Le Chaluet
Origin of the name Le Chaluet
The valley is recorded in 1349 in the form «Schalue». This name has not been explained.[1]
Founding of Le Chaluet
Le Chaluet is a valley of the municipality of Court, east of the village, between the Graitery to the north and the Envers de Montoz to the south, near the Binzberg pass. It lies on the language border, with the canton of Solothurn to the east and south. About ten isolated farms housed a small population of German-speaking farmers, mostly Anabaptists, who organised themselves independently. Driven out by Bern in the 16th century, the Anabaptists had been taken in by the prince-bishops of Basel. In the 17th and 18th centuries the valley's timber fed forest glassworks founded by master glassmakers from the Black Forest.[1][2][3]
History of Le Chaluet
1349. First mention of Le Chaluet, in the form «Schalue».[1]
1657. A lease founds the valley's first glassworks, active until 1685 or 1686. Four glassworks follow one another in Le Chaluet from 1658 (or 1657) to 1738.[1][2][3]
Around 1673. A second glassworks obtains a 25-year concession at the Pâturage aux Bœufs, on the Droit de Graitery. For some years it works alongside the first.[2]
1699. A third glassworks receives its concession on the Pâturage de l'Envers de Montoz. It runs until 1714, when timber runs short.[2]
1719. The fourth glassworks, at the Droit de Chaluet at the foot of the Graitery, is destroyed by fire and probably rebuilt soon after.[2]
1738. According to the accounts of the Recette de Moutier, the glassmakers still pay their dues in 1737 or 1738. This marks the end of the valley's glassworks.[1][2]
1845. On 30 September the prefect asks for a report: the inhabitants of Le Chaluet and the Graitery send their children to no school in the municipality.[4]
1856. On 22 July the Chaluet mill burns down.[4]
1883. On 14 May the Education Directorate requires the children of Le Chaluet and the Graitery to attend the village schools.[4]
1895. On 21 December the private school of Le Chaluet becomes a public school.[4]
1897-1969. The municipality of Court runs a school in Le Chaluet. Lessons are given in German until the First World War.[1]
1915. On 2 November the Chaluet stream is placed under state supervision.[4]
1952-1954. A. Rais and A. Gerster partly excavate the two glassworks on the north slope of Montoz.[2]
2000-2004. The Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern carries out a large excavation during construction of the A16 motorway (Transjurane).[2]
Historic sites in Le Chaluet
Farms of the valley. About ten isolated farms are scattered between the Graitery and the Envers de Montoz.[1]
Remains in Le Chaluet
Montoz glassworks. The two glassworks on the north slope of Montoz, excavated in 1952-1954, had roughly round furnaces with several working openings, a roof of planks and branches, and workers' lodgings set apart for fear of fire. Jugs, drinking glasses, bottles and window glass were found.[2]
Third glassworks (1699-1714). Excavated from 2000 to 2004, it had two production buildings with several furnaces and three houses with cellars. Its waste shows window glass, flasks and tableware with German, French and Venetian influences, including imitations of filigree glass, the first evidence of this production in Switzerland. The workshop made both crown glass roundels and cylinder flat glass. The sand came from Court and the Bellelay area, the clay for the crucibles from Bellelay.[2][3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Chaluet, Le » (François Wisard, version du 14.07.2005)
- Dictionnaire du Jura (DIJU), « Chaluet (sites archéologiques, Court) », d'après le Guide archéologique du Jura et du Jura bernois (1997), complété en 2008
- Christophe Gerber, « Production de cives et de manchons dans le Jura central suisse au début du 18e siècle. L'exemple de la verrerie de Court-Chaluet », colloque Verre et Fenêtre, Association Verre et Histoire (2005)
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Court »
Other villages near Le Chaluet
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