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Villages / Fribourg / Glâne district / Villaraboud

Villaraboud

Canton of Fribourg · District: Glâne · 265 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Villaraboud, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Siviriez
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Legends Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Villaraboud

The village appears in 1228 as « Vilar Rabot ». The name has not been explained.[1]

Founding of Villaraboud

Villaraboud lies between the Glâne and the Neirigue. It was the seat of a parish by 1228 at the latest, whose patronage the Benedictine priory of Burier, near Vevey, held until 1536. In 1262 Rodolphe d'Ecublens sold his property in the village to Count Peter II of Savoy. Several families, vassals of Savoy, then followed one another, among them the Challant and the Villarzel. In 2000 the village was still mainly agricultural, but two thirds of the working population worked elsewhere. Villaraboud is now part of the municipality of Siviriez (merger of 2004).[1][2]

History of Villaraboud

1228. The village is recorded as « Vilar Rabot ». It already forms a parish, whose patronage belongs to the Benedictine priory of Burier, near Vevey.[1][2]

1262. Rodolphe, lord of Ecublens, sells Count Peter II of Savoy all his property at Villaraboud.[1]

1416. A chapel is mentioned for the first time.[1]

15th century. The Challant, then the Villarzel, vassals of Savoy, are among the families who hold the village until 1536.[1]

1536-1798. Villaraboud belongs to the Fribourg bailiwick of Romont. The patronage of the parish passes to the government of Fribourg.[1][2]

1798-1848. The village belongs to the district of Romont, then, from 1848, to the district of the Glâne.[1]

18th century. A sanctuary « à répit », where stillborn children were brought, stands on the site of the present chapel of Notre-Dame du Bois.[1]

1804. The pilgrimage chapel of Notre-Dame du Bois is built.[1][3]

First half of the 19th century. A school is built on the site of the old presbytery.[1]

1867-1868. The church of Saint-Laurent, designed by the architect Grimm of Romont, is completed and consecrated on 9 September 1868 by Bishop Marilley.[1][2]

1936. The two choir windows of Notre-Dame du Bois, by Gaston Thévoz, are inaugurated.[3]

1947. The church is renovated under the direction of the architect Dumas.[2]

1949. Yoki creates the four nave windows of Notre-Dame du Bois, including the rose window.[3]

2000. About two thirds of the working population work outside the municipality.[1]

2003. On 16 May the assembly approves the merger with Siviriez, Chavannes-les-Forts and Prez-vers-Siviriez by 52 votes to 9. Its mayor, Michel Mauron, becomes the first mayor of the new municipality.[4]

2004. Villaraboud joins the municipality of Siviriez, under a decree of 6 November 2003.[1][4][6]

2007. On 1 January the parish of Villaraboud merges with that of Siviriez.[5]

Population of Villaraboud

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Villaraboud
14537 hearths
1850247
1900306
1950323
2000265

Historic sites in Villaraboud

Church of Saint-Laurent. Built by the architect Grimm and consecrated in 1868, it has a façade and bell tower of local erratic boulders. Master Yoki painted the vault frescoes, including « Saint Laurent et saint Blaise », and the Stations of the Cross (1956).[1][2]

Chapel of Notre-Dame du Bois. Built in 1804, it lies on the pilgrimage route of Saint Marguerite Bays. Its stained glass is by Gaston Thévoz (1936) and Yoki (1949).[1][3]

Remains in Villaraboud

Sanctuary « à répit ». In the 18th century a sanctuary « à répit », a place of « resurrection » for stillborn children, preceded the chapel of Notre-Dame du Bois.[1]

Legends of Villaraboud

The statuette in the hollow tree. Before the sanctuary was built, the wood was believed to be haunted by « the world of darkness ». A pilgrim returning from Einsiedeln is said to have placed a statuette of Our Lady of Einsiedeln in a hollow tree, the origin of the place of worship.[3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Villaraboud » (Dominique Roulin, version du 03.01.2015)
  2. Unité pastorale Sainte Marguerite Bays, « Église de Villaraboud »
  3. Unité pastorale Sainte Marguerite Bays, « Chapelle Notre-Dame du Bois »
  4. Commune de Siviriez, « Chronique spéciale pour les 20 ans de la fusion, 2004-2024 »
  5. Unité pastorale Sainte Marguerite Bays, « Paroisse de Siviriez-Villaraboud »
  6. État de Fribourg, Recueil systématique (RSF 141.1.2), « Liste chronologique des fusions, divisions et changements de nom des communes »

Other villages near Villaraboud

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