Lignières

Canton of Neuchâtel · Region: Littoral · 1'103 inhabitants (31.12.2025)

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Lignières

The village is mentioned in 1179 in the form « Linieres », in a forgery drawn up around 1180, then reliably between 1212 and 1220 (« in Linieres »); later come « Lignière » (1246), « Lineres » (1297) and « Lignyeres » (1349). The best supported explanation links the name to the Old French ligneraie or linière, a field where flax was grown (from the Latin linaria, derived from linum, flax). Another hypothesis, considered less likely, derives it from the Latin lignum, wood, in reference to the wooded character of the area (the municipality still has 387 hectares of forest) (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Lignières

The territory of Lignières has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as shown by cup-marked stones and presumed tumuli from the Hallstatt period, as well as a polished stone axe from the Bronze Age (to be cross-checked). In Roman times, in the 2nd century AD, a villa stood at the place called Ruz-du-Plane, near the old Roman road known as the Vy d'Etraz; it was uncovered by excavations in 1907. Lignières was not founded by an identifiable person or authority through a specific act: it is a village of medieval origin, born from the agricultural development of the Plateau de Diesse. Its first written mention dates back to 1178 or 1179, in a papal privilege attributed to Pope Alexander III confirming donations to the church of Saint-Imier; this document is however considered by historians to be a forgery drawn up around 1180. The name of the place reappears more reliably between 1212 and 1220, in the form in Linieres. During the Middle Ages, the village found itself at the crossroads of the influences of the county of Neuchâtel, the episcopal principality of Bâle and, later, Berne, which resulted in a lasting division of rights and justice rather than a foundation by a single lord.

History of Lignières

Prehistory. Occupation attested by two cup-marked stones and presumed Hallstatt-period burial mounds; a polished stone axe from the Bronze Age is also reported (to be cross-checked).

2nd century AD. A Roman villa is built at the place called Ruz-du-Plane, near the Roman road of the Vy d'Etraz.

1178/1179. First written mention of the village, under the name « Linieres », in a papal privilege attributed to Alexander III, actually a forgery drawn up around 1180. The place is described there as an allod of the church of Saint-Imier. A chapel dedicated to Saint Lupus (saint Loup), served by the priest of Le Landeron on whose parish Lignières depended, is cited in 1179.

1212-1220. New mention of the village, this time considered reliable, in the form in Linieres.

13th century. Donations are made to the monasteries of Frienisberg (Fraubrunnen) and Saint-Jean de Cerlier (Erlach).

1326. The rights over the village, its subjects and the court of justice, made up of twelve judges, are shared between the Count of Neuchâtel and the Prince-Bishop of Bâle.

1349. Lignières becomes a mixed mairie (local administration), with a court of twelve jurors, six appointed by each lord.

1380. Construction of a mill, after the inhabitants bought back certain seigneurial dues.

1535. The reciprocal territorial jurisdictions are redefined; boundary stones (the « hautes bornes ») mark out the territory, the origin of the future franc-alleu of Lignières.

1542/1543. Passage of the reformer Guillaume Farel, who preaches the Reformation in the region, not without provoking local resistance.

1553. Lignières adopts the Reformation; another date, 1556, is also given (to be cross-checked).

1554. A plague epidemic causes more than 140 deaths in the village; the inhabitants formally request an evangelical pastor.

1563. Noël Thorel becomes the first resident Reformed pastor of the village.

1625. Henri II d'Orléans-Longueville acquires sovereignty over the county of Neuchâtel, on which Lignières depends.

1625-1630. Lignières is granted as a fief to Jean Hory.

1705. New delimitation of the franc-alleu of Lignières, a strip of land that remained for a long time outside the neighbouring feudal jurisdictions.

1815. The Congress of Vienna makes Neuchâtel the 21st Swiss canton, while leaving it as a principality of the King of Prussia; criminal justice over the territory of the franc-alleu is definitively assigned to Neuchâtel.

1826. End of the Bernese collation: the right to appoint the minister, held by the abbey of Saint-Jean until the Reformation, had since belonged to Bern.

1832. A fire destroys 29 houses in the village.

1835-1837. Construction of a new schoolhouse, to plans by the architect Edouard de Sandoz-Rosières.

1844. The parish liturgy becomes purely that of Neuchâtel.

1848. The fall of the principality of Neuchâtel and the establishment of the Republic put an end to the jurisdictional peculiarities inherited from the Middle Ages.

1907. Archaeological excavations of the Roman villa of Ruz-du-Plane.

1909-1910. Construction of the small Heimatstil-style school at the Combe-du-Sapin, by the architect Eugène Yonner.

1938. Construction of an outdoor swimming pool, of the Olympic-size type.

1962. Creation of the Lignières car and motorcycle racing circuit, today the only permanent speed circuit in Switzerland.

1975. Development of a campsite.

1977-1978. Construction of the Gouvernière school centre, by the architect Édouard Weber.

1991. End of the exemption from transfer duties enjoyed by the lands of the franc-alleu.

2000. The primary sector still provides just over a fifth of jobs; the number of commuters has risen sharply since 1975.

2003/2004. The Lignières circuit, which had been left abandoned since the late 1990s, is taken over and becomes the property of the Touring Club Suisse (TCS).

2016. In a communal vote, the citizens of Lignières approve, with 63.3%, a merger project with Saint-Blaise, Cornaux, Cressier, Enges and La Tène (the Entre-deux-Lacs project); the project nevertheless fails overall, as Saint-Blaise rejected it with 56.9%, and Lignières remains an independent municipality.

2018. Abolition of the districts of the canton of Neuchâtel, replaced by four administrative regions; Lignières is attached to the Littoral region.

2025/2026. Lignières remains an independent municipality of the canton of Neuchâtel; the Communal Council announces a reduction of the communal tax by 10 points for the year 2026.

Population of Lignières

319

1750

686

1850

693

1900

521

1950

498

1970

914

2000

1'006

2022

1'103

2025

Historic sites in Lignières

The franc-alleu of Lignières. A strip of land about 7 km long and 300 to 1'800 metres wide, delimited by boundary markers in 1535 and then in 1705, which remained for centuries outside the neighbouring feudal jurisdictions because of border conflicts between the county of Neuchâtel and the bishopric of Bâle. Finally attached to Neuchâtel in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, it constitutes a legal and historical peculiarity unique in Switzerland.

The Lignières circuit. The only permanent speed circuit (car and motorcycle) in Switzerland, in operation since the early 1960s and owned by the Touring Club Suisse (TCS) since the mid-2000s. It has hosted rounds of the Swiss motorcycle speed championship, drawing up to about 12'000 spectators, a record reached in 1973.

The Temple of Lignières. Reformed church of the village, centre of the Protestant parish since the adoption of the Reformation in 1553. Originally Lignières depended on the parish of Le Landeron, whose priest served a chapel dedicated to Saint Lupus (saint Loup), cited in 1179.

The former schoolhouse (1835-1837). School building constructed to plans by the architect Edouard de Sandoz-Rosières, a testimony to the growth of public education in Neuchâtel during the 19th century.

The Combe-du-Sapin school (1909-1910). Small school in the Heimatstil (regionalist) style, built by the architect Eugène Yonner, representative of rural school architecture in the early 20th century.

The Chasseral Regional Nature Park. Lignières is located on the southern slope of the Chasseral, at the heart of the Chasseral Regional Nature Park, offering renowned viewpoints over Lake Bienne, the Swiss Plateau and the Alps.

Remains in Lignières

Roman villa of Ruz-du-Plane. Remains of a Roman villa from the 2nd century AD, uncovered by archaeological excavations in 1907, located near the old Roman road of the Vy d'Etraz. It attests to an organized agricultural occupation of the territory as early as Antiquity.

Cup-marked stones and presumed Hallstatt-period tumuli. Two cup-marked stones (blocks carved with small hollows, whose interpretation is debated) and burial mounds whose attribution to the Hallstatt period (Iron Age) remains presumed.

Polished stone axe. Tool reported in the municipal territory and attributed to the Bronze Age (to be cross-checked).

Boundary markers of the franc-alleu. Territorial boundary markers placed in 1535 and then redefined in 1705 to delimit the strip of land of the franc-alleu of Lignières, which remained for a long time outside the neighbouring feudal jurisdictions.

Sources

Other villages near Lignières

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