Schwarzsee
Origin of the name Schwarzsee
The lake is called « Plaffeyensee » in a deed of 1319, then « zem swartzen sew » in 1355 and « magnus lacus de Aumena » in 1447. In the 19th century French speakers said « lac Domène », which people took to mean the Monk's Lake. The current French name is Lac Noir.[1][3]
Founding of Schwarzsee
The lake, 0.45 km² in area, was formed at the foot of the Kaiseregg by landslides, and the Warme Sense flows out of it. In the Middle Ages it belonged to the lordships of Jaun and Plaffeien, and Hauterive abbey held property and rights in the area. In the 18th century it was known almost only to alpine herders, shepherds and woodcutters. The village grew out of the baths opened by sulphur springs, then from the road and the cable cars, which made it a leisure area close to Fribourg. Tourism is now the main source of income of the municipality of Plaffeien, above all around the lake.[1][2][3]
History of Schwarzsee
5000-4000 BC. Landslides block the valley and form the lake.[1]
1076. The lake is first recorded in a document.[3]
1143. A chapel is mentioned by the lake.[2]
1716. An engraved view depicts the Schwarzsee.[3]
1777. Peter Schuwey, a fisherman from Plaffeien, buys the Ramserli alp, which has sulphur springs.[3]
1784. Schuwey builds the lake's first bathhouse there (in 1793, according to a parish history). The sulphur springs make the area known from 1783.[1][2][3][4]
Around 1786. A chapel to the Virgin is built near the baths (a few years after 1793, according to the same text). A priest from Fribourg says Mass there during the bathing season.[4]
1811. An avalanche destroys the old bath building. In 1812 a better-built and better-sited one replaces it.[4]
1826. A toll road at last reaches the lake. The toll house at the confluence of the Warme and Kalte Sense gave its name to the place called Zollhaus. Tourism in the valley begins with it.[1][3]
Around 1840. A larger chapel is built and solemnly consecrated by Bishop Yenny.[4]
Early 20th century. The Gypsera inn opens near the old gypsum mill at the lake's outlet.[1]
1946. After cable cars are built, tourism grows and the lake becomes a leisure area close to Fribourg.[1]
1966. In May the Bruder-Klaus church, by the architect Georges Schaller, is inaugurated.[5]
Historic sites in Schwarzsee
The lake. A 4 km path circles the lake from the Gypsera stop. In summer it is called the Hexenweg (witches' path), and local tales are presented along it. When the ice is safe, the frozen lake is open to skaters, cross-country skiers and walkers.[1][6]
Bruder-Klaus church. A modern church inaugurated in 1966, designed by Georges Schaller. Its 1965-1966 windows by Yoki (Emile Aebischer) show the symbols of the four evangelists, the sun, the moon and the face of Christ. The glass is set in concrete rather than lead, then a new technique, and the windows were made in the Fleckner workshop in Fribourg.[5]
Bad Schwarzsee. The quarter of the old baths, at 1'061 m, is where the bath buildings and the successive chapels stood.[4]
Schwarzsee dragon. A dragon of iron and sheet metal, made by a local art blacksmith, stands on a 20 m rock.[6]
Remains in Schwarzsee
Mesolithic finds in the Euschelsbach. Mesolithic objects have been found in the Euschelsbach valley, south of the lake.[1]
Legends of Schwarzsee
Bernhard Riggi and the dwarfs. Many centuries ago a rich and kindly man, Bernhard Riggi, lived here. Every summer dwarfs helped him milk and make cheese and watched his herd at night. In return he left them a bowl of cream every evening. After his death his proud and greedy son Ubald drove the dwarfs out of the valley, and the family's prosperity left with them.[3][7]
The dragon and the birth of the lake. One day a violent storm broke over the valley. The mountain split and huge rocks tumbled down the slope. A dragon came out of a gorge and devoured everything in its path. The masses of stone blocked the water's outflow, and the black lake was formed.[7]
Gargantua's feet. According to another tradition, the lake owes its name to the giant Gargantua, who is said to have washed his dirty feet in it.[7]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Schwarzsee » (Eveline Seewer, version du 15.02.2006)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Plaffeien (commune) » (Peter F. Kopp, version du 05.05.2017)
- Commune de Plaffeien, « Schwarzsee »
- Commune de Plaffeien, histoire de la paroisse de Plaffeyen (monographie de la fin du XIXe siècle, PDF)
- Kunst Freiburg (friportail), « Yoki, Glasmalerei, 1965/66 »
- Fribourg Région, « Schwarzsee : the lake path »
- Zeitlupe, « Sagenhafter Schwarzsee » (Usch Vollenwyder)
Other villages near Schwarzsee
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