Colombier
Origin of the name Colombier
Colombier is first mentioned in 1228, as « Columbier ». The name is thought to come from Latin columbarium, « dovecote », a very common type of place name in French-speaking Switzerland and France (to be cross-checked). The coat of arms, gules a cross argent with two doves in chief, is a canting arms illustrating this name (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Colombier
Colombier has neither a founding act nor an identifiable founder. The village stands on a small molasse hill near the lake, where four lakeside settlements of the Neolithic and Bronze Age are recorded. Beneath the present castle stood a Gallo-Roman villa, one of the largest in Switzerland, built in several phases from the 1st to the 3rd century; a Merovingian cemetery has also been found near the village. The castle began as an 11th-12th century keep, enlarged in the 13th century. In the Middle Ages the lordship of Colombier, held by a family who were vassals of the Counts of Neuchâtel, covered Colombier, Areuse and part of Bôle, with rights at Fretereules, in the Val-de-Ruz and a third of the advocacy of Bevaix. A chapel existed in 1177 and the village was a parish before 1228.
History of Colombier
Neolithic and Bronze Age. Four lakeside settlements are recorded in Colombier.
1st-3rd century. A Gallo-Roman villa, modest at first, becomes a true palace with a peristyle, at least two bath buildings decorated with mosaics and frescoes, and terraced gardens.
Early Middle Ages. A Merovingian cemetery is established near the village.
11th-12th century. Construction of a keep, the origin of the castle, enlarged in the 13th century.
1177. Colombier has a chapel.
1228. First mention, as « Columbier »; Colombier is already a parish, which also includes Areuse, Auvernier and, in the Middle Ages, Montézillon. The right of presentation to the church of Saint-Etienne belongs to the chapter of Lausanne.
1346. The boundaries of the village territory are known from this date.
1357. Colombier receives, with Bôle and Areuse, forests on lease, which the three communities manage jointly until the 18th century.
1488. The lordship passes by marriage to the Chauvirey family of Franche-Comté.
1513. The lordship passes to Jean Jacques de Watteville of Bern, who obtains high justice, enlarges the estate, notably at Bevaix, and introduces the Reformation.
1541-1543. The castle is remodelled: stair turret, granary and gate tower (to be cross-checked).
1564. The whole is ceded to the Count of Neuchâtel for 60'000 écus; Colombier becomes the seat of a mairie.
16th-17th century. The inhabitants, who were serfs, are gradually freed; the last servile dues are abolished only in the early 19th century.
1657. On the verge of bankruptcy after standing surety for treasurer general Abraham Mouchet and his son, the community is released from its debt by Prince Henri II d'Orléans-Longueville, in return for laying out tree-lined avenues from the lake to the castle.
1734. Jean-Jacques Deluze sets up at Le Bied one of the first calico (indiennes) factories of the lower Areuse.
1739. The Le Bied factory employs 80 workers; the Le Bied mansion dates from this year (to be cross-checked).
1771. The writer Isabelle de Charrière settles at the Le Pontet manor (to be cross-checked).
1806. A military hospital, planned since 1796, is set up in the castle.
1824. The castle is used for cantonal militia exercises; it is then converted into barracks and an arsenal is built.
1832. End of the mairie of Colombier: the civil court, recorded since the 14th century, is merged with that of La Côte and the criminal court with that of Neuchâtel; Areuse leaves the parish.
1840-1842. Frédéric DuBois de Montperreux excavates the Gallo-Roman villa beneath the castle.
1859-1860. Opening of the railway station.
1871. Mass is celebrated again during the internment of Bourbaki's soldiers. On 22 March a train carrying internees derails near Colombier, killing 23 (to be cross-checked).
1877. The castle becomes the federal training ground of the 2nd Division.
1879. Auvernier leaves the parish of Colombier.
1884. A Catholic parish is formed.
1892. Opening of the Neuchâtel-Boudry tramway line.
1905. The old parts of the castle are listed; a restoration is carried out until 1934 (to be cross-checked).
1927. An airfield is laid out.
1954-1955. A military museum opens in the castle, followed by a museum of printed calicoes (indiennes) (to be cross-checked).
1969. A secondary school centre opens for pupils from Colombier, Cortaillod, Boudry, Bôle, Rochefort and Auvernier.
1982. New excavations of the Gallo-Roman villa.
2003. The 2nd Field Division, linked to the training ground, is disbanded with the introduction of Army XXI.
2004. The barracks become one of the two infantry training sites.
2013. Colombier merges with Auvernier and Bôle to form the municipality of Milvignes.
Population of Colombier
| 1750 | 418 |
| 1850 | 896 |
| 1900 | 2'051 |
| 1950 | 2'071 |
| 1960 | 2'652 (to be cross-checked) |
| 1970 | 4'095 |
| 1980 | 4'126 (to be cross-checked) |
| 1990 | 4'636 (to be cross-checked) |
| 2000 | 4'897 |
| 2011 | 5'510 (to be cross-checked) |
| 2012 | 5'549 |
Historic sites in Colombier
Colombier castle. Built over the Gallo-Roman villa, the castle began as an 11th-12th century keep, enlarged in the 13th century, and took its present form in the 16th century. A military hospital in 1806, it was used from 1824 for militia exercises, became barracks and then, in 1877, a federal training ground; since 2004 it has been one of the two infantry training sites. It houses a military museum and a museum of printed calicoes (to be cross-checked).
The Colombier avenues. Tree-lined avenues laid out in 1657 from the lake to the castle, in return for Prince Henri II d'Orléans-Longueville cancelling the community's debt; they still exist.
Mansions of the calico manufacturers. The calico industry, launched at Le Bied in 1734, paid for mansions around the village: le Bied, Vaudijon, la Mairesse, Cottendart and Sombacour. The Le Bied house, of 1739, is said to have been enlarged in 1756 and given an annex in 1774 (to be cross-checked).
Le Pontet manor. 17th-century manor that was home to the writer Béat-Louis de Muralt (1665-1749) and, from 1771, to the writer Isabelle de Charrière (to be cross-checked).
Remains in Colombier
Gallo-Roman villa. Uncovered beneath the castle and excavated in 1840-1842 by Frédéric DuBois de Montperreux and again in 1982, it is one of the largest villas in Switzerland. Built in several phases from the 1st to the 3rd century, modest at first, it became a true palace with a peristyle, at least two bath buildings decorated with mosaics and frescoes, and terraced gardens.
Merovingian cemetery. A Merovingian cemetery has been found near the village.
Lakeside settlements. Four lakeside settlements of the Neolithic and Bronze Age are recorded on the Colombier shore.
Medieval parts of the castle. The castle grew from an 11th-12th century keep, enlarged in the 13th century; the stair turret, granary and gate tower are said to date from 1541-1543 (to be cross-checked).
Sources
- 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), « Colombier (Neuchâtel) »
- Wikipédia (de), « Colombier NE »
- Wikipédia (en), « Colombier, Neuchâtel »
- Wikipédia (fr), « Château de Colombier »
- Wikipédia (de), « Milvignes »
- Site officiel de la commune de Milvignes
Other villages near Colombier
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