Auvernier
Origin of the name Auvernier
The first recorded name is « Averniacum », in 1011, in the deed by which King Rudolph III of Burgundy gives Auvernier to his wife Irmengard. The village also had a German name, « Avernach », now obsolete (to be cross-checked). The sources consulted do not explain the origin of the name; the ending -acum is common in Gallo-Roman estate names in the region, but this link is not demonstrated for Auvernier (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Auvernier
Auvernier has neither a founding act nor an identifiable founder. Along 1.5 km of shore lie ten zones of former villages occupied between the fourth and the first millennium BC; the Gallo-Roman period is represented by a Roman settlement. In 1011 King Rudolph III of Burgundy gives Auvernier to his wife Irmengard. In the Middle Ages the Counts of Neuchâtel hold the main authority, but the lord of Colombier and the cathedral chapter of Lausanne also hold rights there. The largest village of the parish of Colombier, Auvernier belongs to the mairie of La Côte until 1848. Under the Ancien Régime fishing and wine growing dominate, and wine is sold as far as Solothurn and Bern. From the late 18th century some inhabitants work in the calico (indiennes) factories of the lower Areuse, and in the 19th century rather in the factories of Serrières.
History of Auvernier
3850-850 BC. Lakeside occupations of the Cortaillod, Lüscherz and Auvernier cultures, then of the Early and Late Bronze Age, dated by dendrochronology: ten zones of former villages stretch along 1.5 km of shore.
2700-2400 BC. The Auvernier-La Saunerie site gives its name to the « Auvernier culture » (or Auvernier-Cordé) of the Late Neolithic, defined in 1969 by Christian Strahm (dates and attribution to be cross-checked).
Gallo-Roman period. A Roman settlement occupies the site; a statuette of Jupiter was found there, at the place called Les Lerins in 1864 (place and date to be cross-checked).
1011. First mention, as « Averniacum »: King Rudolph III of Burgundy gives Auvernier to his wife Irmengard.
1346. The boundaries between Auvernier and Colombier are fixed after a dispute (to be cross-checked).
1357. Count Louis of Neuchâtel grants the inhabitants the use of the Cottendart wood.
1477. Construction of the Saint Nicholas chapel, the future church (sometimes dated 1478, to be cross-checked).
1532. Auvernier adopts the Reformation, at the latest by this date.
1559. Construction of Auvernier castle for Blaise Junod, governor of the lordship of Valangin.
1599. The inhabitants, serfs freed in the 15th or early 16th century who had become external burghers of Neuchâtel, give up this citizenship; they are only readmitted in the early 19th century.
1603. Pierre Chambrier buys the castle and its wine estate, after the Tribolet; his family keeps it for more than two centuries.
1823-1860. The castle passes by marriage to the Sandoz-Rollin, then to the Pourtalès; the Montmollin take it over in 1860.
1848. End of Auvernier's membership of the mairie of La Côte.
1854-1919. First, haphazard excavations of the Auvernier pile dwellings.
1859-1860. Opening of the railway station.
1866. The first international congress of prehistory, meeting in Neuchâtel, visits the site.
1876. Discovery of a Neolithic megalithic gallery grave (allée couverte), reused in the Early Bronze Age.
1878. Auvernier becomes a parish independent of Colombier.
1880. The first Jura water correction lowers the lake and enlarges the municipal territory by about 15 hectares (to be cross-checked).
1888. The cantonal school of viticulture settles in Auvernier.
1892. Opening of the Neuchâtel-Boudry tramway, which, like the station, brings only limited development.
1919-1920. Paul Vouga's stratigraphic sounding establishes « the first stratigraphy of the European Neolithic ».
1964-1975. Planned rescue excavations over 18'500 m², directed by Jean-Pierre Jéquier, Christian Strahm, Michel Egloff and Béat Arnold.
1970-1977. Construction of the motorway, which allows a beach and a recreation area to be created.
1974. The Grand-Rue is placed under protection (to be cross-checked).
1976. A cantonal law places Auvernier's vineyards, about 75 hectares, under protection (to be cross-checked).
1988. The Grosjean family takes over the castle (to be cross-checked).
2011. The Auvernier-La Saunerie and Auvernier-Les Graviers sites are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the « Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps ».
2013. Auvernier merges with Bôle and Colombier to form the municipality of Milvignes.
Population of Auvernier
| 1750 | 520 |
| 1850 | 677 |
| 1900 | 875 |
| 1950 | 1'021 |
| 2000 | 1'533 |
| 2010 | 1'597 |
| 2012 | 1'560 |
Historic sites in Auvernier
Auvernier castle. Built in 1559 for Blaise Junod, governor of the lordship of Valangin, it passed to the Tribolet, then in 1603 to the Chambrier, who enlarged it. By marriage it later went to the Sandoz-Rollin, the Pourtalès and, from 1860, the Montmollin. Its large vaulted cellars reflect the estate's wine-growing vocation. Private property.
Auvernier church. Former Saint Nicholas chapel of 1477, enlarged in 1598 and 1709 (to be cross-checked). Auvernier adopted the Reformation by 1532 at the latest and became an independent parish in 1878.
The Grand-Rue. Street lined with winegrowers' houses of the 16th and 17th centuries, with their vaulted cellars; the locality keeps its wine-growing character.
The cantonal school of viticulture. Established in Auvernier in 1888, it reflects the village's place in Neuchâtel wine growing.
The shore and the beach. The construction of the motorway (1970-1977) made it possible to create a beach and a recreation area on the lakeshore, opposite the pile dwelling sites.
The Maison Carrée. Historic building housing old hand-operated wine presses, witnesses to the village's wine-growing tradition (to be cross-checked).
Remains in Auvernier
The Auvernier pile dwellings (UNESCO World Heritage). The Auvernier pile dwellings « form one of the richest prehistoric ensembles in Switzerland ». Ten zones of former villages occupied between 3850 and 850 BC stretch over 1.5 km. Two sites, Auvernier-La Saunerie and Auvernier-Les Graviers, have been World Heritage since 2011. The excavations yielded tools with their handles, Late Bronze Age basketry and evidence of the transition from stone to copper and then bronze.
The Auvernier culture. The Auvernier-La Saunerie site gave its name to the Auvernier culture (or Auvernier-Cordé), a Late Neolithic phase of western Switzerland dated to about 2700 to 2400 BC (to be cross-checked).
Gallo-Roman remains. The Gallo-Roman period is represented by a Roman settlement and a statuette of Jupiter. A depiction of Hercules fighting is said to have been found in 1896 (to be cross-checked).
The megalithic gallery grave. Discovered in 1876, this megalithic collective burial dates from the Neolithic and was reused in the Early Bronze Age.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Auvernier » (Michel Egloff, Germain Hausmann)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Colombier (NE) » (Germain Hausmann)
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 4 février 2026 homologuant le recensement cantonal de la population au 31 décembre 2025
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 6 février 2013 portant homologation des résultats du recensement cantonal de la population du 31 décembre 2012
- Wikipédia (fr), « Auvernier »
- Wikipédia (de), « Auvernier »
- Wikipédia (en), « Auvernier »
- Wikipédia (en), « Auvernier culture »
- Wikipédia (fr), « Château d'Auvernier »
- swisscastles.ch, château d'Auvernier
- Site officiel d'Auvernier, page Histoire
- UNESCO, Centre du patrimoine mondial, « Sites palafittiques préhistoriques autour des Alpes »
- Wikipédia (fr), « Milvignes »
- Site officiel de la commune de Milvignes
Other villages near Auvernier
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