FRDEITEN
Villages / Valais / Sion district / Savièse
Coat of arms of Savièse

Savièse

Canton of Valais · District: Sion · 8'451 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
View of Savièse
Photo: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Coat of arms: Public domain
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Savièse

Savièse appears around 1200 as « Saviesi », then « Savisia » in 1224. The old German name is « Safiesch ». The origin of the name remains uncertain. Suggestions include the Latin « saevus » (wild), a Gaulish word linked to summer and summer grazing, or a personal name, « Sabius ».

Founding of Savièse

Who founded Savièse is not known. Bronze Age burials show that the plateau on the right bank of the Rhône was inhabited early, and the parish existed from the 11th century. The territory covers more than half of the district of Sion and borders the Bernese Alps to the north, at the Sanetsch pass. Six villages make it up: Saint-Germain, the centre, Chandolin, Granois, Drône, Roumaz and Ormône. Other hamlets, such as Malters and Zuchnats, disappeared in the 15th century. In the Middle Ages Savièse was a castellany of the bishop of Sion. It suffered Savoyard incursions, quarrelled for centuries with the people of Conthey and defended its rights against Sion. Little by little the municipality won the right to present and appoint the castellan and the sautier itself, while the bishop kept a nominal authority. The bisses allowed agriculture to develop from the Middle Ages. The people of Savièse also used forests and pastures in the Gessenay.[1]

History of Savièse

2300-1600 BC. Bronze Age burials on the territory of the municipality.[1]

11th century. The parish is attested.[1]

around 1200. First mentioned in the form « Saviesi ».[1]

1219. The bishop of Sion has the castle of La Soie built.[1]

1224. Mentioned in the form « Savisia ».[1]

1260. Treaty between Peter II of Savoy and the bishop, which does not prevent Savoyard incursions in the 13th and 14th centuries.[1]

1375. Bishop Guichard Tavel is murdered at the castle of La Soie by Antoine de la Tour and his men.[2]

1417. The castle of La Soie is burnt and then left in ruins.[3]

around 1430. Construction of the Torrent-Neuf bisse.[3]

1447. Statutes of the community, revised in 1619 and 1661.[1]

1475. During the war of 1475, Savoy burns the villages of the municipality and the church of Saint-Germain.

1520. A Gothic church replaces the burned one.[1]

1580. The communal house is built. Date uncertain.

1634. A chapel is mentioned at Drône.[1]

1798. After the fight at Chandolin, the French impose heavy levies.[1]

1801. General Turreau de Garambouville has the municipality occupied by several companies.[1]

1815-1839. Savièse belongs to the dizain of Hérens, before returning to the district of Sion.[1]

1880. Enlargement of the church of Saint-Germain.[1]

1935. A tunnel replaces the Torrent-Neuf bisse, which is abandoned.[3]

1995. A local museum opens at Granois.[1]

Population of Savièse

Sources and references: [1][5]

Population of Savièse
18501'703
19002'259
19503'131
20005'341
20258'451

Historic sites in Savièse

Castle of La Soie. Castle built in 1219 by the bishop of Sion, centre of the episcopal castellany. Burnt in 1417 and then left in ruins.[1][3]

Church of Saint-Germain. Parish church burned in 1475, replaced in 1520 by a Gothic building enlarged in 1880.

Torrent-Neuf bisse. Irrigation channel built around 1430, abandoned in 1935 when a tunnel replaced it, and used since the 2000s as a footpath.[3]

Communal house. The building reportedly dates from 1580. A permanent exhibition here shows works by painters of the Savièse school from the municipal collection.[4]

Granois and its museum. Village of the municipality where a local museum opened in 1995.[1]

Sanetsch pass. Pass to the north of the municipality, at the edge of the Bernese Alps. Savièse still owns pastures at Gsteig.

Remains in Savièse

Bronze Age burials. Burials dated 2300-1600 BC, discovered on the territory of the municipality.[1]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Savièse » (David Rey, version du 23.02.2011)
  2. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Tavel, Guichard » (Philipp Kalbermatter, trad. Madeleine Kobel, version du 14.08.2012)
  3. Etat du Valais, magazine VIS-A-VIS, « En visite à Savièse avec Sylvain Dumoulin » (non daté, avant juin 2025)
  4. Commune de Savièse, Maison de Commune, exposition « Saisons » (collection communale, dépliant 2022)
  5. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  6. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées de Saint-Germain)

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Savièse

Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.

Suggest a change