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Plasselb

Canton of Fribourg · District: Singine · 1'099 inhabitants (31.12.2025)
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Plasselb

Plasselb appears in 1324 as «Plannaseyva», and the local dialect says «Planasiva». The name probably comes from the Latin plana silva, «the flat forest».[1][2]

Founding of Plasselb

Plasselb lies at the foot of the Schweinsberg, at the entrance to the Plasselbschlund. The first inhabitants were probably Romanised Celts, and farmland was won with the axe from a heavily wooded area. Rudolf of Ecublens granted the village as a fief to the knight Barthélemy de Hattenberg. The fief then changed hands often: the Cluniac priory of Münchenwiler, the lords of Corbières and Jaun, of Corpataux, of Wippingen and of Englisberg, and the Velga and Fegely families. From 1720 to 1920 municipality and parish were one. Since 1971 Plasselb has also included Neuhaus.[1][2]

History of Plasselb

1291. On 27 August the lords of Ecublens sell the village to the bishop of Lausanne, Guillaume de Champvent.[1][2]

1303. A deed of sale places Plasselb in the parish of Rechthalten.[2]

1453. The lords of Corbières cede Plasselb to the Velga and Englisberg families.[1]

1475. With the conquest of Illens, part of the rights passes to the town of Fribourg.[1]

1486. Fribourg buys the rest. Plasselb now belongs to the Old Territories.[1]

1519. The parish of Plaffeien now serves Plasselb.[2]

1571. Plasselb gives itself municipal statutes, which survive.[1]

1720. Plasselb leaves the parish of Plaffeien and becomes a parish. The church is built soon after and finished by the 1730s at the latest.[1][2][4]

1749. On 29 June Bishop Joseph-Hubert de Boccard consecrates the church.[4]

1795. The choir is raised thanks to a gift of 200 crowns from Martha Marty-Neuhaus. The following year the parish buys two large bells.[4]

1884. After a lightning strike the spire is raised. Paul Adolph Neumann paints the ceilings of the choir and nave.[4]

1921. On 14 March the parish and municipal assembly decides to separate the parish from the municipality. The parish receives 100'000 francs.[2]

1922-1923. The church receives stained glass by Jean-Edouard de Castella.[1][4]

1970. On 20 November the Grand Council adopts the decree merging Plasselb and Neuhaus.[6]

1971. Neuhaus is joined to Plasselb.[1][2]

1994. A landslide of some 40 million m³ destroys the holiday village of Falli Hölli on the Schweinsberg.[1][3]

1998. The municipality receives the Binding Prize for the care of its forests.[1]

2014. Alone among the five villages of the Sense Oberland merger project, Plasselb prefers the name Schwarzsee to Plaffeien.[8]

2015. On 8 March Plasselb and Brünisried reject the five-way merger with Oberschrot, Plaffeien and Zumholz.[7]

Population of Plasselb

Sources and references: [1][9]

Population of Plasselb
1811247
1850327
1900467
1950676
2000980
20251'099

Historic sites in Plasselb

Church of St Martin. The nave dates from the years after 1720, and the church was consecrated in 1749. The choir was raised in 1795 and the sacristy heightened in 1898. The Baroque high altar by Joseph Thierin dates from about 1814. The six nave windows (1922) and the three choir windows (1922-1923), with scenes from the life of Mary, were designed by Jean-Edouard de Castella. Restored in 1972-1973 and 1986, the church is a cultural property of regional importance.[1][4][5]

Farmhouse of Niklaus Ruffieux. The farmhouse at Dorfstrasse 21 is a cultural property of regional importance.[5]

Remains in Plasselb

Convent of La Voix-Dieu. Founded around 1314 by Bertha von Luceria, this Cistercian convent lasted only a short time.[1]

Falli Hölli. The holiday village had some thirty buildings, all destroyed in 1994 by a mass about 2 km long and 700 m wide. The damage exceeds 15 million francs. Radiocarbon-dated wood shows that the slope had already slid several times between 5000 and 2000 years before present.[3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Plasselb » (Eveline Seewer, version du 11.02.2010)
  2. Commune de Plasselb, « Geschichte von Plasselb »
  3. Commune de Plasselb, « Falli-Hölli-Erdrutsch »
  4. Paroisse de Plasselb, « Kirche »
  5. Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale, canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
  6. État de Fribourg, « Liste chronologique des fusions, divisions et changements de nom des communes » (RSF 141.1.2), législation fribourgeoise
  7. Conseil d'État du canton de Fribourg, message 2015-DIAF-98 accompagnant le projet de loi relatif à la fusion des communes d'Oberschrot, de Plaffeien et de Zumholz (10.11.2015)
  8. SRF News, « Fusion im Sensebezirk: Die Gemeinde heisst dann wohl Plaffeien » (28.09.2014)
  9. Service de la statistique du canton de Fribourg (SStat), « Population des communes, de 1900 à 2025 » (T01-02-03), population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025

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