Gorgier

Canton of Neuchâtel · Region: Littoral · 2'021 inhabitants (2017, former municipality of Gorgier)

Part of the municipality of La Grande Béroche

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

Origin of the name Gorgier

A document from 1252 is the oldest to mention Gorgier, then written « de Corgie ». The name is said to derive from the Latin personal name Gordius with the suffix « -acum », designating the estate of an owner called Gordius (to be cross-checked). In the Neuchâtel patois the village is pronounced « Gordzî ». The inhabitants are nicknamed Bélins and Bélines, locally also Béliers, as well as Éclafeurs (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Gorgier

Gorgier is the namesake village of a medieval lordship that covered most of the Béroche: Saint-Aubin, Sauges, Fresens, Montalchez and part of Gorgier. At first holding imperial immediacy, the lordship was subjected to the lords of Vaud in 1340 and to the counts of Neuchâtel in 1344, while keeping its distinct character; it belonged to the Estavayer family from the mid-13th century to 1359. The castle is first mentioned in 1299 (to be cross-checked). The village, four streets forming a square, is mentioned from 1340; the former municipality also included the hamlet of Chez-le-Bart, on the lake shore, and scattered farms, Les Prises. Settlement is much older: five Neolithic lakeside sites, including Les Argilliez (Cortaillod culture, between 3841 and 3528 BC), around ten Hallstatt-period tumuli and megalithic monuments, a Roman villa of the 2nd-3rd centuries and a Burgundian necropolis.

History of Gorgier

c. 3841-3528 BC. Two successive occupations of a Neolithic lake-dwelling village of the Cortaillod culture at the place called Les Argilliez, on the shore of the lac de Neuchâtel. The site, mapped in detail in 2015 (4'834 piles spread over 7'000 m²), has been inscribed since 2011 on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a prehistoric pile-dwelling site around the Alps.

Iron Age (Hallstatt period). Around ten tumuli and megalithic monuments are attributed to the Hallstatt period, notably the great menhir in the Devens forest (about 3 metres high) and the Pierres du Guénégou; another menhir near the castle, at Châtillon, has since been destroyed.

2nd-3rd century. Occupation of the site by a Roman villa, whose existence is attested by archaeological remains.

Burgundian era. Presence of a Burgundian necropolis in the territory of Gorgier.

1252. First written mention of the village's name, under the form « de Corgie ».

Mid-13th century. Formation of the seigneury of Gorgier, comprising Gorgier, Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Fresens and Montalchez, under the authority of the d'Estavayer family.

1299. First written mention of Gorgier castle, then held by the lords of Estavayer (to be cross-checked).

1340. The village, four streets forming a square, is mentioned. The same year the lordship of Gorgier, which had until then held imperial immediacy, is subjected to the lords of Vaud.

1344. The lordship of Gorgier is subjected to the counts of Neuchâtel, while keeping its distinct character.

1359-1373. The seigneury comes under the direct authority of Louis Ier, count of Neuchâtel.

1373-1378. The seigneury is held by Isabelle de Neuchâtel.

1378-1433. The seigneury returns to the d'Estavayer family.

1398. The inhabitants of Gorgier, like those of the other villages of the parish of Saint-Aubin, are recognised as co-burghers of Estavayer; they follow that town's customary law until the mid-18th century, then that of Neuchâtel.

1433. The seigneury of Gorgier passes to Jean de Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus and remains from then on durably linked to the neighbouring seigneury of Vaumarcus.

late Middle Ages. Gorgier absorbs the small, now vanished village of Les Ouches.

1568. Claude de Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus, son of Lancelot, undertakes the reconstruction of the castle on the site of the former Tour de Gorgier, gradually transforming the medieval fortress into a seigneurial residence (drawbridge, moats, gardens).

1640. Construction of the castle's dovecote, still visible today.

1668. First mention of the public wash-house of Bréna, one of the oldest surviving wash-houses in the canton of Neuchâtel.

1678-1813. After the illegitimate branch of the house of Neuchâtel (1433-1678), the lordship passes in turn to the families d'Achey (1678-1718), de Grammont (1718-1730), de Cheylas (1730-1749) and Andrié (1749-1813).

1750. Construction of the Ferme Robert, at the foot of the Creux du Van (to be cross-checked).

1806. The principality of Neuchâtel, on which Gorgier depends, is ceded by the King of Prussia to Napoleon I, who turns it into a principality for his marshal Berthier.

1815. Neuchâtel joins the Swiss Confederation as a canton, while simultaneously remaining a Prussian principality until 1848.

1813-1879. Gorgier castle belongs to the Pourtalès-Gorgier family, which also holds the lordship from 1815 to 1848.

1826-1880. Major eclectic alterations change the appearance of the castle: neo-Gothic portals, neo-Renaissance wings, a Moorish-style veranda and, in 1860, a chapel adorned with stained glass by the master glassmaker from Tours, Lobin de Tours.

1831. The criminal and civil jurisdiction of the lordship of Gorgier is abolished. The same year Gorgier receives a small lordship inherited from the destroyed settlement of Derrière-Moulin, which had depended on Vaumarcus and then on the mairie of Bevaix.

1848. The fief of the seigneury of Gorgier is abolished, putting a definitive end to this seigneurial entity, distinct from the abolition of justice rights that occurred in 1831.

1859-1860. Opening of the Jura foothills railway line and of Gorgier-Saint-Aubin station. Gorgier nevertheless remains an essentially rural, wine-growing and farming village until the mid-20th century.

1879. The castle of Gorgier is bought back by Alphonse-Henri Berthoud-Coulon.

1896. The Ferme Robert is reproduced in the « Village suisse » of the Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva, where it is a great success (to be cross-checked).

1897. The castle of Gorgier is bought back by the Swiss-American banker Antoine Borel, whose family will keep it until 2001.

1897-1905. General restoration of the castle led by the Neuchâtel architect Léo Châtelain.

1899. Installation of a private electric power plant at the castle, which thus benefits from early electrification.

1907. Construction, on the lakeshore at Chez-le-Bart (Gorgier), of the Bathing Pavilion, a small building decorated in a style evoking a pagoda, built by Auguste-Antoine Borel.

from 1960. The population grows slowly with the creation of residential districts near the station. Industry is represented only by bar turning (décolletage) and vinegar making.

2001-2014. The castle, bought back in 2001 by an American family, undergoes a complete general restoration for residential use.

2011. The pile-dwelling site of Gorgier-Les Argilliez is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, together with the other prehistoric lakeside sites around the Alps.

1 January 2018. Gorgier merges with Bevaix, Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Montalchez, Vaumarcus and Fresens to form the new municipality of La Grande Béroche; Gorgier loses its status as an independent municipality but remains a fully-fledged village and locality within the new municipality.

Population of Gorgier

509

1632

445

1750

866

1850

1'012

1950

1'849

1990

1'775

2000

1'922

2010

2'021

2017

Historic sites in Gorgier

Château de Gorgier. Perched at 515 metres above sea level, the castle overlooks the northern shore of the lac de Neuchâtel. Its original core is thought to date from the late 12th century; the site is first mentioned in 1299 and first belonged to the lords of Estavayer, before being granted as a fief to the counts of Neuchâtel from 1344. From 1568, Claude de Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus has it thoroughly rebuilt, with a drawbridge, moats and gardens; the current dovecote dates from 1640. Passed into the hands of several bourgeois families and bankers in the 19th and 20th centuries (Pourtalès-Gorgier, Berthoud-Coulon, then the Borel family from 1897 to 2001), it receives, between 1826 and 1880, additions in neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance style, including a chapel with stained glass from 1860, followed by an overall restoration led by architect Léo Châtelain between 1897 and 1905. Still inhabited, it underwent a new complete restoration between 2001 and 2014. It is today one of the most emblematic historic monuments in the canton of Neuchâtel, classified as a cultural property of national importance.

Bathing pavilion of Chez-le-Bart. Built in 1907 on the lakeshore, at Chez-le-Bart (village of Gorgier), by Auguste-Antoine Borel, this small building with décor evoking a pagoda is a testament to early 20th-century resort architecture on the Neuchâtel shore of the lake.

Ferme Robert. Built in 1750 at the foot of the Creux du Van, this traditional farmhouse was presented as an example of Neuchâtel rural architecture at the 1896 Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva. It is today a hiking destination and a reception venue run by an association.

Public wash-house of Bréna. First mentioned in 1668, this wash-house located on the rue du Château is among the oldest surviving public wash-houses in the canton of Neuchâtel.

Megaliths of the Devens forest. The Devens forest is home to a great granite menhir about 3 metres high, excavated in the 19th century by Doctor Gustave Clément (red granite paving, ceramics, charcoal), as well as the Pierres du Guénégou, a group of partly recumbent stones at the foot of a possible artificial tumulus.

Remains in Gorgier

Neolithic lake-dwelling village of Gorgier-Les Argilliez. Two successive occupations of the Cortaillod culture, dated between about 3841 and 3528 BC, left remains of piles on the shore of the lac de Neuchâtel: polished stone axes, hafting made from deer antler, and coarse ceramics. A survey carried out in 2015 revealed an extent much larger than previously estimated, with 4'834 piles spread over about 7'000 m². The site has been part, since 2011, of the serial property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list grouping the prehistoric pile-dwelling sites around the Alps.

Iron Age tumuli and megaliths. The Hallstatt period left around ten tumuli and megalithic monuments in the area. In addition to the great menhir and the Pierres du Guénégou in the Devens forest, another menhir formerly stood near the castle, at the place called Châtillon; it has since been destroyed.

Roman villa. Remains of a Roman villa from the 2nd-3rd century have been unearthed in the territory of Gorgier, attesting to the occupation of the site in Roman times.

Burgundian necropolis. The territory of Gorgier has yielded the remains of a necropolis from the Burgundian era, a period that follows the Roman Empire in the region.

Sources

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