Noiraigue
Origin of the name Noiraigue
The name is recorded in 998 in the Latin form « Nigra Aqua », meaning « black water ». It is a formation of Romance origin, made up of « noir » (black) and « aigue », the local form of the word for « water ». The village bears the name of the Noiraigue river, whose peat-laden water had a dark colour.
Founding of Noiraigue
No founder is known. The site was frequented as early as the Neolithic, as an axe shows. The village grew up on the banks of the Noiraigue and the Areuse, with hamlets (Rosières, Le Furcil, Vers chez Joly, Combe-Varin) and scattered settlements between the Val-de-Travers and the valley of Les Ponts. From 1413 to 1848 it belonged to the lordship, then the jurisdiction, of Travers, and formed a separate lordship from 1682 to 1713. A staging post on the road to France until 1817, it long lived from water-powered trades. Noiraigue is today part of the municipality of Val-de-Travers (merger of 1 January 2009).
History of Noiraigue
Neolithic. An axe bears witness to the site being frequented.
998. First mention, in the form « Nigra Aqua ». The area is said to have passed at that time to the Cluniac priory of Bevaix (to be cross-checked).
1413. Noiraigue is attached to the lordship of Travers, created by Count Conrad of Freiburg; it belongs to it until 1848.
16th century. Beginning of the nail forges, some two dozen of which exist until the end of the 19th century.
mid-17th century. Construction of a chapel; the parish remains shared with Travers.
1682-1713. Noiraigue forms a separate lordship. At the end of the 17th century blast furnaces are built.
1719. On 10 June a fire destroys almost the whole village.
1817. The road to France, on which Noiraigue was an important staging post, is rebuilt away from the village.
1858-1882. The Combe-Varin estate, owned by the naturalist Édouard Desor, is an international meeting place for scientists.
1860. Opening of the Franco-Suisse railway station.
1861-1934. The beds of clayey marl uncovered during the construction of the railway line are worked by three lime and cement factories.
1879. End of the parish shared with Travers.
1889. Opening of a Catholic chapel.
1894. Construction of the church.
1896. The Plan-de-l'Eau hydroelectric plant enters service.
1935-1989. The former galleries of the Le Furcil factory house a button mushroom farm.
1936-1952. Activity of a pasta factory; a ski factory operates from 1937 to 1946.
1956. The Le Furcil hydroelectric plant enters service.
2009. On 1 January Noiraigue merges with Les Bayards, Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Môtiers, Saint-Sulpice and Travers to form the municipality of Val-de-Travers.
Population of Noiraigue
| 1750 | 226 |
| 1818 | 260 |
| 1850 | 241 |
| 1900 | 954 |
| 1950 | 661 |
| 2000 | 466 |
| 2008 | 499 |
Historic sites in Noiraigue
The church. Church built in 1894 by Nelson Convert; its tower, standing since 1861, is made of erratic granite blocks, of a colour rarely seen in the region.
The Combe-Varin estate. Estate originally called Grand-Cernil, dating back to the early 16th century; owned by the naturalist Édouard Desor, it was from 1858 to 1882 an international meeting place for scientists.
Rosières. Hamlet that belonged to the lordship of Travers from 1413 and was three times, from the 17th to the 19th century, made a lordship, though dependent on Travers in administrative and judicial matters.
The Plan-de-l'Eau and Le Furcil power plants. Hydroelectric plants that entered service in 1896 (Plan-de-l'Eau) and 1956 (Le Furcil). The village had long had many water-powered trades: mills, sawmills, an oil mill, forges, a rolling mill.
The Creux-du-Van and the Areuse gorges. Rock cirque and gorges near the village; charcoal kilns were worked at the Creux-du-Van.
Remains in Noiraigue
The Neolithic axe. Stone axe, the oldest evidence of the site being frequented.
The Clusette fort (vanished). Former fort, now demolished, which stood on the border between the local lordship and the mairie of Rochefort, on the original route of the La Clusette road.
The Le Furcil galleries. Galleries of the former Le Furcil lime and cement factory, one of the three factories active from 1861 to 1934, used from 1935 to 1989 for a button mushroom farm.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Noiraigue »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rosières »
- Wikipédia, « Noiraigue »
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 21 janvier 2009 portant homologation des résultats du recensement cantonal de la population du 31 décembre 2008
Other villages near Noiraigue
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