Montvoie
Origin of the name Montvoie
The name appears in 1284 as « Montvouel ». The castle is also called « Montvouhay ». No explanation has yet been found for this name.[1][3][5]
Founding of Montvoie
Montvoie grew up around a castle built on a ledge of the Lomont ridge above the Doubs valley. The castle reportedly dates from the 12th century, perhaps even the 11th. It was the centre of a land-clearing lordship whose origins are said to go back to the break-up of the Kingdom of Burgundy. First a fief of the Neuchâtel-Burgundy family, between Ajoie and the provostry of Saint-Ursanne, Montvoie then passed to the Church of Basel. The lordship became a small community of isolated farms, belonging to Ocourt for church matters, with which it was later merged.[1][3]
History of Montvoie
12th century. Probable construction of Montvoie Castle on the Lomont ridge. It may also date from the 11th century.[3]
1284. First mention (« Montvouel »): the counts of Neuchâtel hand the fortress over to a knight of Vendlincourt, whose first name is not established, and Montvoie becomes a fief of the Church of Basel.[1][3][5]
1367. Men from Porrentruy and Saint-Ursanne plunder the castle. They reportedly also set it on fire in revenge for the cruelty of its lord, Simon de Saint-Aubin.[5]
1442. Thiébaud Macabrey, of the Tavannes family, buys the castle.[5]
1474. The castle is burned during the Burgundian Wars, then rebuilt.[5]
1570. Prince-Bishop Melchior von Lichtenfels takes back the fief, which had fallen vacant. This return to the prince-bishops is sometimes dated to the early 17th century: the date is uncertain.[1][5]
16th-17th century. The castle is abandoned, at an uncertain date. Its walls decay, above all after the damage of the Thirty Years' War.[1][3]
1740. On 21 February, the community of Montvoie submits to Prince-Bishop Jacques-Sigismond de Reinach during the unrest of 1730-1740.[5]
1792-1813. Montvoie belongs to the French departments of Mont-Terrible and then Haut-Rhin.[1]
1815. Montvoie becomes a municipality of the canton of Bern (Porrentruy district, parish of Ocourt from 1816).[1][5]
1882. On 31 August, the Bernese Grand Council decrees the merger of Montvoie into Ocourt.[1][2][5]
1906. The canton of Bern authorises a school at Montvoie. It burns down on 15 January 1911.[5]
1964. The Ocourt municipal assembly decides to sell the Montvoie school.[5]
1993. On 13 June, the archaeology circle of the Société jurassienne d'émulation clears the castle walls.[5]
2009. On 1 January, Ocourt, together with Montvoie, joins the municipality of Clos du Doubs.[1][2]
Population of Montvoie
Sources and references: [1][5]
| 1598 | 5 households |
| 1789 | 33 |
| 1793 | 47 |
| 1801 | 41 |
| 1850 | 34 |
| 1860 | 40 |
| 1870 | 48 |
| 1880 | 35 |
Historic sites in Montvoie
Hamlet of Montvoie. Small community of isolated farms on the slope of the Lomont ridge, which formed a separate municipality until 1882. A farm building adjoins the castle ruins.[1]
Remains in Montvoie
Ruins of Montvoie Castle. Fortified castle listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance. The round tower and central part date from the 13th century, the curtain wall and artillery towers from the 15th and 16th centuries. Held in turn by the lords of Vendlincourt, the Saint-Aubin, the Boncourt known as d'Asuel, the Tavannes and the Reinach-Grandvillers, it was rebuilt after the fire of 1474. Only remains overgrown by bushes and forest survive, cleared by volunteers in 1993.[1][3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Montvoie » (Jean-Paul Prongué), version du 21.11.2016
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ocourt » (Dominique Prongué), version du 18.05.2020
- Dictionnaire du Jura, « Montvoie (château) » (Jacques Bourquard et Jean-René Quenet)
- Inventaire suisse des biens culturels d'importance nationale (OFPP), fiche KGS 03557 « Château (Ocourt, Montvoie) »
- Denis Moine, Chronologie jurassienne, « Montvoie (Clos du Doubs) »
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
- geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux « Montvoie »
Other villages near Montvoie
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