Semsales
Origin of the name Semsales
The name appears around 1100 as « septem salis », then in 1177 as « Septem Sales ». Parish tradition reads in it the seven farms the place then had.[1][2]
Founding of Semsales
Semsales grew up at the foot of the Fribourg Prealps, near the Niremont and the Alpettes, on land of the canons of Mont-Joux, the Great St Bernard. The place was first a « cella » of the hospice, then a priory whose prior was both lord of the village and parish priest. The first village lay between the They and the Moyon, and the track from Vaulruz to Châtel-Saint-Denis ran higher up. After the landslide that tradition places in the 13th century, it was rebuilt further west. Long given to farming and crafts, the municipality has taken in industries since the 2000s. Since 1968 it has included the former municipality of La Rougève.[1][2][5]
History of Semsales
Around 1100. The place is recorded as « septem salis ».[1]
1177. A bull of Pope Alexander III, issued in Venice, names Semsales as a « cella » of the canons of Mont-Joux and places their property under his protection.[1][2]
1228. Semsales has become a priory. The prior is lord of the village and parish priest.[1]
13th century. A landslide is said to have buried the first village. The houses were rebuilt further west, probably at la Villette.[1][2]
Around 1475. Semsales belongs to the castellany of Rue, which has passed to the House of Savoy.[2]
1536-1537. Fribourg takes control of Semsales in 1536 and attaches it the following year to the bailiwick of Rue.[1]
1581. The village passes to the bailiwick of Châtel-Saint-Denis.[1]
1602. Mont-Joux cedes the priory to the chapter of Saint-Nicolas in Fribourg.[1]
1632-1636. A new church of Saint-Nicolas is built, after the visit of Mgr de Watteville in 1625. It is consecrated on 15 November 1635.[1][3]
1782. The chapter sells the priory building to a private owner.[1]
1786. On 18 June lightning strikes the church tower during vespers. The fire is quickly put out.[3]
1830. Fanned by the bise, a fire destroys 42 houses in the centre of the village. The church is spared.[1][2]
1848. The toll on the Fribourg-Vevey road disappears, and Semsales joins the district of the Veveyse.[1]
19th century. The Semsales glassworks, located at Progens, flourishes.[1]
1869. The chapel of Notre-Dame du Niremont is built above the village.[1]
1922-1926. The parish entrusts the new church to the architect Dumas of Romont and the builder Masset of Vaulruz. Blessed on 6 December 1925, it is consecrated on 6 December 1926.[1][4]
1968. Semsales merges with La Rougève.[1][5]
1973. The nave of the abandoned old church is demolished. The tower, handed to the municipality in 1966, is kept.[3]
1981. The A12 motorway opens. Together with the industries that came later, it helps the population recover.[1]
Population of Semsales
Sources and references: [1][6]
| 1850 | 666 |
| 1900 | 909 |
| 1950 | 849 |
| 2000 | 1'019 |
| 2025 | 1'591 |
Historic sites in Semsales
Church of Saint-Nicolas. Neo-Romanesque church consecrated in 1926, built on the site of the Couronne inn. Its decoration is largely the work of the Italian painter Gino Severini, of the Saint-Luc group. Of its seven bells, one dates from 1686 and a small, very valuable one probably from the 15th century.[1][4]
Tower of the old church. The only remnant of the church of 1632-1636, the tower with its onion-domed belfry, rare in the canton, has been restored several times with help from the Heimatschutz.[1][3]
Notre-Dame du Niremont. The chapel of 1869 overlooks the village. The raised bogs of the Niremont, protected at national level, are crossed by a peat-bog nature trail.[1]
Remains in Semsales
Axe from Clos Moyon. A Bronze Age axe was found at Clos Moyon.[1]
Mound at La Montaneire. The small mound at La Montaneire may be a Hallstatt-period burial mound.[1]
The first village. A wrought-iron cross on the Alpettes road near the Moyon marks the site of the original village, at the They. At la Villette a farmhouse stands in the remains of a presbytery, and a cross marks the old cemetery.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Semsales » (Jean-Claude Vial, version du 23.11.2011)
- Unité pastorale St-Denis, paroisse de Semsales, « Histoire de notre paroisse »
- Unité pastorale St-Denis, paroisse de Semsales, « L'ancienne église »
- Unité pastorale St-Denis, paroisse de Semsales, « La nouvelle église »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rougève, La » (Jean-Claude Vial, version du 25.05.2012)
- Service de la statistique du canton de Fribourg (SStat), « Population des communes, de 1900 à 2025 » (T01-02-03), population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Semsales
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