Verbier
Origin of the name Verbier
The name Verbier, whose origin remains obscure, first refers to the village, today the Verbier-Village quarter, and to a medieval castle whose ruins survive above it.
Founding of Verbier
Verbier is a village of the former municipality of Bagnes, which has been part of the municipality of Val de Bagnes since 2021. In the Middle Ages a castle stood above the village, probably built by the House of Savoy. Until the early 20th century Verbier remained a farming place: around 1900 it had only a few farmhouses and pastures for cattle. Skiing, then ski lifts, turned it into a resort, whose ski pass was extended to the « 4 Vallées » in the 1975-1976 season.[1][2][3][4][5]
History of Verbier
1287. The House of Savoy probably builds the castle of Verbier (in the 12th century according to another source).[4][5]
1475. After their victory at the Planta, which drove the Duke of Savoy out of Lower Valais, the Upper Valais tithings probably destroy the castle of Verbier.[1][4]
1686. Construction of the village's first chapel, dedicated to Saint Bartholomew.[4][5]
1866. The chapel is replaced by a larger stone church, which keeps 17th-century elements.[4][5]
1927. Official start of skiing in Verbier and of tourist activity.[2][5]
1933. The Swiss Ski School of Verbier opens (1927 according to another source).[2][5][6]
1935. The road from Le Châble finally reaches Verbier-Village. Another fourteen years pass before it reaches the resort.[2]
1937. Creation of the Verbier development society, which later sets up the tourist office.[2]
1945. The hamlet has only 27 inhabitants.[6]
1946. First lift, a cable-hauled sled nicknamed « funiluge ».[4][5]
1950. Télésiège de Médran SA is founded. The Médran chairlift opens on 23 December and gives winter tourism its boost.[1][3]
1955. Construction of a single-seat chairlift to Savoleyres.[3]
1960. The company merges with the Attelas cable car company, backed by Rodolphe Tissières, under the name Société anonyme des Téléphériques de Verbier. The Mont-Gelé cable car opens.[3]
1966. On 28 April the company takes the name Téléverbier SA.[4]
1975. The Le Châble-Verbier gondola is fully in service in the autumn.[3]
1987. Inauguration in December of the « Jumbo », then the largest cable car in Switzerland.[3]
1994. Opening of the Funispace on 23 December.[3]
Population of Verbier
Sources and references: [6]
| 1945 | 27 inhabitants |
Historic sites in Verbier
Chapel of Verbier-Village. First chapel built in 1686 and dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, replaced in 1866 by a larger stone church that keeps 17th-century elements.[4][5]
Médran. Starting point of the resort's first chairlift, opened on 23 December 1950, and later of the Téléverbier lifts to Les Attelas and Mont-Fort.[3]
Remains in Verbier
Castle of Verbier. Medieval castle above the village, probably destroyed in 1475 after the battle of the Planta. Its ruins are now overgrown with vegetation.[1][4][5]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bagnes, Val de » (Jean-Yves Gabbud, version du 31.03.2011, version allemande lue)
- Verbier Tourisme, « Our history »
- Téléverbier, « A bit of history »
- seeverbier.com, « History »
- Thomas Crauwels, « Histoire de Verbier » (blog)
- immobilier.ch, « Si Verbier m'était conté »
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Other villages near Verbier
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