Corminboeuf
Origin of the name Corminboeuf
The village is recorded in 1142 as « Cormenbo », a name that remains unexplained. In the 15th and 16th centuries German speakers called it « Sankt Görg », that is Saint George, the saint to whom the village chapel is dedicated.[1]
Founding of Corminboeuf
Corminboeuf grew up in the valley of the Tiguelet stream, about 5 km west of Fribourg. From the 13th century the Hospital of Fribourg bought land here, including the neighbouring village of Nonan in 1250, and the place later belonged to the Hospital banner. The village belongs to the parish of Belfaux and has its own chapel dedicated to Saint George. Nonan, long a municipality in its own right, was joined to it in 1831. From the 1960s Corminboeuf became a residential community growing around its historic centre, and on 1 January 2017 it took in Chésopelloz as well.[1][2][5]
History of Corminboeuf
Around 550-520 BC. A large burial mound is raised at Bois Murat, on a trade route that ran up the Sarine across the Swiss Plateau.[1]
1st-3rd century AD. A Roman villa stands on the Nonan plateau, near the road linking Villars-sur-Glâne to Payerne.[1]
443-1032. A settlement occupies the site of today's route du Centre, where some 700 features of this period have been uncovered, including a Merovingian sunken hut.[3]
1142. Corminboeuf enters the records as « Cormenbo ».[1]
1250. The Hospital of Fribourg, then acquiring land in the area, buys the village of Nonan.[1]
1354. The Romanesque chapel of St George is mentioned.[1]
1442. Corminboeuf is part of Fribourg's Old Lands, in the Hospital banner.[1]
1767. Nonan and Corminboeuf divide the great Marais between them.[1]
1798-1848. The municipality belongs to the district of Fribourg.[1]
1831. Nonan loses its independence and joins Corminboeuf.[1]
Around 1850. The great Marais is drained.[1]
1967. A new school building opens, while the village has been turning residential since 1960.[1]
1969. Corminboeuf joins the consortium of the new industrial zone of greater Fribourg.[1]
1970s. New neighbourhoods spread around the historic centre.[5]
1990. The Office du Livre sets up its distribution centre here.[1]
2000. More than three quarters of the working population commute daily into greater Fribourg.[1]
2017. Approved by both assemblies on 20 September 2015, the merger with Chésopelloz takes effect on 1 January.[2]
Population of Corminboeuf
Sources and references: [1][6]
| 1811 | 226 |
| 1850 | 335 |
| 1900 | 414 |
| 1950 | 468 |
| 1960 | 413 |
| 2000 | 1'621 |
| 2025 | 3'120 |
Historic sites in Corminboeuf
St George's chapel. Romanesque chapel mentioned in 1354 (or as early as the 13th century). It keeps old frescoes of Saint George and Saint Onuphrius, a medieval Virgin and Child, a large crucifix on a column in front of the altar, a Gothic ceiling and a Baroque altar showing Saint George.[1][4]
Manor houses. The de Weck house at Le Bugnon dates from the 17th century, the Schaller house from the 18th century.[1]
Reynold house at Nonan. 18th-century manor house in the former village of Nonan.[1]
Remains in Corminboeuf
Bois Murat burial mound. Found in 1909 during building work, this oval mound of large cobbles, 15.8 by 19.2 m, had already been looted. It yielded nineteen sheet-bronze plates, a solid bronze leg that Abbé Henri Breuil took for part of a Mediterranean statuette and that is now read as the foot of a vessel, and further bronze and iron fragments. It dates from the second half of the 6th century BC and may be linked to the hilltop settlement of Châtillon-sur-Glâne, 2.4 km away.[1]
Roman villa at Nonan. Reported as early as 1869 and spotted on an aerial photograph in 1989, the site has yielded flanged roof tiles, mosaic tesserae, architectural blocks, a column, inscriptions on white limestone, terra sigillata and a Spanish amphora, from the 1st to the 3rd century AD.[1]
Settlement on the route du Centre. In 2021 the Fribourg cantonal archaeology service excavated 2'000 m² at route du Centre 22-26, after a Merovingian sunken hut (534-751) was spotted in a trench. The roughly 700 features uncovered range from AD 443 to 1032.[3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Corminbœuf » (Denis Ramseyer et Marianne Rolle, version du 22.12.2017)
- Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, projet de loi relative à la fusion des communes de Chésopelloz et Corminbœuf (2015-DIAF-99), 10.11.2015
- Commune de Corminboeuf, « Archéologie » (fouilles de 2021, route du Centre)
- Fribourg Région, « Randonnée Corminboeuf histoire et patrimoine »
- Commune de Corminboeuf, « La commune »
- Service de la statistique du canton de Fribourg (SStat), « Population des communes, de 1900 à 2025 » (T01-02-03), population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Corminboeuf
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