Gletterens
Origin of the name Gletterens
The village appears in 1239 in the form « Lieterins », and the meaning of the name remains obscure.[1]
Founding of Gletterens
Gletterens sits on a plateau above the south-east shore of Lake Neuchâtel, away from the Sugiez to Estavayer-le-Lac road. In the Neolithic, villages followed one another on the shore, more than a kilometre from today's village and some 50 m lower. The medieval village is a fief of the lordship of Montagny from the 14th century. Long a daughter church of the parish of Carignan, it has a chapel whose patronage the municipality holds, before becoming a parish in 1858. Church, presbytery, school and inn are grouped around the lime tree, and two manor houses of the 16th and 17th centuries close off the village street.[1][2][3]
History of Gletterens
3286-3149 BC. Villages of the Horgen culture probably occupy the shore at Les Grèves without a break, after those of the Cortaillod culture.[2]
Bronze Age. A lakeshore settlement grows up at Gletterens-Ostende, probably partly on the Vaud territory of Chevroux.[1]
1239. The village is recorded in the form « Lieterins ».[1]
14th century. Gletterens is a fief of the lordship of Montagny.[1]
1478. The Fribourg government attaches Gletterens to the bailiwick of Montagny.[1]
1599. A first chapel is built on the site of today's cemetery. It is recorded in 1642.[1][3]
1678. Pierre Dubey has the manor house built that bears this date.[3]
1724. Various feudal rights are bought back from Jean-Jacques Dubey of Grandcour.[1]
1798. Gletterens joins the district of Avenches until 1803, then that of Montagny, and that of Dompierre from 1830 to 1848.[1]
Mid-19th century. The Les Grèves site is discovered. Axe blades of green stone from the Alps and the Vosges are picked up there.[2]
1858. Gletterens becomes a parish.[1][3]
1877-1878. The church of the Assumption is built.[1][3]
Around 1940. The village's last fishermen give up their trade.[1]
1963. A marina with 250 berths is built. Digging its channel revives research on the Les Grèves site, led by Hanni Schwab.[1][2]
1970. A campsite opens by the lake.[1]
1980s. Building in the Les Grèves area leads to the first large-scale scientific excavations, in three zones.[2]
1998. The lake village, a reconstruction devoted to prehistory, opens.[1]
2011. The Gletterens-Les Grèves site is added to the Unesco World Heritage List, one of the 56 Swiss lakeshore sites chosen.[1][2]
2024. After the budget has been rejected five times since December 2022, the Council of State places the municipality under special administration at the request of the prefect of the Broye.[4]
Population of Gletterens
Sources and references: [1][5]
| 1811 | 160 |
| 1850 | 251 |
| 1900 | 235 |
| 1950 | 251 |
| 1970 | 176 |
| 1990 | 328 |
| 2000 | 536 |
| 2010 | 789 |
| 2025 | 1'156 |
Historic sites in Gletterens
Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption. Built in 1877-1878, it was altered in 1951-1952 by Albert Cuony, restored in 1978-1979 and modified in 1991 by René Chardonnens.[1][3]
Dubey manor house. Dated 1678 and built for Pierre Dubey, it stayed in the family until at least 1971. It lost its front steps in the 1907 works led by Pierre Giacomotti and was altered again in 1987.[3]
Old manor house. Its late Gothic windows date from the second half of the 16th century. It was extended with an entrance dated 1697, probably also for Pierre Dubey, and its adjoining farm building is recorded in 1746.[3]
Croix-Fédérale inn and presbytery. Around 1800 the inn was a farm of the Guinnard family. It became an inn in the 19th century and was renovated in 1995. The presbytery, of the same period, belonged to the municipality, patron of the chapel before 1858. Both stand on the square by the lime tree.[3]
Lake village. Opened in 1998 near the lake, this reconstructed village presents prehistory.[1]
Remains in Gletterens
Gletterens-Les Grèves site. This Middle and Late Neolithic lakeshore site covers about 2.6 ha, largely on land reclaimed from the lake during the Jura water corrections (1868-1891 and 1962-1973). It has four or five occupation layers sloping towards the lake. Excavations have produced abundant finds, many animal bones, a few human bones including skull fragments, and flint arrowheads.[2]
Gletterens-Ostende site. Bronze Age lakeshore site whose exact location is still uncertain and which probably extends partly into Chevroux (VD).[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Gletterens » (Marianne Rolle, version du 03.04.2019)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Gletterens - Les Grèves » (Michel Mauvilly, version du 03.04.2019)
- Service des biens culturels du canton de Fribourg, Recensement cantonal des sites construits (SCRoL), district de la Broye, « Gletterens » (février 2026)
- Peter Aeschlimann, « Naufrage de la démocratie à Gletterens, sous administration exceptionnelle », Blick, 22 juillet 2024
- 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 Gletterens
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