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Villages / Fribourg / Sarine district / Ecuvillens

Ecuvillens

Canton of Fribourg · District: Sarine · 710 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Ecuvillens, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Hauterive
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Ecuvillens

The village is mentioned in 1137 in the form « Escuvilens », and « Scuvillens » is also found. The name is said to come from « Scubikil » or « Scubiculus », a Roman legionary who would have received this land as a retirement bonus. The old German name is Cüvellingen.[1][2]

Founding of Ecuvillens

On a rocky peninsula above the Glâne, at the place called La Vuerda, stood the castle of the lords of Glâne, recorded in the 11th and 12th centuries. Coming from Burgundy, the family had counted three generations there by 1138, when Guillaume, the last of them and childless, gave his property to the new abbey of Hauterive. The parish of Ecuvillens then included Posieux. The village lived from livestock and cereals. Ecuvillens is today in the municipality of Hauterive (merger of 2001).[1][2]

History of Ecuvillens

11th-12th centuries. A castle stands at La Vuerda, probably the seat of the lords of Glâne.[1][2]

1137. The name appears in the form « Escuvilens ».[1]

1138. The parish is mentioned. The same year the abbey of Hauterive is born, and the knights of Ecuvillens gradually cede land, tithes and rents to it.[1][2]

1142. The bishop of Lausanne Guy de Maligny gives the church to Hauterive, which keeps the right of collation until 1848.[1]

1143. Guillaume de Glâne, by then a lay brother at Hauterive, dies.[2]

1452. Ecuvillens is incorporated into the Old Lands of Fribourg.[1]

1798-1848. The village belongs to the district of Fribourg.[1]

1809-1811. The church is rebuilt.[1]

1907. Corpataux and Magnedens separate from the parish.[1]

1911-1912. The church is rebuilt a second time.[1]

1914. On 3 June Bishop Bovet consecrates the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, formerly dedicated to St Gratus.[3]

1949. An airfield opens.[1]

1953. A flying club is founded.[1]

1964. The La Tuffière gravel pit opens.[1]

1981. The A12 motorway opens.[1]

2000. On 17 October a decree pronounces the merger of Ecuvillens and Posieux.[4]

2001. Ecuvillens forms the municipality of Hauterive with Posieux.[1]

Population of Ecuvillens

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Ecuvillens
1811295
1850443
1900523
1930600
1950563
1960448
2000710

Historic sites in Ecuvillens

Church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption. Formerly dedicated to St Gratus, rebuilt in 1809-1811 and again in 1911-1912, enlarged and embellished, it was consecrated on 3 June 1914. It is the parish church of the whole municipality of Hauterive.[1][3]

Airfield. Opened in 1949, it has hosted a flying club since 1953.[1]

Remains in Ecuvillens

Castle of La Vuerda. The castle of the Glâne family stood on a promontory above the Glâne, near the hamlet of Pré Neuf. Only ruins remain.[1][2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ecuvillens » (Marianne Rolle, version du 02.09.2014)
  2. Commune de Hauterive (FR), « Histoire »
  3. Commune de Hauterive (FR), « Église »
  4. État de Fribourg, Recueil systématique (RSF 141.1.2), « Liste chronologique des fusions, divisions et changements de nom des communes »

Other villages near Ecuvillens

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