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Villages / Fribourg / Lac district / Môtier (Vully)

Môtier (Vully)

Canton of Fribourg · District: Lac · 228 inhabitants (1991)
Part of the municipality of Mont-Vully
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Môtier (Vully)

The village is mentioned in 1230 as « Mostier ». Two years earlier, in 1228, the parish still bore the name of Lugnorre.[1]

Founding of Môtier (Vully)

Môtier is a wine-growing street village on the north shore of Lake Murten. Its church of Saint-Pierre, built on Romanesque foundations, belonged to a parish that covered both Haut-Vully and Bas-Vully. The village was the administrative centre of the former municipality of Haut-Vully. Patrician families built winegrowers' houses here from the 17th to the 19th century. Môtier has been part of the municipality of Mont-Vully since 2016.[1]

History of Môtier (Vully)

1228. The parish is referred to by the name of Lugnorre.[1]

1230. The village appears as « Mostier ».[1]

Early 16th century. The church of Saint-Pierre is enlarged.[1]

1530. At the Reformation, the right of collation over the church passes to Bern.[1]

17th century. Two mills are at work in Môtier.[1]

Around 1700. A school is built. It is rebuilt in 1833.[1]

1824. The nave of the church is rebuilt.[1]

1860. Colonel Friedrich Schwab discovers the Neolithic lakeside settlement south-east of the village.[1][2]

1868-1891. The first Jura water correction reclaims land from the lake.[1]

1892. The Free Evangelical Church builds its chapel.[1]

1944. The church is restored.[1]

2011. The Môtier I site is added to the Unesco World Heritage list.[2][3]

2016. With Haut-Vully, Môtier becomes part of the municipality of Mont-Vully.[1]

Population of Môtier (Vully)

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Môtier (Vully)
1558-155927 hearths
165750 houses
1811369 inhabitants
1860254 inhabitants
1991228 inhabitants

Historic sites in Môtier (Vully)

Protestant church, former church of Saint-Pierre. Church built on Romanesque foundations, enlarged in the early 16th century, with a nave rebuilt in 1824 and restored in 1944. Listed in the inventory of cultural property (B object).[1][3]

Chapel of the Free Evangelical Church. Chapel built in 1892.[1]

Patrician winegrowers' houses. The village keeps patrician winegrowers' houses from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.[1]

Manoir Gatschet and house of W.J. Merz. Two residences on the Route du Lac listed as cultural property of national importance (A objects).[3]

Hôtel Richard and En Chambaz house. Two more buildings on the Route du Lac listed in the inventory of cultural property (B objects).[3]

Remains in Môtier (Vully)

Môtier I lakeside settlement. Neolithic village discovered in 1860, one of the 56 Swiss lakeside settlements on the Unesco list. It covers about 13'000 m², stretching some 200 m along the shore, and several villages probably followed one another here. Cores revealed a very well preserved cultural layer, more than 70 cm thick in places. Only the objects collected in the second half of the 19th century survive, among them many polished stone axes.[1][2][3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Môtier » (Marianne Rolle), version du 03.04.2019
  2. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Haut-Vully - Môtier I » (Michel Mauvilly), version du 03.04.2019
  3. Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale, canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)

Other villages near Môtier (Vully)

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