Vuadens
Origin of the name Vuadens
The estate is recorded in 516 as « curtis Wadingum », then in 929 in the form « Vuadingis ». In German it was formerly called « Wüadingen ». The origin of the name is not explained.[1]
Founding of Vuadens
Vuadens belonged to the Burgundian royal domain before King Sigismund gave it to the abbey of Saint-Maurice in 516. The village, on the road from Bulle to Vevey, long belonged to the parish of Bulle and at first had only a chapel dedicated to Saint Sylvester. In the 19th century it lived mainly from cattle farming, with three cheese dairies, from the forest and the timber trade, and from straw plaiting.[1]
History of Vuadens
516. The Burgundian king Sigismund gives Vuadens to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.[1]
1317. The village passes to the house of Savoy, which joins it to the castellany of Corbières.[1]
1454. The community becomes the property of the count of Gruyère.[1]
1479. The lords of Gruyère-Aigremont, an illegitimate branch of the Gruyère family, now exercise jurisdiction.[1]
1551. Vuadens receives its first communal statutes.[1]
1553. The village comes under the sovereignty of Fribourg, in the bailiwick of Corbières.[1]
1602. Vuadens becomes a parish.[1]
1615. The first church is consecrated.[1]
1752. The Pidoux brothers open a faience works, which soon declines.[1]
1798-1848. Vuadens belongs to the district of Bulle, then, from 1848, to the district of Gruyère.[1]
mid-19th century. Charles Moret sets up steam baths in the mountain pastures, with milk and whey baths.[1]
1866. The church, rebuilt and enlarged at the end of the 18th century, is destroyed by fire.[1]
1868. The Bulle-Romont line runs north of the village.[1]
1869. The present church of Saint Sylvester is consecrated.[1]
1903. The Bulle-Châtel-Saint-Denis line serves the south of the municipality.[1]
1914-1991. The Guigoz factory makes powdered milk. It employs more than a hundred people and at times processes over 40'000 kg of milk a day.[1]
1973. Work on the A12 motorway uncovers Bronze Age graves at Le Briez.[1]
2000. 74 % of the working population work outside the municipality. In 2005 agriculture still provides 24 % of jobs.[1]
Population of Vuadens
Sources and references: [1][2]
| 1811 | 780 |
| 1850 | 948 |
| 1900 | 1'193 |
| 1950 | 1'341 |
| 2000 | 1'657 |
| 2025 | 2'580 |
Historic sites in Vuadens
Church of Saint Sylvester. The present church, consecrated in 1869, replaced the one of 1615, rebuilt at the end of the 18th century and burnt in 1866. Its dedication takes up that of the old chapel of Vuadens.[1]
Manor of the Gruyère-Aigremont. The manor of the lords of Gruyère-Aigremont, who exercised jurisdiction from 1479, still stands.[1]
Les Colombettes. The place is associated with the « Ranz des vaches ». At the end of the 20th century the hotel des Colombettes became a meeting place for emigrant Fribourgeois, still much visited in the early 21st century.[1]
Remains in Vuadens
Graves of Le Briez. Three Bronze Age cremation graves of the Urnfield culture (1300-1200 BC) were discovered in 1973 under the foundations of a villa, in the Le Briez quarter.[1]
Maupas cemetery. The Maupas quarter has yielded 115 row graves from the early Middle Ages. Iron tools of the same period come from graves at Le Dally and Le Crêt de la Mottaz.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vuadens » (François Genoud, version du 05.01.2015)
- 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 Vuadens
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change