Villars-Bramard
Origin of the name Villars-Bramard
The first attested written mention of the place dates back to 1155, but the sources consulted differ slightly on the exact transcription of this oldest form: according to the Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse and Wikipédia (French), it would be «Vilar Bermart», while another source instead gives «Villa balmal» for the same year 1155 (transcription discrepancy to be cross-checked). Later forms are attested: «Villar Bremar» (1180), «Villabramar» (1184) and then «Villars Bramar» (1394), based on a single source at this stage, to be cross-checked. The etymology generally put forward derives the place name from the Late Latin villare («hamlet», «rural estate») combined with a personal name of Germanic origin, rendered variously as Ballomar, Balmar or Bramar depending on the source; this precise hypothesis about the personal name rests on a single source consulted and deserves to be cross-checked.
Founding of Villars-Bramard
Villars-Bramard has no individual founder or founding act identified by the sources consulted. Like most villages of the Vaud Broye region, it formed gradually during the Middle Ages as a rural settlement, on a territory that fell under the temporal domain of the bishop of Lausanne, within the châtellenie of Villarzel (which at the time also included Cerniaz, Sédeilles, Rossens, Marnand and Granges). The Villarzel family itself held property in the village. From 1215, the Cistercian abbey of Hauterive held tithe rights over the village's grain, granted by Othon de Dompierre; these rights were confirmed by a papal bull in 1356.
History of Villars-Bramard
1155. First written mention of the place, in a form whose exact transcription differs depending on the source (see section « Origin of the name »).
1180. The place appears in the form «Villar Bremar», to be cross-checked (single source).
1184. The place appears in the form «Villabramar», to be cross-checked (single source).
1215. The Cistercian abbey of Hauterive receives tithe rights over the village's grain, granted by Othon de Dompierre.
1356. A papal bull confirms the tithe rights of the abbey of Hauterive over the village.
1394. The place appears in the form «Villars Bramar», to be cross-checked (single source).
1453. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste chapel is mentioned for the first time, as a chapel-of-ease of the parish of Dompierre; the village never had its own parish church.
1536. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud, Villars-Bramard comes under the authority of the bailiwick of Moudon, which administers it until 1798.
1727. Boundary stones are set to mark the border with the canton of Fribourg; they still remain today.
1798-1803. During the Helvetic period, the village belongs to the canton of Léman before the territory's entry into the canton of Vaud in 1803; it is then attached to the district of Payerne, which remains its district until 2006.
1945. End of the operation of the village's molasse sandstone quarry.
around 1960. The former molasse sandstone quarry is converted into a nature reserve.
2006. Dissolution of the district of Payerne; Villars-Bramard joins the new district of Broye-Vully.
1 July 2011. Official merger of Villars-Bramard with Cerniaz, Combremont-le-Grand, Combremont-le-Petit, Granges-près-Marnand, Marnand, Sassel and Seigneux to form the new municipality of Valbroye.
Population of Villars-Bramard
| 1764 | 75 |
| 1850 | 192 |
| 1900 | 172 |
| 1950 | 127 |
| 1980 | 88 |
| 2000 | 118 |
| 2010 | 116 |
Historic sites in Villars-Bramard
Saint-Jean-Baptiste chapel. Attested since 1453, this chapel has always been a chapel-of-ease of the parish of Dompierre: Villars-Bramard never had its own parish church.
Nature reserve of the former molasse sandstone quarry. Operated until 1945, the village's former molasse sandstone quarry was converted into a nature reserve in the 1960s; it is today a notable natural site within the territory of the former municipality.
Remains in Villars-Bramard
Tumuli of the Farzin forest. Several tumuli have been discovered in the Farzin forest, within the territory of the village; the sources consulted specify neither their period nor the exact context of their discovery, to be cross-checked.
Roman settlement at the site known as En Gravegny. A settlement from the Roman period has been identified at the site known as En Gravegny; the site was later reused as a stone quarry in the 18th century.
Boundary stones of 1727. Stones dated 1727 still mark today the boundary between the territory of the former municipality and the canton of Fribourg.
Sources
- Fabienne Abetel-Béguelin, « Villars-Bramard », Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (HLS)
- Wikipédia (français), « Villars-Bramard »
- Wikipedia (Deutsch), « Villars-Bramard »
- Wikipedia (English), « Villars-Bramard »
- C. Fontannaz et E. Pradervand, Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz, vol. 128 (2015) - référence bibliographique physique citée par Wikipédia (allemand), sans version en ligne consultée
- Feuille des Avis Officiels du Canton de Vaud (FAOVD), « Valbroye »
- Wikipédia (français), « Valbroye »
Other villages near Villars-Bramard
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