Wallenbuch
Origin of the name Wallenbuch
The place appears in 1306 as « Buch », then as « Valabuch » in 1340. The name is unexplained.[1]
Founding of Wallenbuch
Wallenbuch is a hamlet made up of a chapel, a chaplain's house, a school and a few farms (14 in 1818, 8 in 1917), far from the centre of the municipality. In the 15th century the seigneurial rights belong to the Chastel, Velga, Solerio (of Morges) and Cléry families. Fribourg acquires them from 1502, settles the border with Bern in 1507 and makes the place a small bailiwick. Agricultural until the second half of the 20th century, the village has become a home for commuters working in Fribourg, Murten and Laupen. Wallenbuch is now part of the municipality of Gurmels (merger of 2003).[1][2]
History of Wallenbuch
1306. First mention, as « Buch ».[1]
15th century. The Chastel, Velga, Solerio and Cléry families succeed one another in the seigneurial rights.[2]
1470. The chapel of St Barbara and St Radegund already exists (or is built in 1474).[1][3]
1502. Fribourg begins to acquire the seigneurial rights.[1]
1507. Fribourg settles the line of the border with Bern.[1]
1512. Wallenbuch passes definitively to Fribourg.[2]
Reformation. Having stayed Catholic, Wallenbuch is detached from the parish of Ferenbalm and joined to that of Gurmels.[1][2]
1589. The communal statutes are drawn up.[1]
1737. The Fribourg canon Jakob Raemy founds a chaplaincy.[1][3]
18th century. The small bailiwick set up by Fribourg, first run by the state chancery, is entrusted to the Waagmeister, the keeper of the public weighhouse.[1]
1798-1848. Wallenbuch belongs to the district of Morat until 1803, to that of Fribourg until 1830, then to the German district. In 1848 it joins the Lake district.[1]
1907. The chaplain stops teaching school.[1]
2002. On 28 June the communal assembly accepts the merger with Gurmels, Guschelmuth and Liebistorf by 37 votes to 17.[3]
2003. Wallenbuch becomes a village of the municipality of Gurmels.[1][2]
2026. On 1 January the merger of Gurmels and Ulmiz links the Wallenbuch exclave to the municipal territory of Gurmels.[4]
Population of Wallenbuch
Sources and references: [1]
| 1811 | 79 |
| 1850 | 81 |
| 1900 | 47 |
| 1950 | 62 |
| 2000 | 109 |
Historic sites in Wallenbuch
Chapel of St Barbara and St Radegund. Rebuilt in 1599 and restored in 1676 after a fire, it was thoroughly renovated in 1809-1810 (or rebuilt larger by the municipality in 1810). Its last renovation dates from 1949.[1][3]
Former school. Building from the early 20th century, used as a school until 1971.[1]
Remains in Wallenbuch
Roman site. A 1st-century Roman site lies south of the village.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Wallenbuch » (Kathrin Utz Tremp, version du 07.08.2013)
- Commune de Gurmels, « Wallenbuch » (histoire des villages)
- Commune de Gurmels, « Jahrzahlen Geschichte » (chronologie, PDF)
- watson.ch, « Gemeindefusionen in der Schweiz: Diese 5 Gemeinden verschwinden » (01.01.2026)
Other villages near Wallenbuch
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