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Martigny-Bourg

Canton of Valais · District: Martigny · 2'354 inhabitants (1960, former municipality of Martigny-Bourg, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Martigny
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Martigny-Bourg

The place is simply called « Le Bourg », and the municipality created in 1841 bore the name « Le Bourg (Martigny-Bourg) ». Where exactly the name comes from is not known.

Founding of Martigny-Bourg

Martigny-Bourg grew up in the plain where the Great St Bernard road comes down. Having taken refuge on the heights after the Lombards passed through at the end of the 6th century, the inhabitants came back down once peace returned and formed, one after the other, the settlements of La Croix, Le Bourg and then Martigny-Ville. In the 14th century Le Bourg had more people than La Ville, and the bishop's vidomne settled there. Its fairs made it a market place. An independent municipality from 1841, Martigny-Bourg is today a quarter of the municipality of Martigny.[2][4]

History of Martigny-Bourg

1163. First mention of the vidomnat of Martigny (Pierre, the first known vidomne, is recorded as early as 1162 according to another source). The office is held by the Martigny family, settled at Les Rappes and later in the Bourg.[3][4]

14th century. The Bourg has 420 inhabitants, against 320 in Martigny-Ville. The vidomne settles in the Bourg.[2]

1345. Mention of a chapel of Saint-Michel.[2]

1392. Countess Bonne de Bourbon grants the Bourg two annual fairs (1393 according to another source), which gave the Pré-de-Foire its name.[1][2][3]

1595. On 4 June a glacial outburst flood from the upper Val de Bagnes devastates the Bourg and destroys most of the houses. The water rises over the chapel roof, and the fairs are held in Martigny-Ville until the Bourg is restored in 1661.[2][3]

1607. The vidomnes establish their seat in the Bourg (1609 according to another source), in today's Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes. The building takes its present appearance in the 18th century, as the dates 1731 and 1737 show.[2][3]

1645. Construction of the Maison des Colonnes, a former Ursuline convent that became the municipal hall.[2][3]

1649. The nave of the chapel of Saint-Michel is rebuilt. The bell tower is not raised again until 1786.[2]

1798. On 30 November the Tree of Liberty is raised on the Pré-de-Foire.[3]

1801. First Foire au Lard, held every year since then in early December in the streets of the Bourg.[5]

1818. On 16 June the flooding of the Dranse ravages the Bourg and La Ville.[2][3]

1831. At Pentecost the citizens of the Bourg raise a Tree of Liberty in protest against a law reorganising the communes and dizains. An Upper Valais battalion is sent to put down the movement.[2][3]

1836. On 25 October Charrat separates from the Bourg to form an independent municipality.[1][3]

1841. On 18 June Le Bourg and La Combe separate and become two independent municipalities.[1][3]

1842. Martigny-Bourg builds a town hall, its second after a Renaissance one (around 1880 according to another source).[1][2]

1904-1908. Construction of the power station of the Société française d'électro-chimie by the engineer A. Boucher of Prilly, fed by an 8 km gallery bored under the Mont-Chemin.[2]

1906. A tramway links the station to the Bourg until 1957 (opened on 24 October 1908 according to another source).[1][2][3]

1937. The painter Albert Chavaz decorates the chapel of Saint-Michel with frescoes.[3]

1938. An aluminium plant is built. In the 1990s most of the industrial buildings are decommissioned and then demolished.[2][3]

1964. Martigny-Bourg is united with Martigny-Ville to form the municipality of Martigny (1965 according to another source).[1][2][3]

1968. Construction of the present church of Saint-Michel, the work of Jean-Paul Darbellay.[2]

Population of Martigny-Bourg

Sources and references: [1][2]

Population of Martigny-Bourg
14th century420 inhabitants
18501'076
19001'298
19501'863
19602'354

Historic sites in Martigny-Bourg

Pré-de-Foire. Square whose name recalls the two annual fairs granted in 1392. The Tree of Liberty was raised there in 1798.[2][3]

Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes. Former house of the vidomne, established in the early 17th century and remodelled in the 18th century (dates 1731 and 1737).[2]

Maison des Colonnes. Built in 1645, a former Ursuline convent, it served as the municipal hall.[2][3]

Chapel and church of Saint-Michel. Chapel mentioned in 1345, nave rebuilt in 1649, bell tower of 1786, frescoes by Albert Chavaz (1937). The present church dates from 1968. Both are served by the rectorate of the Bourg.[1][2][3]

Foire au Lard. Fair held every year in early December in the streets of the Bourg since 1801.[5]

Remains in Martigny-Bourg

Moulin de Semblanet. Old mill of the Bourg whose millrace was partly restored in the 1990s.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Martigny (commune) » (Albano Hugon, version de 2007 remaniée le 13.08.2021)
  2. Inventaire fédéral des sites construits (ISOS), « Martigny-Bourg », 2e version, 1998
  3. Patrimoines de Martigny, « Chronologie » (d'après Jean-Michel Gard, chronologie succincte de l'histoire de Martigny, 1983)
  4. Louis Blondel, « Le vieux château de la Crête de Martigny ou de Saint-Jean », Vallesia, 5, 1950 (via RERO DOC)
  5. Martigny Tourisme, « Martigny-Bourg : Foire au Lard »
  6. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées du quartier Le Bourg)

Other villages near Martigny-Bourg

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