Portalban
Origin of the name Portalban
The place is recorded in 1166 as « Portubanni ». German speakers once called it « Portelbank ».[1]
Founding of Portalban
Portalban lies on the south shore of Lake Neuchâtel. It includes the village of Portalban-Dessous, whose eastern part belongs to Delley, and the hamlet of Portalban-Dessus. Before the Jura water correction, trade with Neuchâtel (livestock, printed calicoes, salt) kept the harbour busy. In church matters the village was divided between Carignan and Saint-Aubin. Fishermen and farmers have given way to tourism and homes. Portalban is now part of the municipality of Delley-Portalban (merger of 2005).[1][2]
History of Portalban
3600-2450 BC. Neolithic and later Bronze Age lakeside villages are built off the shore. At the Delley-Portalban II site the layers reach about 3 m in thickness.[1]
1166. The place appears under the name « Portubanni ». A chapel of Saint-Jacques is recorded there.[1]
14th century. Knights of Portalban, from the d'Agnens-de Delley branch, are recorded.[1]
1506. Humbert de La Molière sells his share of the lordship to the Council of Fribourg.[1]
1536-1798. Portalban belongs to the bailiwick of Estavayer.[1]
1778-1798. Many women homeworkers work for the Fabrique-Neuve in Cortaillod, a calico printing works.[1]
1798-1848. The village passes from the district of Avenches (1798-1803) to those of Montagny (1803-1830) and Dompierre (1831-1848). A toll office operates there from 1804 to 1848.[1]
1809. A house, the Châtelet, is built in the village. It is tentatively attributed to Jean Schielly.[2]
1858. The first of the five lakeside sites is identified. The same year Delley and Portalban form their own parish.[1]
1868-1891 (ou 1868-1878). The Jura water correction lowers the lake by about three metres. Until then the lake reached the heart of the village.[1][2]
1900. A hoard of 21 Roman coins is found on the lake shore.[1]
Vers 1907. The Hôtel Saint-Louis replaces an old inn.[2]
1926. The school moves into the former gendarmerie post, built in 1882.[2]
1962-1979. Fifteen systematic excavation campaigns explore 17'500 m² of the Delley-Portalban II site. The study of several hundred piles reveals house plans and palisades.[1]
1966. The steamer « Fribourg », built in 1913 by Escher-Wyss in Zurich, is taken out of service and becomes a restaurant. Around the same time the Portalban stream is channelled.[2]
2005. On 1 January Portalban merges with Delley, under a decree of 18 November 2004.[1][3]
Population of Portalban
Sources and references: [1]
| 1811 | 112 |
| 1850 | 141 |
| 1900 | 156 |
| 1950 | 183 |
| 1970 | 143 |
| 2000 | 251 |
Historic sites in Portalban
Fishermen's houses. Farmhouses and fishermen's houses of the 18th and 19th centuries make up most of the old village. A row of 18th-century facades includes the former Croix blanche inn.[2]
The Châtelet. House dated 1809, cautiously attributed to Jean Schielly.[2]
Hôtel Saint-Louis and the steamer « Fribourg ». The hotel, built around 1907, and the former steamer « Fribourg » of 1913, a restaurant since 1966, recall the village's lakeside and tourist role.[2]
Remains in Portalban
Lakeside villages. Five Neolithic and Bronze Age sites lie off the village. Long plundered, then probed for nearly a century, they were excavated systematically at Delley-Portalban II. Traces of weaving, of polished stone axe making and of antler working shops were found there.[1]
Roman coin hoard. Found on the shore in 1900, it contains 21 coins, 19 of them gold, struck between AD 15 and 80.[1]
Chapel of Saint-Jacques. Recorded in 1166, it had been given to the priory of Saint-Maire by Bishop Amédée de Lausanne. It has disappeared.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Portalban » (Denis Ramseyer et Marianne Rolle, version du 28.09.2016)
- Service des biens culturels du canton de Fribourg, Recensement cantonal des sites construits d'importance régionale et locale (SCRoL), « Portalban », février 2026
- État de Fribourg, Recueil systématique (RSF 141.1.2), « Liste chronologique des fusions, divisions et changements de nom des communes »
Other villages near Portalban
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