Charmey
Origin of the name Charmey
The name appears in 1211 as « Chalmeis ». Until 1760 « Feiguières » is also found, the name of the former hamlet that now forms the village. German speakers once said « Galmis ».[1][2]
Founding of Charmey
In 1115, the charter of the priory of Rougemont still described the place as deserted. Settlement then mixed Alemanni and Burgundians. Charmey, with its six hamlets, covered 7'857 hectares and was the largest municipality in the canton. It came into being as a co-lordship when the lordship of Corbières was divided in 1249, and its lords lived in the castle of Sur la Roche. Charmey is today a village of the municipality of Val-de-Charmey (merger of 1 January 2014).[1][2][4]
History of Charmey
1228. The parish is attested. Its church was dedicated to the Holy Cross.[1]
1249. The division of the lordship of Corbières created the co-lordship of Charmey.[1]
1319. The people of Charmey were freed from the tallage, but real mortmain weighed on them until 1650.[1]
Before 1361. The Charmey branch of the Corbières had died out. The community remained a military district responsible for maintaining the castle.[1]
1454. Charmey passed to the counts of Gruyère.[1][2]
1555. Fribourg acquired Charmey in 1555 (or 1553) and placed it in the bailiwick of Corbières. The village then formed the « Pays et val de Charmey » with Cerniat, Crésuz and Châtel-sur-Montsalvens, which lasted until 1852.[1][2]
1614. Fribourg broke the inhabitants' resistance to a war tax.[1]
17th-18th centuries. The hamlet of La Tzintre became the gathering point for transhumance between the lowlands, the Pays-d'Enhaut and the Gessenay.[1]
1735. The church changed patron and was placed under the dedication of Saint Lawrence.[1]
1760. Fribourg patricians owned 40% of the usable land. Heavy emigration to France accompanied this hold.[1]
1824. The last section of the castle of Sur la Roche collapsed.[1]
1880. Straw plaiting employed 20% of the working population. The crisis in this trade brought the share down to 5% by 1910.[1]
1881. Completion of the Bulle-Boltigen road over the Jaun Pass solved the problems of access.[1]
1920. Timber and the Broc chocolate factory employed as many people as farming.[1]
1962. The first ski lifts launched tourism. A swimming pool followed in 1970, and Charmey had 2'920 tourist beds in 2000.[1][2]
1991. The regional museum opened.[1]
2013. On 3 March, Charmey accepted the merger with Cerniat by 584 votes to 293.[3]
2014. On 1 January, Charmey became a village of Val-de-Charmey.[4][1]
Population of Charmey
Sources and references: [1][3]
| 1811 | 609 |
| 1850 | 852 |
| 1900 | 1'247 |
| 1950 | 1'282 |
| 2000 | 1'547 |
| 2011 | 1'852 |
Historic sites in Charmey
Church of Saint Lawrence. The parish church, first dedicated to the Holy Cross, has borne the dedication of Saint Lawrence since 1735.[1]
La Tzintre. This hamlet, a gathering point for herds in the 17th and 18th centuries, was painted with its bridge by Joseph-Emmanuel Curty around 1800. The watercolour is kept at the Musée gruérien in Bulle.[1]
Museum and Bains de Charmey. The regional museum, opened in 1991, and the Bains de Charmey were added to the gondola lift opened in the 1960s.[1][2]
Remains in Charmey
Castle of Sur la Roche. Residence of the co-lords of Charmey after 1249, the castle remained in the community's care after the local Corbières branch died out, before 1361. Its last section collapsed in 1824.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Charmey » (Pierre-Philippe Bugnard, version du 21.10.2016)
- Commune de Val-de-Charmey, « Portrait »
- 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)
- 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 Charmey
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