Boveresse
Origin of the name Boveresse
First written mention in 1266, in the form « Boveressa ». The sources consulted do not explain the origin of the name (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Boveresse
No founder or founding charter is known. Boveresse is a crossroads village with scattered settlement stretching from the Areuse (736 m) up to the summits (1'200 m). In church matters it depended on the priory of Saint-Pierre in Môtiers from the 10th to the 16th century; in temporal matters it belonged to the castellany of the Val-de-Travers from the 14th century to 1848 and was part of the corporation of the Six Communes. Closely tied to Môtiers, with which it shared mills, pastures and forests until 1813 and formed a single parish, the village lay on the old road to France until the early 19th century. It is now part of the municipality of Val-de-Travers (merger of 1 January 2009).
History of Boveresse
10th-16th century. Boveresse depends in church matters on the priory of Saint-Pierre in Môtiers.
1266. First written mention, in the form « Boveressa ».
14th century-1848. The village belongs to the castellany of the Val-de-Travers and to the corporation of the Six Communes, which manages common forests and a covered market in Môtiers.
1513. Together with Môtiers, Boveresse receives in perpetual lease a mill, a sawmill and a threshing mill, the start of joint undivided ownership (mills, pastures, forests) between the two communities.
16th century. After the Reformation, Boveresse remains in the parish of Môtiers and becomes co-owner of the Môtiers church.
1768. A chapel is built in Boveresse; the village remains in the parish of Môtiers.
1813. End of the undivided ownership with Môtiers.
early 19th century. The old road to France no longer passes through the village.
1860. Opening of Boveresse station on the Franco-Suisse railway line, which also serves Fleurier until 1883.
19th century. The population consists mainly of farmer-watchmaker-mechanics and growers of plants used to make absinthe.
late 19th-early 20th century. Industrial use of the natural ice cave of Monlési.
1893. The Barrelet brothers build a drying shed for absinthe plants.
1967-1980. Land consolidation.
1968. Construction of the international road known as « La Pénétrante », which makes Boveresse a crossroads again.
1990. 40% of the working population still work in the primary sector.
1998. The absinthe drying shed is listed as a historic monument and opens as a museum.
2009. On 1 January Boveresse merges with Les Bayards, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers to form the municipality of Val-de-Travers.
Population of Boveresse
| 1750 | 264 |
| 1850 | 441 |
| 1900 | 577 |
| 1950 | 388 |
| 1990 | 352 |
| 2000 | 363 |
| 2008 | 389 (31 December, last census before the merger) |
Historic sites in Boveresse
Absinthe drying shed. Built in 1893 by the Barrelet brothers to dry the plants used to make absinthe, an important crop in the Val-de-Travers around 1900. Listed as a historic monument in 1998 and opened as a museum the same year, it is part of the Val-de-Travers regional museum and is listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.
Maison des Chats (Petitpierre house). House on the rue du Quarre listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance. It owes its name to the two cats on its balcony and is said to date from 1777 (to be cross-checked).
Monlési country house. Residence on the heights north of the village, at Monlési, listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.
Boveresse chapel. Built in 1768; the village nevertheless remained in the parish of Môtiers.
The Vy aux Moines. Medieval path that linked the priory of Môtiers with the abbey of Montbenoît (Doubs) via Boveresse, Monlési and the valley of La Brévine.
Remains in Boveresse
Natural ice cave of Monlési. Cave above the village where ice keeps naturally. It was worked industrially in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Boveresse »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Môtiers (NE) »
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 21 janvier 2009 portant homologation des résultats du recensement cantonal de la population du 31 décembre 2008
- Musées suisses (museums.ch), « Séchoir à absinthe de Boveresse »
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire PBC, « Maison des Chats, maison Petitpierre » (PBC 9791)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire PBC, « Maison de campagne de Monlési » et « Séchoir à absinthe »
- Wikipédia, « Boveresse » (à recouper)
Other villages near Boveresse
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