Marly
Origin of the name Marly
The place appears in 1055 in the Latin phrase « in marlensi ». Its old German name, « Mertenlach », is written « Mertellach » in 1466. The origin of the name itself is not established.[1]
Founding of Marly
Marly grew up on the banks of the Gérine, about 5 km south of Fribourg. From the 12th to the 14th century the families of Marly, Vuicherens and Messel, vassals of the lords of Arconciel, made gifts to the abbey of Hauterive. The parish, attached to the deanery of Fribourg after 1157, covered Marly, Pierrafortscha, Villarsel, Saint-Sylvestre, Chevrilles and Tinterin at the end of the Middle Ages. From the 12th and 13th centuries the river drove a forge, a sawmill, mills and hammer mills, then, from the 16th to the 18th century, a fulling mill for textiles and a gunpowder works. The village of Marly-le-Grand forms the core of the present municipality, created in 1970 by its merger with Marly-le-Petit and enlarged with Chésalles in 1976.[1]
History of Marly
Early Middle Ages. The dead are buried at Publiet.[1]
after 1157. The parish of Marly belongs to the deanery of Fribourg.[1]
1294. First mention of the church, then dedicated to Saint Peter.[1]
around 1360. The opening Virgin in polychrome wood kept in the church is made.[1]
1411. The Marly paper mill begins an activity that lasts until 1921.[1]
1442. From this year at the latest Marly belongs to the Old Territories of Fribourg, in the Bourg banner.[1]
1491. The parish is incorporated into the church of Saint-Nicolas in Fribourg.[1]
1511. The church receives its baptismal font.[1]
1600. Marly-le-Grand adopts its first communal statutes.[1]
1630. Reduced for reasons of language, the parish now covers only Marly-le-Grand, Marly-le-Petit, Pierrafortscha and Villarsel, about 400 people, mostly French-speaking.[1]
1663. The church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.[1]
1798-1848. Marly belongs to the district of Fribourg.[1]
19th century. Cheese dairies open, and the school at times has bilingual classes.[1]
1962. A watchmaking industry settles.[1]
1963. Ciba-Geigy opens a research and development centre for photography.[1]
1960-1970. In ten years the municipality gains 2'534 inhabitants, 651 of them German speakers, a growth that causes an identity crisis.[1]
1970. Marly-le-Grand and Marly-le-Petit merge. German-speaking pupils may now attend German classes in Fribourg, at the municipality's expense.[1]
1976. Chésalles joins Marly.[1]
Early 1990s. Schooling German speakers in Fribourg leads to a legal dispute over the territoriality principle of languages.[1]
1999. After the crisis of the 1990s and the dismantling of the site, Ciba decides to move its entire research centre to Basel.[1]
Population of Marly
Sources and references: [1][2]
| around 1650 | 40 hearths (Marly-le-Grand) |
| 1850 | 435 |
| 1900 | 774 |
| 1950 | 1'334 |
| 1980 | 4'329 |
| 2000 | 7'184 |
| 2025 | 9'566 |
Historic sites in Marly
Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Mentioned in 1294 under the patronage of Saint Peter, it has been dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul since 1663. It keeps an opening Virgin in polychrome wood from about 1360, a baptismal font of 1511 and a Baroque altarpiece.[1]
Manor house. Residence dated 1664, renovated in the 18th century.[1]
Remains in Marly
Tumuli of Le Port. Two Hallstatt tumuli, from the early Iron Age, lie at the place called Le Port.[1]
Villa of Les Râpettes. A Gallo-Roman villa occupied Les Râpettes from the 1st century to the second half of the 3rd century AD.[1]
Graves of Publiet. Burials from the early Middle Ages.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Marly » (Claude Simonet, version du 03.03.2011)
- Service de la statistique du canton de Fribourg (SStat), « Population des communes, de 1900 à 2025 » (T01-02-03), population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Marly
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