Nods
Origin of the name Nods
Nods appears in 1228 in the cartulary of the bishopric of Lausanne (or in 1255). Its old German name is Nos, and the origin of the name is still debated.[1][2][3][5]
Founding of Nods
Nods is a village of the Plateau de Diesse, at the foot of the Chasseral, with the hamlets of Les Combes and La Praye. Tradition has it founded around the 11th century, after the Frankish invasion. In the 13th century it was subject both to the count of Neuchâtel-Nidau, whom Bern succeeded, and to the bishop of Basel, and under the Ancien Régime it belonged to the lordship of the Montagne de Diesse. A noble family of Nods is recorded from the 13th to the 15th century. The village long belonged to the parish of Diesse.[1][3]
History of Nods
1352. Nods receives liberties, granted again in 1453.[1]
1452. High jurisdiction passes to the bishop of Basel, then to Bern in 1486.[1]
1476. Burghers of Nods fight at Murten under the banner of La Neuveville.[3]
16th century. The village strongly resists the Reformation imposed by Bern. Catholics leave for Le Landeron and Cressier.[1]
1627. On 8 August Elisabeth Roulier, of Nods, is executed for witchcraft.[2]
1689. The «communal tower» is built or restored.[1]
1708. Nods, until then a dependency of Diesse, becomes a parish.[1][5]
1797-1815. The village belongs to the department of Mont-Terrible, then to that of Haut-Rhin. In 1815 it passes to the canton of Bern, in the bailiwick, then district of Erlach.[1][2][3]
1798. In August a fire destroys 27 houses (or 25).[2][3]
1835. The Protestant church is dedicated on 1 November. Statute labour and a timber cut pay for the church and the school.[1][2]
1851. On 15 April a great fire destroys 39 houses (or 33).[2][5]
1858. The burgher commune and the residents' commune form a mixed commune.[2]
1871-1874. The road from Nods to the Chasseral is built.[2]
1926. A postbus links Nods, Lamboing and La Neuveville.[1]
1959. The old bell tower is listed as a protected monument.[2]
1963-1993. The Nods-Chasseral chairlift, licensed in 1963 and opened on 24 October 1964, runs until 1993.[1][2]
1988. Nods is twinned with Nods, in the Doubs.[3]
2012. On 11 March Nods rejects by almost 80 % the merger of the four communes of the plateau, which fails.[6][7]
Population of Nods
Sources and references: [1][2][8]
| 1764 | 545 |
| 1800 | 463 |
| 1850 | 811 |
| 1870 | 885 |
| 1900 | 738 |
| 1950 | 510 |
| 1980 | 426 |
| 2000 | 668 |
| 2025 | 776 |
Historic sites in Nods
Church. Mentioned in 1639, it dates from 1835, was rebuilt from 1959 to 1962 and consecrated on 1 April 1962.[1][2]
Communal tower. 17th-century tower, dated 1689. A credit of 80'000 francs for its restoration was voted in 1993.[1][2][4]
Old school. Built in 1835 on the site of the old church and replaced by a new building in 1960, it was placed under protection in 2000.[1][2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Nods » (Frédy Dubois, version du 16.11.2010)
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Nods »
- Commune de Nods, site officiel (historique)
- Commune de Nods, « Tourisme » (curiosités)
- Commune de Plateau de Diesse, « Historique de la commune de Diesse » (chroniques de la paroisse, 1981)
- Dictionnaire du Jura, « Plateau de Diesse » (Kiki Lutz)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Diesse, Montagne de » (Frédy Dubois, version du 09.02.2015)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Nods
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