Grandval
Origin of the name Grandval
The name appears around 900 as «Grandemvallem». German speakers once called it Granfelden. Because its church was the only one of the valley's five municipalities, the village gave its name to the Grand Val, also called Cornet.[1][2]
Founding of Grandval
Grandval lies on both banks of the Raus, with a few houses on the Raimeux. Remains of a Roman road have been found on its territory, and the abbey of Moutier-Grandval may have been founded here. Its chapel of Saint-Martin, a dependency of the monastery in 962, became the church of the whole valley in the Middle Ages. The village belonged to the provostship of Moutier-Grandval. The 16th and 17th centuries were a first prosperous period, from which at least five large farmhouses survive. Grandval stayed agricultural until the early 20th century, with millers, weavers and potters, before bar turning and mechanics linked to Moutier arrived. In 2000 nearly half of the working population was employed in the secondary sector.[1][2]
History of Grandval
around 900. Grandval appears as «Grandemvallem». The abbey of Moutier-Grandval may have been founded here.[1][2]
962. The chapel of Saint-Martin is listed among the dependencies of the monastery of Moutier-Grandval.[1][2]
14th century. The chapel probably becomes a parish church, the only one of the valley's five municipalities, hence the shared name of the village and the Grand Val.[1][2]
1531. The parish, which also covers Corcelles, Crémines and Eschert, adopts the Reformation with the whole provostship.[1][2]
around 1535. The farmhouse that will become the house of the Banneret Wisard is built, dated by dendrochronology.[2][4]
1585. Date carved on the Maison de la Dîme (tithe house), the old parsonage, which also bears the date 1684.[2]
1663. The church is remodelled. Another source dates its enlargement to around 1669.[1][2]
1701-1706. The church of Saint-Martin is remodelled again.[1]
1750. A mill or forge, with its channel and paddle wheel, bears this date.[2]
1797-1800. Grandval passes from the provostship of Moutier-Grandval to the French department of Mont-Terrible.[1][2]
1800-1813. The village belongs to the department of Haut-Rhin.[1]
1815. Grandval is attached to the canton of Bern and later joins the district of Moutier.[1][2]
1829-1831. A neoclassical parsonage is built. The pastor, who served the parish from Court until 1830, moves in in 1831.[1][2]
1843. The new cantonal road from Moutier to Gänsbrunnen opens. A street village grows along it, with a school, an inn and farms.[2]
1873. The neoclassical school and the Chapeau Noir inn are built.[2]
1878. A dressed-stone bridge spans the Rauss.[2]
1904-1908. The Moutier-Solothurn line is built. Bar turning and mechanics reach the village in the wake of Moutier's industry.[1][2]
1927. The church is remodelled once more.[1]
around 1970. A large factory is built on the Envers. Enlarged after 1980, it now stands empty.[2]
1990. The house of the Banneret Wisard opens as a museum (renovated and converted around 2000, according to another source).[4][2]
Population of Grandval
Sources and references: [1][2][5]
| 1755 | 132 |
| 1850 | 261 |
| 1900 | 287 |
| 1950 | 370 |
| 1975 | 487 |
| 2000 | 368 |
| 2010 | 344 |
| 2020 | 386 |
| 2025 | 398 |
Historic sites in Grandval
Church of Saint-Martin. Reformed church of Romanesque origin, recorded as a chapel in 962 and remodelled in 1663, 1701-1706 and 1927. It has an attached bell tower and stands in a churchyard with ancient trees.[1][2]
House of the Banneret Wisard. Farmhouse built around 1535, with a granary of 1679, a cultural property of national importance. Open as a museum, it has kept a vaulted kitchen without a chimney where meat is smoked and bread baked in a wood oven.[2][3][4]
Maison de la Dîme. Old parsonage dated 1585 and 1684, a cultural property of national importance, on the Place du Banneret Wisard.[2][3]
Parsonage. Neoclassical parsonage of 1829-1831, a cultural property of regional importance, turned into a parish hall around the middle of the 20th century.[2][3]
Guardhouse. Small 18th or 19th century building in the middle of the village fork, renovated around 2000.[2]
Bridge, mill and school. Dressed-stone bridge over the Rauss of 1878, old mill or forge of 1750 with its channel and paddle wheel, neoclassical school and Chapeau Noir inn of 1873.[2]
Remains in Grandval
Roman road. Remains of a Roman road have been uncovered on the municipal territory.[1]
Legends of Grandval
Farel under the lime tree. According to tradition, the reformer Guillaume Farel preached under the lime tree beside the church when the provostship adopted the Reformation in 1531.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grandval » (François Wisard), version du 14.01.2026
- Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS, « Grandval », commune de Grandval, district de Moutier, canton de Berne, 2e version, mars 2006
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, révision 2021, liste du canton de Berne (état au 1.1.2026)
- Association des musées suisses, museums.ch, « La Maison du Banneret Wisard »
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Other villages near Grandval
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