Seiry
Origin of the name Seiry
Seiry is recorded in 1180 as « Seirie ». There is no established explanation of the name.[1]
Founding of Seiry
Seiry lies away from the main roads. In the 13th and 14th centuries it is the centre of a small lordship held by the squires of Seiry, who had their family vault in the church of Cugy, before it becomes part of the lordship of Cheyres. The village first belongs to the parish of Cugy. Its large farmhouses are built of shelly sandstone from the local quarry, worked for several generations by the Pillonel family. Once rural, Seiry has become residential. It is now part of the municipality of Lully (merger of 2006).[1][2][3]
History of Seiry
1180. The village appears under the name « Seirie ».[1]
1325. A fortified house is recorded at Seiry.[1]
1343. A chapel of Saint-Georges exists in the village.[1]
1441. Cheyres, Bollion and Seiry form a small lordship, separate from that of Font but held by the same La Molière family. It then belongs to Georges de La Molière.[2]
1521. A fire ravages Seiry.[1]
16th century. Claudine, great-granddaughter of Georges de La Molière, marries Henri de Praroman and brings him the lordship of Cheyres as her dowry. Seiry then belongs to the bailiwick of Estavayer.[1][2]
1704. Anne-Judith de Praroman, wife of Abraham Ancel of Yverdon, sells the lordship to Fribourg, which makes it the bailiwick of Cheyres until 1798.[1][2]
1734. Seiry leaves the parish of Cugy for that of Montet.[1]
1798. The bailiff, who lived at Cheyres, leaves when the French arrive. A farmhouse in the village, dated 1798, bears an inscription linked to the Helvetic Republic on a barn lintel.[2][3]
1798-1848. Seiry belongs to the district of Avenches, then to Surpierre from 1803 and to Estavayer from 1817 to 1848.[1]
1842. A schoolhouse is built. It is still unfinished in 1854.[3]
1883-1886. Abbé Ernest Pillonel carries through the plan for a church. The architect Antoine Nein builds it in 1883-1884, and it is inaugurated on 23 November 1884. The old medieval chapel is demolished in 1886.[1][2][3]
1900. Seiry becomes a parish. The presbytery dates from 1897.[1][3]
1918. On 14 May Bishop Colliard consecrates the church to Saint George.[2]
1999. A municipal building and a primary school are built near the church.[3]
2006. On 1 January Seiry merges with Bollion and Lully into the municipality of Lully, under a decree of 21 June 2005.[1][4]
Population of Seiry
Sources and references: [1]
| 1811 | 86 |
| 1850 | 164 |
| 1900 | 209 |
| 1950 | 140 |
| 1970 | 89 |
| 2000 | 202 |
Historic sites in Seiry
Church of Saint-Georges. Neo-Gothic church by Antoine Nein, its vaults resting on corbels, restored in 1970. Its confessional comes from the collegiate church of Estavayer.[2][3]
Old school and granaries. The granaries have late Gothic windows. The 1842 schoolhouse was altered in 1944 and sold by the municipality around 1996-1997.[2][3]
Farmhouse of 1798. Twin farmhouse dated 1798, with an adjoining house of 1899. Its barn lintel recalls the birth of the Helvetic Republic.[3]
Remains in Seiry
Chapel of Saint-Georges. Recorded in 1343, the medieval chapel was demolished in 1886. Its stones were used to build the church, and its bell hangs in the small bell turret of the public works building.[1][2][3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Seiry » (Marianne Rolle, version du 01.02.2017)
- Commune de Lully, « Le village de Seiry »
- Service des biens culturels du canton de Fribourg, Recensement cantonal des sites construits d'importance régionale et locale (SCRoL), « Seiry », 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 Seiry
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change