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Villages / Fribourg / Gruyère district / Cerniat

Cerniat

Canton of Fribourg · District: Gruyère · 346 inhabitants (2011, former municipality of Cerniat, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Val-de-Charmey
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Cerniat

The village appears in 1288 as « Sernia ». Its name is thought to come from « cierne », a meadow surrounded by forest, a word derived from the Latin « circinus ».[1][2]

Founding of Cerniat

Cerniat covers a vast mountain territory of alpine pastures and forests, more than 3'300 hectares. The place seems already inhabited when the Carthusians settled at La Valsainte, whose history then became intertwined with that of the village. Cerniat long belonged to the lordship of Corbières, and to the parish of Broc for spiritual matters. In the 19th century the inhabitants lived from cattle, Gruyère cheesemaking and straw plaiting, but rural exodus emptied the village. Cerniat is today a village of the municipality of Val-de-Charmey (merger of 1 January 2014).[1][2][4]

History of Cerniat

1288. First written record of the village, named « Sernia ».[1]

1295. Girard de Corbières founded La Valsainte Charterhouse in 1295 (or 1294) on the territory of Cerniat.[1][2]

1553. The lordship of Corbières was sold and Cerniat came under the authority of Fribourg, which attached it to the bailiwick of Corbières until 1798.[1][2]

1550s. Cerniat formed the « Pays et val de Charmey » with Charmey, Crésuz and Châtel-sur-Montsalvens, led by a governor until 1852.[2]

1618. Separated from Broc, Cerniat became a parish.[1]

Early 18th century. Fire ravaged the hamlet of Le Borgeat and destroyed the parish registers.[2]

1798. Cerniat joined the district of Gruyères, which became the Gruyère district in 1848.[1]

1892. The church, rebuilt after a fire, was enlarged. The parish then numbered about 800 souls.[2]

Late 19th century. A metal bridge was built over the Javro.[2]

1945. François Charrière (1893-1976), a native of Cerniat, became Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, an office he held until 1970. Another son of the village, Olivier Maradan (1899-1975), was then Bishop of the Seychelles.[2]

2013. On 3 March, the citizens of Cerniat accepted the merger with Charmey by 158 votes to 46.[3]

2014. On 1 January, Cerniat became a village of the new municipality of Val-de-Charmey.[4][1]

Population of Cerniat

Sources and references: [1][3]

Population of Cerniat
1811402
1850498
1900713
1910749
1950635
1980328
2000332
2011346

Historic sites in Cerniat

Church of Saints John and Paul. The parish church, dedicated to Saints John and Paul, was rebuilt after a fire and then enlarged in 1892.[1][2]

La Valsainte Charterhouse. The only Carthusian monastery in Switzerland lies on the territory of Cerniat.[2]

Bridge over the Javro. This metal bridge dates from the late 19th century.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Cerniat (FR) » (Georges Andrey, version du 27.09.2016)
  2. Commune de Val-de-Charmey, « Portrait »
  3. Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, message n° 69 accompagnant le projet de loi relatif à la fusion des communes de Cerniat et Charmey (01.07.2013)
  4. Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, projet de loi du 1er juillet 2013 relative à la fusion des communes de Cerniat et Charmey

Other villages near Cerniat

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