Epagny
Origin of the name Epagny
A village in the municipality of Gruyères, Epagny has a name that remains unexplained.
Founding of Epagny
Epagny lies on the plain at the foot of the hill of Gruyères. The site has been occupied since the Bronze Age, then in the Hallstatt, La Tène, Roman and early medieval periods, and a Roman presence on the hill is likely. The plain road through Epagny, which later became the cantonal road, caused the markets and fairs of Gruyères to decline. The village belongs to the municipality of Gruyères together with the small town, Pringy and Moléson-sur-Gruyères.[1][2]
History of Epagny
Bronze Age and Hallstatt. The oldest known traces at Epagny date from these periods.[1]
325-250 BC. The dead are buried at Epagny with bronze objects, in some fifteen graves of the La Tène period.[1][2]
2nd-3rd century. A Roman villa stands at Epagny. In the early Middle Ages a cemetery is laid out here.[1]
1349. Death of Gérard Chalamala, the most famous jester of the counts of Gruyère. A plot of land at Epagny still bears his name.[2]
1736. The last hermit of the Sainte-Anne hermitage, at the Châtelet, dies. The sanctuary is demolished, and its altar and bell go to Epagny.[2][3]
1740. The Sainte-Anne chapel of Epagny is built.[3][4]
1913-1915. In 1913 Epagny becomes a halt on the Bulle-Broc line. Digging the foundations of the Duvillard orphanage, whose building dates from 1914, brings the La Tène graves to light.[1][2][6]
1959-1961. The Bulle mechanics Michel Devaud and Armand Caille, joined by the pilot Robert Dumas, choose Epagny for an airfield. The Aéro-Gruyère association is founded on 28 March 1961, and the runway is laid out in spring.[5]
1962. On 21 April Dumas and Devaud make the first landing at Epagny. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation authorises operations on 28 July, and the Société d'Aviation de la Gruyère SA is founded on 5 October.[5]
1963. On 7 July the Gruyère airfield is inaugurated before some 8'000 spectators.[1][5]
1977. A new hangar houses the Mécanair workshop and the Helisuisse base.[5]
1992. On 19 October the communal assembly of Gruyères renews the airfield's land-use right for thirty years, with 90 % of the votes.[5]
1995. The runway is covered with wire mesh, and the first parachutists jump at Epagny.[5]
2004. The airfield hosts the World POPS parachuting championships.[5]
2017. In September the 61st Gordon Bennett Cup, the world championship for gas balloons, takes off from Epagny.[5]
Historic sites in Epagny
Sainte-Anne chapel. Built in 1740, it received the altar and bell of the Sainte-Anne hermitage at the Châtelet, demolished after 1736. It belongs to the parish of Gruyères and is listed as a cultural property (category B).[2][3][4][7]
Former Duvillard orphanage. The building of the Fondation Duvillard, a former orphanage of 1914, now houses the primary classes of the municipality of Gruyères.[2][6]
Gruyère airfield. Opened in 1963, the airfield keeps a runway without concrete, as the operating company undertook. Wire mesh has reinforced it since 1995.[1][5]
Remains in Epagny
La Tène graves. Some fifteen graves of 325-250 BC, with bronze objects, discovered in 1913-1915.[1][2]
Roman villa. The foundations of a 2nd and 3rd-century villa were found in the 1980s, in the same area as the graves.[1][2]
Early medieval cemetery. A cemetery of this period has been found at Epagny.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Gruyères (commune) » (Jean-Marc Purro), version du 24.07.2006
- Région de Fribourg, « Histoire de Gruyères » (2018, d'après gruyeres.ch)
- Commune de Gruyères, « Les chapelles de Gruyères »
- Unité pastorale Notre-Dame de l'Evi, « Chapelle d'Epagny »
- Aérodrome de la Gruyère, « Histoire »
- Commune de Gruyères, « École primaire de Duvillard »
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : Liste cantonale Canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
Other villages near Epagny
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