Fétigny
Origin of the name Fétigny
Fétigny is recorded in 1142 as « Festignei ». The origin of the name is unexplained.[1]
Founding of Fétigny
Fétigny stretches out as a long street village on the edge of the Broye valley, south-west of Payerne, in the Estavayer-le-Lac enclave. The site is occupied from the Bronze Age, then in Roman and Burgundian times. In the Middle Ages it belongs to the lordship of Cugy, and to the parish of Ménières until 1796. Its people live from mixed farming and livestock. Fétigny is now part of the municipality of Fétigny-Ménières (merger of 1 January 2026).[1][2][4]
History of Fétigny
Bronze Age. A person is buried on the territory of Fétigny.[1]
Roman period. A Gallo-Roman villa stands on the site.[1]
Early Middle Ages. The Burgundians lay out a cemetery.[1]
1142. The village appears under the name « Festignei ».[1]
14th century. A chapel of the Ten Thousand Martyrs is recorded. It will be rebuilt in the early 16th century.[1]
1490. Georges de Glâne sells a third of the jurisdiction, with the feudal rights attached to it, to the hospital of Romont. The hospital sells them to Fribourg in 1507.[1]
1635-1798. Fétigny is incorporated into the bailiwick of Estavayer.[1]
1755. A new chapel replaces the 16th-century one.[1]
1796. Fétigny separates from Ménières and becomes a parish.[1]
1798-1848. The village belongs to the district of Estavayer, then to Surpierre from 1817 to 1848.[1]
1808. Fétigny opens a school, the first public school in the French-speaking part of the canton after compulsory schooling was introduced in 1807.[2]
1897-1967. The Briqueterie mécanique de Payerne SA brickworks stands on Fétigny's territory.[1]
1924-1971. The Broye is regulated in 1924-1933, 1946-1952 and from 1971. The marshes are drained from 1946 to 1961.[1]
1948-1949. Georges Rosset and Marcel Matthey build the present church, the first in the canton completed after the Second World War.[1][2]
2015. On 14 June Fétigny, with three other municipalities, accepts the five-way merger under the name « Verdières ». The rejection by Les Montets sinks the project.[3]
2025. On 9 February the voters of Fétigny approve the merger with Ménières by 319 votes to 152.[3]
2026. On 1 January Fétigny and Ménières form the municipality of Fétigny-Ménières.[3][4]
Population of Fétigny
Sources and references: [1][3][5]
| 1811 | 219 |
| 1850 | 310 |
| 1900 | 390 |
| 1950 | 459 |
| 2000 | 586 |
| 2018 | 1'060 (legal population) |
| 2023 | 1'189 (legal population) |
| 2025 | 1'295 |
Historic sites in Fétigny
Church of Dix-Mille-Martyrs-et-Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. Built in 1948-1949 by Georges Rosset and Marcel Matthey, it is the centre of the historic core.[1][2]
Old school. The 1808 school, restored in 2003, houses the municipal administration. Nearby, a house left unfinished until about 1844 was turned into a school in the 1890s.[2]
Renevey farmhouses. A farmhouse dated 1805 and adjoining farmhouses of 1803, enlarged in 1852, belonged to the Renevey family, which owned the latter from 1843 to 1971. A house from the early 19th century and a 17th-century granary were also theirs from 1818 to 1919.[2]
Mission cross. Dated 1906 and 1950, it was renovated in 2012.[2]
Remains in Fétigny
Bronze Age grave. A Bronze Age grave has been found at Fétigny.[1]
Gallo-Roman villa. Remains of a Gallo-Roman villa have been identified on the municipal territory.[1]
Burgundian cemetery. The Burgundian cemetery at Fétigny was studied by J.-P. Kirsch as early as 1899.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Fétigny » (Marianne Rolle, version du 03.02.2003)
- Service des biens culturels du canton de Fribourg, Recensement cantonal des sites construits d'importance régionale et locale (SCRoL), « Fétigny », février 2026
- Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, message 2024-DIAF-31 du 15 avril 2025 accompagnant le projet de décret approuvant la fusion des communes de Fétigny et Ménières
- Grand Conseil du canton de Fribourg, « Décret approuvant la fusion des communes de Fétigny et Ménières » (objet 2024-DIAF-31)
- 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
Other villages near Fétigny
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