Lac de la Gruyère
Origin of the name Lac de la Gruyère
The lake is named after the Gruyère, the region it occupies along the Sarine. In German it is called Greyerzersee.[1]
Founding of Lac de la Gruyère
The Lac de la Gruyère is a storage reservoir on the Sarine, between Broc and Rossens, created to produce electricity. The project dates from 1918, but the Rossens arch dam was only built in the middle of the Second World War, under the direction of the engineer Henri Gicot. An arch was chosen because the dam rests on molasse, a fairly deformable rock, and because it limits the volume of concrete. A concrete underground conduit carries the water to the Hauterive power station. The disputes between residents, the Entreprises électriques fribourgeoises and tourism interests gradually died down.[1][3][5][6]
History of Lac de la Gruyère
1918. The first plans for a dam on the Sarine at Rossens appear.[1]
1944-1948. Henri Gicot directs the construction of the Rossens arch dam (begun in 1945 according to another source).[1][5][6]
1947-1948. Archaeologists excavate the medieval site of Pont, in the bend of the Sarine soon to be flooded.[8]
1948. In spring the filling creates the lake and starts the hydroelectric plant (lake created as early as 1945-1946 according to another source). The hamlet of Pont-en-Ogoz disappears under the water, as does part of the land of Le Bry. Only the ruins of the castle of Pont and the chapel remain above the surface, forming the Île d'Ogoz.[1][2][3][4][7][8]
1957-1990. A gravel pit is worked at Le Bry, on the lakeshore.[3]
From 1990. Le Bry builds a harbour, a leisure area and a residential zone on the shore.[3]
1994-2009. The ruins on the Île d'Ogoz are consolidated and laid out for visitors.[7]
1996. The Association de l'île d'Ogoz is founded to preserve the site.[4]
Historic sites in Lac de la Gruyère
Rossens dam. Arch dam 83 m high and 320 m long at the crest, at the north end of the lake near the village of Rossens. It contains galleries and a valve chamber. At its foot a residual-flow power plant turbines part of the Sarine's water. It also helps to regulate floods from snowmelt and rain.[1][5][6]
The reservoir. The lake holds 200 million m³, covers at most 10 km² and reaches a maximum of 677 m above sea level. Each year 700 to 1200 million m³ of water pass through it to the Hauterive power station, which produces on average 280 million kWh. The scheme supplies more than 46'000 households with electricity each year.[1][6]
Île d'Ogoz. The ruins of the castle of Pont and the Saint-Théodule chapel, on the former bend of the Sarine, have formed an island since 1948.[2][4][7]
Ogoz harbour. At Le Bry, the harbour built from 1990 is the starting point for crossings to the Île d'Ogoz.[3][8]
Remains in Lac de la Gruyère
Hamlet of Pont-en-Ogoz. The hamlet of Pont-en-Ogoz, once the small town of the lordship of Pont, was drowned by the lake in 1948. Only the castle ruins and the chapel rise above the water.[1][2][7]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Gruyère, lac de la » (Christophe Aeby), version du 05.11.2004
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Pont-en-Ogoz » (François Guex), version du 11.06.2012
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bry, Le » (Marianne Rolle), version du 10.10.2016
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ogoz » (Marie-Claire Gérard-Zai), version du 25.11.2008
- Gruyère Traditions, « Il façonna le paysage d'aujourd'hui : le barrage de Rossens » (14.08.2021)
- Groupe E, Electrobroc, « Barrage de Rossens »
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire PBC, fiche KGS 10475 « Vers-les-Tours, ruines du château et du bourg de Pont-en-Ogoz » (texte du Guide artistique de la Suisse, SHAS)
- Archeoplus (Sylvain Gailloud), « Pont-en-Ogoz (FR) »
Other villages near Lac de la Gruyère
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