FRDEITEN
Villages / Fribourg / Gruyère district / Avry-devant-Pont

Avry-devant-Pont

Canton of Fribourg · District: Gruyère · 424 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Avry-devant-Pont, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Pont-en-Ogoz
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Avry-devant-Pont

The village appears in the 12th century in the forms « Aprilis » and « Avril », whose meaning is unexplained.[1]

Founding of Avry-devant-Pont

Avry-devant-Pont is the religious centre of the area: in 1177 Pope Alexander III confirms that its church belongs to the hospice of the Great St Bernard, and in 1228 its parish includes Gumefens and Pont-en-Ogoz. The remains of a Roman villa at Au Pavillon, and probably those of a Roman bridge, go back to Antiquity. In the Middle Ages the village depends on the lordship of Pont. Fodder crops and cattle breeding support its inhabitants. Avry-devant-Pont is today in the municipality of Pont-en-Ogoz (merger of 2003), whose administration it houses.[1][2]

History of Avry-devant-Pont

1177. Pope Alexander III confirms the incorporation of the church of Avry into the hospice of the Great St Bernard.[1]

1228. The parish is recorded. It includes Gumefens and Pont-en-Ogoz.[1]

1482. Antoine de Menthon sells the lordship of Pont, on which Avry depends, to Fribourg, which makes it a bailiwick.[1]

1522. The chapter of Saint-Nicolas claims the right of presentation.[1]

1578. The community adopts its statutes.[1]

1603. The chapter finally obtains the right of presentation.[1]

1798. The revolutionary militias of the area and the Vaudois establish « le poste invincible » at Avry, from where they move on Fribourg.[1]

1833. The church of Saint-Martin is rebuilt.[1]

19th century. Avry is one of the centres of straw hat making.[1]

1948. The Gruyère dam is built.[1]

1981. The A12 motorway is built, followed in 1982 by the motorway service area.[1]

2002. On 24 May the municipal assembly accepts the merger by 74 votes to 10.[2]

2003. Avry-devant-Pont forms Pont-en-Ogoz with Gumefens and Le Bry, following a decree of 17 September 2002.[1][3]

Population of Avry-devant-Pont

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Avry-devant-Pont
1811264
1850372
1900427
1950302
1960254
2000424

Historic sites in Avry-devant-Pont

Church of Saint-Martin. Parish church rebuilt in 1833, seat of a parish linked to the Great St Bernard since the 12th century, whose right of presentation passed in 1603 to the chapter of Saint-Nicolas in Fribourg.[1]

Remains in Avry-devant-Pont

Villa at Au Pavillon. Remains of a Roman villa whose residential part has not yet been found. There was probably also a Roman bridge.[1]

Motte of Vieux Châtel. Undated castle mound at the place called Au Vieux Châtel.[1]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Avry-devant-Pont » (Marianne Rolle, version du 27.09.2016)
  2. Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, message n° 20 du 9 juillet 2002 accompagnant le projet de décret relatif à la fusion des communes d'Avry-devant-Pont, du Bry et de Gumefens
  3. État de Fribourg, Recueil systématique (RSF 141.1.2), « Liste chronologique des fusions, divisions et changements de nom des communes »

Other villages near Avry-devant-Pont

Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.

Suggest a change