Monthey
Origin of the name Monthey
The form « Montez » is attested in 1215. Then come « Monteyz » (1233), « Monteys » (1239), « Montelz » (1267), « Montetz » (1290) and « Montey » (1409), with the Latin form « Monteolum » or « Montheolum », though these forms are not confirmed. The name reportedly comes from the hill on which the Château-Vieux stood. The exact meaning of the ending is debated. In the local patois the municipality is reportedly called « Monta ».
Founding of Monthey
Monthey grew up on the alluvial fan of the Vièze, on the left bank of the Rhône, at the entrance to the Val d'Illiez and the Val d'Abondance. It all began with the castle of la Motte, known as Château-Vieux, of which nothing remains. The market town stood on the right bank of the Vièze. The House of Savoy held the place from the 12th century and made it the seat of the castellany (mandement) of the same name, in the bailiwick of Chablais. A vidomne and a major are mentioned there from 1206. In the 14th century, plague, floods of the Vièze and fires led to the creation of districts outside the walls, including Outre-Vièze and the Crochetan. Today the municipality comprises the town, Outrevièze, Choëx and enclaves within the municipality of Collombey-Muraz.[1]
History of Monthey
12th century. Monthey is a possession of the House of Savoy and becomes the seat of the castellany of the same name, in the bailiwick of Chablais.[1]
1206. First mention of a vidomne and a major of Monthey.[1]
1237. Count Aymon of Savoy gives Choëx to the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, on which it depends until 1993.[1]
1349-1352. Plague strikes the population; floods of the Vièze (1350, 1378), fires (1390, 1525) and another plague in 1422 follow.[1]
1352. Count Amadeus VI of Savoy grants franchises to the town.[1]
1418. The burghers found a hospital, replacing a chapel of Saint Anthony mentioned in 1384.[1]
1437. First mention of the new castle.[1]
1475-1476. During the conquest of Savoyard Valais as far as Massongex, Monthey buys its independence.[1]
1536. Threatened by Bern, the town places itself under the protection of the Upper Valais dizains. The Upper Valais bailiff moves into the new castle from 1547.[1]
1708. Monthey becomes a parish; it previously belonged to the parish of Collombey.[1]
1787. The mandement of Monthey is split into three new castellanies.[1]
1790-1791. Emancipation movement against the governors, with Pierre Guillot, Charles Emmanuel de Rivaz and Pierre-Maurice Rey-Bellet, known as le Gros-Bellet. Occupation and repression by the dizains in 1791.[1]
1798. Monthey plants a liberty tree in January and becomes a district capital under the Helvetic Republic.[1]
1824. Founding of the glassworks.[1]
1851. The church of the Immaculate Conception replaces the church of Saint-Didier.[1]
1859. Opening of the station on the Bouveret-Saint-Maurice line, known as « du Tonkin ».[1]
1872. Date linked to the Monthey carnival, now famous beyond the canton.[1]
1888. Founding of the Giovanola metalworks, which would build the hulls of the mesoscaphes Auguste Piccard and Ben Franklin.[1]
1898-1905. Arrival of the chemical industry, which uses the brine of Bex. The site later becomes that of Ciba.[1]
1901. Founding of the Malévoz psychiatric hospital.[1]
1907-1908. The Aigle-Ollon-Monthey line (1907) links the town to the Simplon line, followed by the Monthey-Champéry section (1908).[1]
1989. Opening of the Théâtre du Crochetan.[1]
Population of Monthey
Sources and references: [1][4]
| 1329 | 182 hearths (households) |
| 1422 | 56 hearths (households) |
| 1850 | 1'841 |
| 1900 | 3'392 |
| 1950 | 5'608 |
| 1970 | 10'114 |
| 2000 | 13'933 |
| 2025 | 19'346 |
Historic sites in Monthey
Monthey Castle. The new castle, mentioned in 1437 and seat of the Upper Valais bailiff from 1547, burned in 1606 and was remodelled in 1663-1664. Acquired by the municipality and the burghers' community, probably around 1900, and restored, it houses the municipal administration and the Musée du Vieux-Monthey, founded in 1938.[1][2]
Crochetan district. District that grew up outside the walls at the junction of the roads to Collombey and Saint-Maurice, whose 15th-century enclosure wall survives. It gave its name to the theatre opened in 1989.[1]
Church of the Immaculate Conception. Church built in 1851 to replace the parish church of Saint-Didier, which had burned and then been flooded.[1]
Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Pont. Chapel of 1775 going back to a chapel of the Annunciation of Our Lady mentioned in 1490.[1]
Choëx. Village on the heights, given in 1237 to the Abbey of Saint-Maurice and a separate parish until 1993. Its church is dedicated to Saint Sylvester.[1]
Pierre des Marmettes. Glacial erratic of more than 1'800 m³, described as the largest in the Alps, topped by a small house. Saving it was one of the first major nature conservation campaigns in Switzerland. It belongs to the federal landscape inventory object « Blocs erratiques au-dessus de Monthey et de Collombey ».[3]
Remains in Monthey
Roman villa of Marendeux. Remains of a villa from the Augustan period, abandoned in two stages, in the 4th and then the 5th century.[1]
Crochetan enclosure. The 15th-century enclosure wall of this district outside the walls survives.[1]
Glacial erratics. Remnants of a lateral moraine of the Rhône Glacier, these granite boulders were heavily quarried from the mid-19th century, notably by Italian workers. The people of Monthey fought to save several of them, including the Pierre des Marmettes and the Pierre à Dzo.[1][3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Monthey (commune) » (Pascal Dubey, version du 15.09.2021)
- Leandra Patané, « La plus vieille maison de Monthey », immobilier.ch (04.10.2022) (château de Monthey)
- Inventaire fédéral des paysages, sites et monuments naturels (IFP), objet 1709 « Blocs erratiques au-dessus de Monthey et de Collombey »
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Monthey
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