Villars-sur-Glâne
Origin of the name Villars-sur-Glâne
The name appears in 1143 as « Vilar ». It becomes « Vilar lo Torel » in 1228, « Vilar le Terriour » in 1366 and, in German, « Wyler ob der Glanen » in 1652. From 1789 it is almost always written « Villars » or « Villars-sur-Glâne ».[1]
Founding of Villars-sur-Glâne
Villars-sur-Glâne lies on the slopes above the Glâne, at the southern entrance to Fribourg, on a crossing that was already unavoidable in Gallo-Roman times. In the Middle Ages the road from Fribourg to Bulle ran along today's route du Platy, through the Condoz wood, over the Sainte-Apolline bridge and on to Froideville. From the 11th to the 14th century the place belonged to the Villars-Achars family, later simply called Villars, whose coat of arms the municipality adopted. An important farming community until 1950, Villars-sur-Glâne lost land to the town of Fribourg several times, up to 1906. Its boundaries have not changed since.[1]
History of Villars-sur-Glâne
7th century BC. In the Hallstatt period a fortified site occupies Châtillon and a high-ranking prince is buried in the Moncor forest.[1]
1143. Villars enters the records as « Vilar ».[1]
1147. The Sainte-Apolline chapel bears this date inside, the oldest found in the building.[2]
Before 1243. A bridge already crosses the Glâne at Sainte-Apolline.[2]
1386. Bernese and Fribourg forces fight at Bertigny, a strategic point in the municipality.[1]
1447-1448. Bernese and Savoyard troops clash at Bertigny and Cormanon.[1]
Around 1508-1509. A first stone bridge probably replaces several wooden ones at Sainte-Apolline.[2]
1566. The Sainte-Apolline chapel is rebuilt, as the date carved on the outside shows.[2]
1609. A 470-pound bell is cast for the old church.[4]
Around 1690. Abbé Candide Fivaz has work done on the Sainte-Apolline chapel and is said to have commissioned its wooden altarpiece.[2]
1805. The run-down Sainte-Apolline bridge is repaired.[2]
1838-1840. A 600-pound bell, christened on 23 September 1838, replaces the bell of 1609, which cracked one Corpus Christi day, and the great bell given by the parishioners is blessed on 3 May 1840.[4]
1847. On 13 November, during the Sonderbund War, Vaud troops burst out of the Belle-Croix forest and attack the Fribourg positions at Les Dailles and Bertigny.[1]
1853-1858. The great Glâne bridge is built (from 1852 according to another account by the municipality) and the Bulle road leaves the Sainte-Apolline crossing.[1][3]
1906. The last transfer of land to the town of Fribourg fixes the municipality's present boundaries.[1]
1914-1916. The parish has a new church built, consecrated on 8 October 1916. The old one, too small and in very poor condition, is pulled down in 1915.[4]
1920-1930. The south-east-facing slopes attract families wishing to build villas there.[1]
1950. Until this date Villars-sur-Glâne remains an important farming community.[1]
1960-1980. Industries move in, the Moncor and Villars-Vert neighbourhoods go up and the population rises sharply.[1]
Population of Villars-sur-Glâne
Sources and references: [5]
| 2025 | 12'644 |
Historic sites in Villars-sur-Glâne
Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Church in a modernised Romanesque style on a Latin-cross plan, consecrated in 1916 on a preliminary design by the architect Broillet. The nave measures 28 m by 13.80 m and the tower, topped by an octagonal spire, 26 m. The side altars of Saint Augustine and the Virgin date from 1919, and all the stained-glass windows were given by parishioners. The belfry holds three bells from the old church.[4]
Sainte-Apolline chapel. Chapel marked with the dates 1147 inside and 1566 outside, altered around 1690, repaired in 1898 and fully restored inside in 1943. Its wooden altarpiece is probably due to Abbé Candide Fivaz.[2]
Sainte-Apolline bridge. Tufa bridge of the 16th or 17th century with a single raised arch spanning 13 m, 18 m long, 2.80 m wide between the parapets and 8 m high. It was called « pont de la Glâne » before the great bridge was built, and tradition places it on the pilgrim way to Santiago de Compostela.[2]
Glâne bridge. Designed by the Graubünden engineer La Nicca and built by the Fribourg contractors Curty and Nein under the engineer Kocher, the structure stands 53 m above the river. It is 178 m long and 9 m wide, with two tiers of eight 13.50 m vaults, in molasse quarried from the nearby cliffs on tufa foundations.[3]
Remains in Villars-sur-Glâne
Châtillon and the princely tomb of Moncor. Excavations have uncovered a fortified site at Châtillon and, in the Moncor forest, the tomb of a high-ranking prince, both from the Hallstatt period in the 7th century BC.[1]
Legends of Villars-sur-Glâne
Saint Apollonia's teeth. The dedication of the chapel is linked to decayed teeth found around the building. Saint Apollonia, virgin and martyr, is said to have been burnt at Alexandria in 248 after her teeth were pulled out, and she is the saint invoked against toothache.[2]
Sources
- Commune de Villars-sur-Glâne, « Histoire »
- Commune de Villars-sur-Glâne, « Pont et chapelle de Sainte-Apolline » (d'après Victor Buchs, « Villars-sur-Glâne, la paroisse et la commune »)
- Commune de Villars-sur-Glâne, « Pont de la Glâne »
- Commune de Villars-sur-Glâne, « Église Saint-Pierre-et-Paul »
- 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
Other villages near Villars-sur-Glâne
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