Frinvillier
Origin of the name Frinvillier
Frinvillier appears in 1393 as « Frunwelier ». Its German name, Friedliswart, remained in use until the end of the 19th century.[1]
Founding of Frinvillier
Frinvillier grew up on the Suze, between Biel and Péry, at the northern entrance of the Taubenloch gorge. Two Roman roads crossed here: one from Petinesca (Studen) to Augusta Raurica (Augst) over Pierre-Pertuis, and one from Eburodunum (Yverdon) to Salodurum (Solothurn) over the Diesse plateau and Vauffelin. The village lived from its corn mills, oil mill, sawmill and forges, while Vauffelin, on which it depended, remained agricultural. It is now part of the municipality of Sauge.[1][4]
History of Frinvillier
Début du XIVe siècle. The Church of Basel owned a mill at Frinvillier held in fief by Bourkhard de la Roche. The village takes 1311 as the year of its first mention.[1][2]
1393. The Church of Basel granted dues to the d'Orsans family.[1]
1586. The prince-bishop attached Frinvillier to Vauffelin to settle the quarrels between communities.[4]
1765. Facing competition from the one at Boujean, the wire-drawing works was later replaced by a forge, and the stamping mill by a sawmill.[1]
1804-1805. Under French rule the prefect first kept the hamlet in the municipality of Orvin, then assigned it to Vauffelin on 27 September 1804. An imperial decree of 7 January 1805 confirmed this.[3]
1837-1864. A private German-language school ran until 1863. From 1864 Frinvillier had a public French-language school.[1][2]
1861. A wood pulp factory, a branch of the Solothurn firm of Biberist, set up in the village.[1]
1863. On 5 December the council of Vauffelin set up a committee to study separating Frinvillier.[3]
1888-1889. On 29 August 1888 a fire destroyed the paper factory, rebuilt in 1889.[2]
1889. The Swiss Alpine Club opened a footpath through the Taubenloch gorge, maintained by a society set up for that purpose.[5]
1907. The people of Frinvillier obtained a seat on the council of Vauffelin.[3]
1927. On 7 January the Bernese government placed the Taubenloch gorge under protection.[2]
1932-1933. The school burnt down in the night of 15 to 16 October 1932. The new school opened on 11 September 1933.[2]
1934. The halt on the Biel-Sonceboz line was served from 15 May and opened on 10 June.[1][2]
1969-1977. Building the national road through the gorge closed the path for a long time. It reopened in 1977 after major repairs.[5]
1985. On 23 July the Frinvillier-Est junction of the Transjurane opened to traffic.[2]
2006. On 17 September the Taubenloch power plant was opened.[2]
2011. The people of Frinvillier and Vauffelin celebrated the village's 700 years together.[2][4]
Population of Frinvillier
Sources and references: [1]
| 1910 | 107 |
| 1993 | 233 |
| 2000 | 182 |
Historic sites in Frinvillier
Taubenloch gorge. Frinvillier stands at the northern entrance of this gorge of the Suze, protected since 1927. The path of 1889, maintained by the town of Biel, is freely open all year. It may be closed for safety reasons.[1][2][5][6]
Frinvillier-Taubenloch station. Halt opened in 1934 on the Biel-Sonceboz line. A new station was opened on 23 October 2003.[1][2]
Remains in Frinvillier
Watchtower on the Chèvrefeuille. An old watchtower stood on the Chèvrefeuille ridge above Frinvillier, along the Roman road that ran over the heights of the gorge.[5]
Wood pulp factory. Opened in 1861 and linked to Biberist, it is now closed. It burnt in 2002.[1][2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Frinvillier » (Anne Beuchat-Bessire, version du 14.07.2025)
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Frinvillier »
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Vauffelin »
- Commune de Sauge, « Sauge - Les pionniers de la fusion de communes » (2014)
- Société du Taubenloch, « Histoire »
- Société du Taubenloch, page d'accueil (accès et entretien des gorges)
Other villages near Frinvillier
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change