Jaun
Origin of the name Jaun
The place appears in 1228 in the cartulary of the chapter of Notre-Dame in Lausanne, as « Balavarda » (or « Ballavuarda »). Around 1323 it is written « Jâns » or « Jôno », then « Youn » in 1397. In 1779 the pastor Bridel saw in the French name, Bellegarde, the memory of a fortress on a steep rock.[1][2]
Founding of Jaun
Jaun (Bellegarde) is a street village below the Jaun Pass, at 1027 metres, and the only German-speaking municipality in the district of Gruyère. Between the 11th and the 13th century, Alemannic settlers from the Simmental replaced the Romance-speaking population. The village belonged to the lords of Corbières. Conon of Corbières divided his property among his three sons, and Richard became the first lord of Jaun. The municipality also includes Im Fang (La Villette), Kappelboden, Weibelsried, Zur Eich and many scattered farms.[1][2]
History of Jaun
1228. The parish is first mentioned.[1][2]
1249. After a division of inheritance, Jaun became a lordship in its own right.[1]
1285. The lordship came under the overlordship of Savoy.[1]
1407. Troops from Saanen (Gessenay) attacked and destroyed the castle of the lords of Corbières-Jaun.[1][2]
1475. Jaun concluded a treaty of combourgeoisie with Fribourg.[1]
1502-1504. Fribourg bought one half of the lordship from Jacques de Corbières, then the other from Count John I of Gruyère. Until 1798 Jaun formed, with part of Châtel-sur-Montsalvens, a small bailiwick run by a deputy bailiff.[1][2]
1555. The hamlet of Abländschen passed to Bern.[1]
1635-1636. After a failed attempt at an independent republic, Jaun lost its privileges and common land to Fribourg.[1][2]
1711. A fire destroyed 17 houses, eight barns and four byres.[2]
1798. Jaun was provisionally attached to the district of Gruyère. It then belonged to the district of Fribourg from 1803 to 1830 and was finally attached to Gruyère only in 1848.[1][2]
1831. The political municipality was created. Parish and municipality have still not been separated.[1]
1874-1876. The Bulle-Boltigen road replaced the mule track. General Dufour had called for it as early as 1821.[2]
Second half of the 19th century. The mill stopped after cereal growing was abandoned, and the mining of coal and saltpetre came to an end.[1]
Late 19th century. Woodworking took off. It remains one of the village's main employers.[1]
1910. A new neo-Romanesque church of Saint Stephen was built by the architect Léon Hertling.[1][2]
1912. A private hydroelectric plant, set up in 1912 (or 1913) in place of an old sawmill, supplied the village with electricity.[1][2]
Mid-20th century. Tourism became a secondary source of income.[1]
2000. Just under a quarter of jobs were in the primary sector, and over a third of working residents commuted out.[1]
Population of Jaun
Sources and references: [1][4]
| 1831 | 424 |
| 1850 | 547 |
| 1880 | 877 |
| 1900 | 825 |
| 1930 | 751 |
| 1950 | 851 |
| 2000 | 694 |
| 2025 | 659 |
Historic sites in Jaun
Old church of Saint Stephen. Its tower and choir date back to the 13th (or 14th) century, its nave to 1811. Replaced in 1910, it houses the Cantorama, a meeting place for folk music. It is listed in the inventory of cultural property together with the old presbytery of 1733 and the former orphanage.[1][2][3]
Parish church of Saint Stephen. Léon Hertling's neo-Romanesque church, completed in 1910, is listed in the cantonal inventory of cultural property (category B).[1][2][3]
Statthalter's house. The Buchs house, known as the Statthalter's house, from the 18th and 19th centuries, is listed as cultural property of national importance, as is the Oberbach farmhouse.[2][3]
Saint Anthony's chapel at Kappelboden. Built shortly before 1735, the chapel dominates the hamlet of Kappelboden, a small group of 18th- and 19th-century farmhouses along the old mule track.[2][3]
Granary of 1637. A granary in the village bears the date 1637.[2]
Remains in Jaun
Bellegarde ruin. Recorded in the 13th century, the castle of the lords of Corbières-Jaun was destroyed in 1407. Its ruin overlooks the hamlets of Daren and Kappelboden.[1][2]
Prehistoric finds. A flint blade and a Stone Age sherd were found beneath the old church.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Jaun » (Jean-François Steiert, version du 19.11.2013)
- Office fédéral de la culture, Inventaire fédéral des sites construits (ISOS), « Jaun » (n° 1620), 2e version, septembre 1995
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : Liste cantonale Canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
- 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
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Jaun
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