Le Prédame
Origin of the name Le Prédame
The meaning of the name is unknown.
Founding of Le Prédame
Le Prédame is a hamlet of the municipality of Les Genevez, in the Franches-Montagnes district. Nobody knows when or by whom it was founded. An old undated count places it in the mairie of Les Genevez. Like Les Genevez, it depended on the abbey of Bellelay, whose mill the inhabitants had to use. In the 18th century, after a long lawsuit, it obtained the right to build its own mill, financed by the community of Les Genevez.[1][2]
History of Le Prédame
1406. A deed obliges the inhabitants to grind their grain at the mill of the abbey of Bellelay. It is renewed in 1576 and 1669.[1]
1712. On 22 January, Le Prédame asks the abbey of Bellelay for permission to build a mill. A lawsuit follows until 1748.[1]
1744. The abbey of Bellelay gives up its claims to this mill.[1]
1750. The community of Les Genevez sells the Vacheries Maillard to finance the building of the Prédame mill.[1]
1842. Meeting of the burgher community on acquiring the Prédame mill.[1]
1893. Bernese credit of 15'000 francs for the Lajoux-Le Prédame road. In December the mixed municipality decides to sell the mill, then in ruins.[1]
1902. Building notice for a school.[1]
1921. Plans and estimates for draining the Sagne du Prédame.[1]
1943. Peat extraction resumes in the Prédame bogs, studied since 1941.[1]
1964. The communal assembly of Les Genevez decides to suspend the Prédame school class.[1]
1970. Painting exhibition at the Clos-Henri, with Gérard Bregnard, Gérard Tolck, René Myrha and Rémy Zaugg.[1]
1972. General assembly of the Institut jurassien at Le Prédame.[1]
1994. Restoration of the old school to house part of the Clos-Henri, a rehabilitation centre for people with alcohol dependence.[1]
2002. Closure of the post office. Dissolution of the Clos-Henri cooperative with a view to its integration into a Jura foundation for addiction prevention.[1]
Historic sites in Le Prédame
Prédame mill. Mill built in the 18th century after a long lawsuit with the abbey of Bellelay and financed by the sale of the Vacheries Maillard (1750). In ruins, it was sold by the mixed municipality in 1893.[1]
Sagne and peat bogs of Le Prédame. Wetland drained from 1921; peat extraction resumed in 1943.[1]
Old school and Clos-Henri. The hamlet's school, whose class was suspended in 1964, became in 1993-1994 a workshop of the Clos-Henri, a rehabilitation centre for people with alcohol dependence.[1]
Sources
- Chronologie jurassienne (Denis Moine), « Prédame, Les Genevez »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Genevez, Les » (Claude Rebetez)
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
- Office fédéral de topographie swisstopo, map.geo.admin.ch
Other villages near Le Prédame
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