Swiss village names in -ens and -ins come from? Old forms, meaning of the suffix, the Burgundian debate.
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The pile dwellings of Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva
Auvernier, Concise, Morges, Corsier-Port: the history of the prehistoric villages on the shores of the French-Swiss lakes, from 1854 to Unesco in 2011.
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The Reformation in the villages of French-speaking Switzerland
Farel in Aigle and Neuchâtel, the Bernese conquest of Vaud, the votes of the «plus»: how the Reformation reached French-speaking Switzerland village by village.
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The new towns of Savoy in French-speaking Switzerland
Yverdon, Morges, Rolle, Villeneuve: how the House of Savoy founded towns and granted charters in French-speaking Switzerland, from the 13th century to 1536.
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Municipal mergers in French-speaking Switzerland
Val-de-Ruz, Valbroye, Anniviers, Haute-Sorne: how municipal mergers have changed the map of French-speaking Switzerland since 1931, with the local votes.
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The bisses of Valais
Torrent-Neuf, the Vex bisse, Augstbord: the history of the irrigation channels of Valais, from the first medieval records to Unesco in 2023, village by village.
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To go further, a selection of the most complete pages is shown on the home page: Pages to discover.