Les Bayards

Origin of the name Les Bayards

First written mention in 1284, in the form « Bayar ». The name is also that of the Bayard tower, mentioned from the 13th century. The sources consulted do not explain the origin of the name (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Les Bayards

No founder or founding act is known. The street village brings together Grand and Petit Bayard, which from the 15th century formed two « bourgeaux » (communes) of the « Générale communauté » of Les Verrières. From 1373 to 1413, Les Verrières and Les Bayards formed a lordship created by Count Louis de Neuchâtel for his natural sons Vauthier and Jean. From the 14th century to 1848, Les Bayards came under the mairie of Les Verrières for civil matters and the castellany of Val-de-Travers for criminal matters. The two bourgeaux broke away from Les Verrières in 1878 and merged in 1888 with the municipality of Les Bayards, created in 1860, to form the commune of Les Bayards. It also included the hamlets of Haut de la Tour, Les Places, Les Prises and Les Jordan. It is now part of the municipality of Val-de-Travers (merger of 1 January 2009).

History of Les Bayards

13th century. First mention of the Bayard tower, on the territory of Saint-Sulpice, which houses a garrison and a toll.

1284. First written mention, in the form « Bayar ».

1373-1413. Les Verrières and Les Bayards form a lordship created by Count Louis de Neuchâtel for his natural sons Vauthier and Jean.

14th century-1848. The village comes under the mairie of Les Verrières for civil matters and the castellany of Val-de-Travers for criminal matters.

15th century. Grand and Petit Bayard form two « bourgeaux » of the « Générale communauté » of Les Verrières.

1476. During the Burgundian Wars, the vanguard of Charles the Bold tries in vain to force the passage at the Bayard tower.

1677. A church is built; Les Bayards still belong to the parish of Les Verrières.

17th century. The Bayard tower is in ruins.

1712. Les Bayards become a separate parish.

18th century. Farming and forestry are combined with craft watchmaking and lacemaking.

1860. Creation of the municipality of Les Bayards.

1873-1943. Parish of the Church independent of the State.

1878. Grand and Petit Bayard break away from the Générale communauté of Les Verrières.

1888. The two bourgeaux merge with the municipality: the commune of Les Bayards is born.

1903. Opening of an outlying station on the Franco-Suisse railway.

1955. First Fête de la Mi-été.

1964-1977. Land consolidation.

1969. The parish is reunited with that of Les Verrières.

1990. The primary sector still employs 40 % of the working population; second homes develop from the end of the 1960s.

2009. On 1 January, Les Bayards merges with Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers to form the municipality of Val-de-Travers.

Population of Les Bayards

Population of Les Bayards

1767	584
1850	827
1880	1'020
1900	846
1950	522
1990	301
2000	354
2008	372 (31 December, last census before the merger)

Historic sites in Les Bayards

Les Bayards church. Church built from 1677, when Les Bayards still belonged to the parish of Les Verrières; they became a parish in 1712. The bell tower is said to date from 1835 (to be cross-checked).

Le Haut de la Tour. Hamlet of the former municipality, at the end of the Chaîne pass, near the former Bayard tower, a guard and toll post on the road to France.

Remains in Les Bayards

Bayard tower and the Chaîne pass. The Bayard tower, mentioned from the 13th century, stood on the territory of Saint-Sulpice, near Haut de la Tour. It housed a garrison and a toll. In 1373 the inhabitants of Les Verrières were exempted from guarding it; around 1408 a guarded gate was built. An iron chain, which gave the pass its name, barred the narrow gap between the rocks; replaced in 1624, it was detached in 1778, stolen in 1843 and then placed in the Fleurier museum in 1861 (to be cross-checked). The tower was in ruins by the 17th century. What survives is the passage, about 2 metres wide, between the rock walls, fixing elements of the chain and the engraved date 1476.

Legends of Les Bayards

The Vuivra. A tradition reported by an old author, quoted by the Inventory of Historic Traffic Routes, holds that a « serpent monstrueux » (monstrous serpent) had settled in the rocks of the Chaîne pass and laid waste to the surroundings. According to another version, a Raymond de Saint-Sulpice is said to have killed this monster in 1273 in the Combe à la Vuivra (to be cross-checked).

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Les Bayards »
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Les Verrières »
• État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 21 janvier 2009 portant homologation des résultats du recensement cantonal de la population du 31 décembre 2008
• Inventaire des voies de communication historiques de la Suisse (IVS), NE 1.0.12
• Wikipédia, « Les Bayards » (à recouper)

Other villages near Les Bayards

• Source de l'Areuse (NE)
• Les Verrières (NE)
• Saint-Sulpice (NE)
• Buttes (NE)
• Meudon (NE)