Vallon
Origin of the name Vallon
The village appears around 1200 in the form « Valum », but the origin of the name has not been established.[1]
Founding of Vallon
Vallon lies on the last foothills of the Vully above the Broye plain, and the municipality includes the hamlet of Carignan. A large Gallo-Roman villa occupied the site from the 1st to the 5th century. In the 5th century a mausoleum stood on the molasse spur above it, replaced in the 6th century by the church of Saint-Pierre de Carignan, to whose parish Vallon has always belonged. In the 12th and 13th centuries Vallon formed a small lordship under the lords of Estavayer. The farming hamlet grew lengthwise on a slight rise along a dead-end secondary road.[1][2]
History of Vallon
Late Bronze Age and Hallstatt. A few isolated objects from the transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Hallstatt period are left on the site.[1]
1st-5th century. A Gallo-Roman villa of more than forty rooms occupies the site. Towards the end of the 3rd century a fire partly destroys it.[1]
5th century. The villa is now only partly occupied, in connection with a mausoleum built on the molasse spur.[1]
6th century. The church of Saint-Pierre de Carignan replaces the mausoleum.[1]
Around the year 1000. The church at Carignan is rebuilt.[1]
12th-13th centuries. Vallon forms a small lordship dependent on the lords of Estavayer.[1]
1338. The people of Payerne set fire to the village.[1]
1475. Vallon comes under the rule of Fribourg.[1]
1536. The village is attached to the bailiwick of Estavayer.[1]
1798. Vallon joins the district of Payerne, followed by those of Montagny in 1803, Dompierre in 1831 and the Broye in 1848.[1]
1965-1983. A test centre run by the Union des fédérations agricoles, for animal feed, and the Schweizerische Verwertungsgenossenschaft für Eier und Geflügel, for poultry farming, operates in the village.[1]
1985. On 30 May two excavators find the first mosaic of the Roman villa, on land earmarked for a housing estate.[3]
1995. The Pro Vallon Foundation is set up.[1]
2000. The Roman Museum is built on the site of the villa.[1][3]
Early 21st century. The farming municipality grows as a place to live, mainly along the cantonal road.[1][2]
Population of Vallon
Sources and references: [1][4]
| 1811 | 129 |
| 1850 | 150 |
| 1900 | 175 |
| 1950 | 212 |
| 1970 | 166 |
| 2000 | 267 |
| 2025 | 537 |
Historic sites in Vallon
Roman Museum of Vallon. Built on the site of the villa and following its L-shaped plan, it shows the two mosaics where they were found. The larger room can be entered, the smaller one is seen through a large window.[1][3]
Church of Saint-Pierre de Carignan. On the spur above the villa, Vallon's parish church succeeded a mausoleum in the 6th century and was rebuilt around the year 1000.[1]
Remains in Vallon
Gallo-Roman villa. The villa had more than forty rooms in three wings, with a colonnaded portico, granary, garden, a lararium with bronze statuettes and wall paintings. The mosaic of Bacchus and Ariadne dates from the second half of the 2nd century, the venatio mosaic, a hunt in the amphitheatre, from the early 3rd century.[1]
Carignan hoard. A 15th-century coin hoard was found in the choir of the church at Carignan.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vallon » (Marianne Rolle, version du 27.12.2014)
- Service des biens culturels du canton de Fribourg, Recensement cantonal des sites construits (SCRoL), district de la Broye, « Vallon » (février 2026)
- Musée romain de Vallon, « Du site au musée »
- 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 Vallon
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