Fontaines

Canton of Neuchâtel · Region: Val-de-Ruz · 1'114 inhabitants (31.12.2012, former municipality of Fontaines, last census before the merger)

Part of the municipality of Val-de-Ruz

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Fontaines

Fontaines owes its name to the Latin fontana, meaning spring or fountain, a direct reminder of the many springs that rise on the village's territory. The first known written mention dates from 1228, in the Latinized form « Fontanes », in the cartulary of Lausanne. The municipal coat of arms, azure with a silver fountain, directly illustrates this origin, as does the local motto: « One must not say, Fountain, I shall not drink of your water. »

Founding of Fontaines

The territory of Fontaines has long been occupied: Bronze Age traces are said to have been found while digging a gas pipeline trench (to be cross-checked), and the village has yielded the remains of a Roman villa, whose discovery by a farmer in 1885 remains to be cross-checked. The village has no known founder: it grew up in the Middle Ages around its springs and its parish, recorded in 1228 with a chapel of ease at Cernier and also serving Fontainemelon and Les Hauts-Geneveys. Fontaines is said to have been one of the six original parishes of the Val-de-Ruz, with Saint-Martin, Dombresson, Engollon, Coffrane and Fenin (to be cross-checked). The village belonged to the lordship of Valangin, united with the principality of Neuchâtel in 1592. Besides the village in the valley, the municipal territory included two mountain enclaves, among them the pass of La Vue-des-Alpes (1'283 m).

History of Fontaines

Bronze Age. Traces of human presence are discovered while digging a gas pipeline trench on the village's territory (to be cross-checked).

Roman antiquity. A Roman villa occupies part of the territory of Fontaines; its remains are said to have been uncovered in 1885 by a farmer (date to be cross-checked).

11th-12th century. Fontaines is said to have been one of the six original parishes of the Val-de-Ruz, along with Saint-Martin, Dombresson, Engollon, Coffrane and Fenin, within the lordship of Valangin (to be cross-checked).

1228. First written mention of the village, in the form « Fontanes », in the cartulary of Lausanne. Fontaines is then the seat of a parish, with a chapel of ease at Cernier; it also serves Fontainemelon and Les Hauts-Geneveys.

1236. The lordship of Valangin, on which Fontaines depends, falls under the authority of both the counts of Neuchâtel and those of Montbéliard, a double feudal subjection attested by charters of 1236, 1283, 1317 and 1333.

around 1500-1530. The temple (Saint Maurice church) is largely rebuilt in the late Gothic style; the choir, vaulted in 1530, has ribbed vaulting forming a six-pointed star.

1592. The lordship of Valangin, of which Fontaines is part, is definitively merged into the principality of Neuchâtel.

1644. Date engraved on the « chèvre » (decorative element) of the Forge fountain, considered the oldest fountain in the village.

1680. Creation, in the temple, of the painted biblical inscriptions still visible today.

1686. Construction of the temple's bell tower by the masons Daniel Dumont and Jacques Montandon.

1707. The principality of Neuchâtel, on which the Val-de-Ruz depends, passes under the sovereignty of the King of Prussia through a personal union, a status that would endure until 1848.

1744-1754. A contract is signed on 22 June 1744 between the governors Samuel Richardet and Henry Cornu for the construction of the first stone basin of the Forge fountain, carried out in 1754 by the master stonemason from Neuchâtel Jean-Jacques Rosselet.

1755-1767. Contracts signed with the master stonemasons Abraham Matthey (Le Locle) and Pierre Bigoudot for the construction of the Pavé fountain.

1806-1815. The principality of Neuchâtel passes under French control (it is ceded to Marshal Berthier), before joining the Swiss Confederation as the 21st canton in 1815, while remaining a Prussian principality.

1810. Installation of bronze spouts on the Forge fountain.

1836-1842. Purchase of land at the place called Closel Maillardet to install a communal wash-house there, roofed in 1842 by the carpenter Frédéric Maumary (building now gone).

1848. The canton of Neuchâtel becomes a republic and breaks its ties with Prussia, officially recognized as severed by the Treaty of Paris of 1857.

1848-1877. Fontaines is the first district seat of the Val-de-Ruz.

1854. A mineral baths project is considered around the Temple fountain, with no known follow-up.

1858. Construction of the second basin of the Forge fountain by the quarryman Constant Thiébaud, for the sum of 580 federal francs.

1864. Contract signed on 19 November with Joseph Ackermann for the Temple fountain.

1868. Birth at Fontaines of Henri Meyer, son of a stonemason originally from Luterbach (Soleure); a shepherd in his childhood, he would make his fortune in Egypt.

1885. Discovery of the remains of a Roman villa by a farmer (to be cross-checked).

1911-1913. Major restoration of the temple by the architects from Neuchâtel Léo and Louis Châtelain: the wooden vaults of the nave and transept are replaced with stone vaults, and the stained glass and furnishings are restored.

1925. Émile Meyer, brother of Henri Meyer and director of a chemical fertilizer factory in Egypt, is murdered while traveling back to Switzerland (to be cross-checked).

1929. Restructuring of the Temple fountain.

1943. Death of Henri Meyer, who bequeaths to Fontaines 10'000 francs for the poor and the school outings fund, as well as 15'000 francs for the erection of a fountain in his memory.

1950s. La Vue-des-Alpes, an alpine pasture and former mountain enclave of the municipality, hosts ski competitions, car races and cycling races; a cable-car project is even considered there (to be cross-checked).

1951. Inauguration, in front of the school, of the monumental fountain in memory of Henri Meyer, the work of the sculptor from Neuchâtel André Ramseyer (1914-2007).

1966. Installation, in the industrial zone, of a fountain adorned with a sculpture depicting a shepherd and his dog, the work of Paulo Röthlisberger.

1970. Installation of the contemporary steel artwork The winds with wonder whist, by the artist Gillian White.

1991. The village has 680 inhabitants.

2000. 912 inhabitants.

1997. Installation of four modern stained-glass windows created by the artist Jacques Minala in the chapel of La Vue-des-Alpes.

1998. The rue Dessous, which runs alongside several fountains, is renamed rue des Bassins.

2011-2012. The population goes from 1'132 inhabitants in December 2011 to 1'114 on 31 December 2012 (cantonal census), the last figure for the independent municipality.

1 January 2013. Fontaines merges with Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontainemelon, Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Les Hauts-Geneveys, Montmollin, Le Pâquier, Savagnier and Villiers to form the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz. Fontaines loses its status as an independent municipality and becomes a locality (village) of Val-de-Ruz.

Population of Fontaines

41 hearths (households)

1531

248

1750

435

1850

634

1900

403

1950

680

1991

912

2000

1'132

2011

1'114

2012

Historic sites in Fontaines

The temple (Saint Maurice church). The oldest building in the village. The parish is attested from 1228. The current church, dedicated to Saint Maurice, was largely rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century in the late Gothic style: its choir, vaulted in 1530, has ribbed vaulting forming a six-pointed star, while the bell tower was built in 1686 by the masons Daniel Dumont and Jacques Montandon. It retains fragments of painted biblical inscriptions dated 1680. A major restoration was carried out in 1911-1913 by the architects from Neuchâtel Léo and Louis Châtelain, who notably replaced the wooden vaults of the nave and transept with stone vaults.

The star-shaped village center. The historic heart of Fontaines is organized in a star shape around the temple, the former school, the parsonage and the village restaurant, a characteristic urban layout highlighted by the Val-de-Ruz tourist office.

The Forge fountain. The oldest fountain in Fontaines. Its « chèvre » (decorative element of the spout) bears the date 1644. A first stone basin was installed there in 1754 by the master stonemason from Neuchâtel Jean-Jacques Rosselet, following a contract signed in 1744 by the governors Samuel Richardet and Henry Cornu, then replaced in 1858 by a second basin made by the quarryman Constant Thiébaud.

La Vue-des-Alpes. A former mountain enclave of the municipality of Fontaines, at 1'283 meters of altitude, this pass is renowned for its panorama over the Alps. It hosted, in the 20th century, stone quarries worked by village families, as well as ski competitions, car and cycling races in the 1950s; a chapel at the pass holds four modern stained-glass windows created in 1997 by the artist Jacques Minala.

The cemetery and the grave of Henri Meyer. The village cemetery holds the grave of Henri Meyer (1868-1943), a child of Fontaines who became a shepherd and then a prosperous businessman in Egypt, marked by an obelisk of Baveno granite. Meyer had bequeathed part of his fortune to his native municipality, notably for the erection of a fountain in his memory, inaugurated in 1951 in front of the school and made by the sculptor André Ramseyer.

Remains in Fontaines

Remains of a Roman villa. The territory of Fontaines has yielded the remains of a Roman villa. Their discovery by a farmer in 1885 remains to be cross-checked.

Traces of the Bronze Age. Remains attesting to human presence as early as the Bronze Age were uncovered while digging a gas pipeline trench on the municipal territory (to be cross-checked).

Old farmhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The village core retains traditional farmhouses characteristic of the 18th and 19th centuries, notable elements of the built heritage of Fontaines.

The historic fountains. Beyond the Forge fountain, the village retains the Pavé fountain (contracts of 1755 and 1767 with the stonemasons Abraham Matthey and Pierre Bigoudot) and the Temple fountain (contract of 1864 with Joseph Ackermann, restructured in 1929), witnesses to the historical importance of water and springs in the life of the village that gave it its name.

Sources

Other villages near Fontaines

Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.

Suggest a change