Pont-la-Ville
Origin of the name Pont-la-Ville
The village appears in 1228 as « Pont la vila ». Its old German name was « Ponnendorf ».[1]
Founding of Pont-la-Ville
Pont-la-Ville lies on the Sarine, which has become the Lake of Gruyère. A Roman villa already stood here in the 1st and 2nd centuries. The village first gathered around the old church, owned by Payerne abbey and linked to a small priory, before its centre moved to the new church on the height. In the Middle Ages it belonged to the lordship of La Roche, and its parish covered the whole Pays de La Roche until the mid-17th century. The farming village later opened up to residential building.[1][2]
History of Pont-la-Ville
1148. The church of Pont-la-Ville is mentioned.[1]
Mid-12th century. The church passed to Payerne abbey, which kept it until the Reformation.[1]
Before 1285. The small priory linked to the church disappeared.[1]
1349. The bishop of Lausanne bought outright the lordship of La Roche, to which the village belonged.[1][2]
15th century. The Thusy bridge over the Sarine is mentioned.[1]
1537. Pont-la-Ville became part of Fribourg and joined the bailiwick of Bulle.[1][2]
1544. The Thusy bridge was built in stone.[1]
1651-1656. Three of the four quarters of the Pays de La Roche left the parish to form that of La Roche.[1][2]
1772. Pont-la-Ville and La Roche divided their common charges and property, and again in 1848.[2]
1798. The village was attached to the district of La Roche, then to that of Corbières from 1803 to 1848.[1][2]
1879-1883. The new parish church was built on the height.[1]
1898-1901. A small dam below the Thusy bridge diverted water to the Hauterive hydraulic plant.[1]
1948. The building of the Rossens dam submerged the Thusy bridge.[1]
1993. A golf course opened in the municipality.[1]
Population of Pont-la-Ville
Sources and references: [1][4]
| 1850 | 381 |
| 1900 | 471 |
| 1950 | 332 |
| 2000 | 459 |
| 2025 | 649 |
Historic sites in Pont-la-Ville
Chapel of the Virgin. Only the choir of the old parish church survives. It serves as a chapel dedicated to the Virgin, on the shore of the Lake of Gruyère.[1]
Parish church. Built from 1879 to 1883 on the height, it marks the new village centre, which moved here from the old church.[1]
Thusy farmhouse. A farmhouse on the Impasse de Thusy is listed in the cantonal inventory of cultural property (category B).[3]
Remains in Pont-la-Ville
Roman villa. A Roman villa of the 1st and 2nd centuries, heated by a hypocaust, has been identified in the municipality.[1]
Thusy bridge. Recorded in the 15th century and built in stone in 1544, the bridge crossed the Sarine. It has lain under water since 1948.[1]
Vanished priory. A small priory linked to the old church had already disappeared before 1285.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Pont-la-Ville » (Marianne Rolle, version du 13.11.2012)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Roche, La » (Marianne Rolle, version du 16.05.2012)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : Liste cantonale Canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
- 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
Other villages near Pont-la-Ville
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