Rougemont

Origin of the name Rougemont

Name origin: the Latin form « Rubeus Mons » (« red mountain ») is recorded in 1115, together with « Rogemot »; one source gives 1104 (to be cross-checked). The old German name is « Retschmund ». The name is said to come from the red Lias layers that outcrop on the Rodomont, the hill above the village.

Founding of Rougemont

Rougemont grew up around a Cluniac priory founded between 1073 and 1085 under the protection of the counts of Gruyère; the foundation is attributed to Count Wilerius and his sons Guillaume, Reymond and Ulric. The priory, which usually housed only the prior and two monks, comprised the church of Saint-Nicolas, a conventual building, a barn and farm buildings. The village was subject both to the count of Gruyère and to the prior.

History of Rougemont

1073-1085. Foundation of the Cluniac priory of Rougemont under the protection of the counts of Gruyère.

1115. The « Pancarte » of 1115, the oldest document of the Pays-d'Enhaut, mentions « Rubeus Mons ».

before 1228. The church of Saint-Nicolas becomes a parish church.

1342. Construction of a stone barn for the priory.

1398. The count of Gruyère releases the inhabitants from mortmain.

1416. Rougemont has 80 hearths.

1456. The prior in turn releases the inhabitants from mortmain.

1481. The monk Henri Wirczburg de Vach prints at the priory a revised edition of the « Fasciculus temporum » by Werner Rolewinck, perhaps the fifth printed book in Switzerland.

16th century. The prior Pierre de Gruyère runs the county in the absence of his nephew Michel.

1555. Bern takes possession of upper Gruyère and introduces the Reformation, preached by Pierre Viret; the priory is dissolved and Rougemont joins the Bernese bailiwick of Gessenay (Saanen).

1572. A castle, residence of the bailiff, replaces the priory buildings.

1905. Opening of the Montreux-Oberland bernois line; the village opens up to tourism.

1959. Construction of the Rougemont-Videmanette cable car, which develops winter tourism.

1973. The castle is damaged by fire; it is restored the following year.

2017. Rougemont joins the association Les plus beaux villages de Suisse.

Population of Rougemont

Population of Rougemont

1416	80 hearths (households)
1764	1'287
1850	1'190
1880	1'256
1900	1'189
1930	1'150
1950	922
2000	901
2025	805

Historic sites in Rougemont

Church of Saint-Nicolas. Romanesque church built by the monks of Cluny at the end of the 11th century, with a shortened transept, an enlarged apse, a single roof and an Oberland-style bell tower. A parish church before 1228 and altered in the 16th century, it was decorated in the early 20th century with works by the painters Correvon, Rivier and Delachaux.

Rougemont Castle. Built in 1572 in place of the priory buildings as the residence of the Bernese bailiff of Gessenay. Damaged by fire in 1973, it was restored in 1974.

The village chalets. The old houses bear at the top of the facade the date of construction, an often biblical text and the names of the owner and the carpenter.

Remains in Rougemont

The Cluniac site. Of the former priory, founded between 1073 and 1085 and dissolved in 1555, the church of Saint-Nicolas survives, along with the site of the conventual buildings, replaced in 1572 by the castle. The priory also included two chapels, a stone barn of 1342, stables and granaries.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rougemont (commune) »
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rougemont (prieuré) »
• Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut, « Cluniac site of Rougemont »
• Wikipédia, « Rougemont (Vaud) »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
• geo.admin.ch, coordonnées de la localité

Localities of the municipality with a page

• Flendruz

Other villages near Rougemont

• Flendruz (VD)
• Château-d'Œx (VD)
• Les Moulins (VD)
• L'Etivaz (VD)
• Rossinière (VD)