Barberêche
Encyclopedia
Barberêche is a municipality
in the district of Lac in the Swiss
canton
of Fribourg. It lies on the "language boundary" between the French
- and German
-speaking parts of Switzerland
, and so also bears a German name: Bärfischen. In 2003 its population was 574.
, and is 5.5 km north of the cantonal capital, Fribourg
(Freiburg). The surrounding rural municipality stretches along the north shore of the Schiffenensee
, a small lake through which flows the river Saane/Sarine
, at the foot of the Grand Bois ("Great Wood") hill on the Swiss plateau
. Barberêche's coördinates are 46°51′N 7°10′E.
The municipality's area is 9.1 km², and includes a part of the Swiss plateau's molasse uplands. The sprawling, yet narrow, area is bordered on the southeast by the Schiffenensee. All along this reservoir's shoreline in the Barberêche area is a 20- to 50-m-high dike topped with trees, broken here and there by sandstone
cliffs. Several gullies
carved by erosion
empty into the lake
; these have been partially flooded owing to the creation of the reservoir. The gullies divide the terrace that Barberêche is built on into several small plateau
x, which themselves are abutted in the northwest by the molasse hill.
In the farthest south and southwest, the municipality area reaches beyond the Courtepin Valley to the flats at the mouth of the stream La Sonnaz where it empties into the Schiffenensee. From here westwards, the district stretches to the Bois de la Corbaz (a wood), which reaches 650 m above sea level, and to the edge of the Bois de l'Hôpital ("Hospital Wood") (660 m above sea level). Towards the northeast, the municipality stretches over the Breilles Heights — which at 668 m above sea level are Barberêche's highest point — the Bouley Forest, and the Grand Bois, as well as the Bulliardholz (another wood; 660 m), and on to the foot of the "Great Wood" (Grossholz) at Kleingurmels.
s for the municipality's land broke down thus:
Neighbouring municipalities to Barberêche are La Sonnaz
, Misery-Courtion
, Courtepin
, Gurmels
and Düdingen
.
-speaking (as of 2000). Until the 15th century, the local language was almost exclusively German. The French-speaking community slowly grew until in the 18th and 19th centuries, the village was bilingual. French has been the majority language in Barberêche since about 1860.
. Even today, tilling the soil, growing fruit, and raising cattle are important to the local economy. Other jobs are to be found in small business
and the service sector. There is a commercial area in Pensier. Until 1976, there was a boarding school
at Barberêche (Institut Saint-Dominique). Over the last few decades, the village has developed itself into a wealthy agriculture community. Many of the residents nowadays are commuters who work in Fribourg.
s. The nearest expressway
interchange
, A12 (Bern-Vevey
) lies about 5 km from the centre of the municipality. On 23 August 1898, the railway line from Fribourg to Murten
opened, with a station in Pensier. The village of Barberêche itself has no public transport connections.
finds of graves from Hallstatt times
and foundations from Roman times
.
The first documentary mention of Barberêche dates from 1154 under the name Barbereschi. Later names included Barberesche (1173), Barbaresche (1180), Barbareschi (1182) and Barbarica (1423). The placename goes back to an old family name Barbar(i)us.
There is evidence to show that, as of the 12th century, there was a noble
family in Barberêche. The Barberêche Lord
ship fell in the beginning under the Duke
s of Zähringen
, and then later became a fiefdom
of the Counts of Thierstein, before a series of changes in ownership in the 15th century. In 1442, Barberêche became part of the Alte Landschaft ("Old Territory") of Fribourg (Spitalpanner). After the collapse of the Ancien Régime in 1798, during the Helvetic Republic
and the time following, the village belonged to the District of Fribourg, and from 1831 to the German District of Fribourg, before it was annexed to the Seebezirk ("Lake District") under the new cantonal constitution
in 1848.
church of Saint Maurice date back to the 11th century. It was enlarged in 1785-86 and underwent modifications in the 19th century. It has a quire
with a semicircular apse
and overhanging arcades in early mediaeval style. The church contains wall paintings from the 18th century, woodcarvings
, and coats of arms
in the stained glass
. The parsonage next to the church dates from 1566.
On the edge of the plateau, right above the Schiffenensee, stands Barberêche Castle
. It was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier fortification
, under Petermann de Praroman's direction in the late Gothic style
. From 1839 until 1844, the castle underwent considerable remodeling, whereby the castle took its current shape in the neo-Gothic and neoclassical
styles. The castle is today privately owned.
Furthermore, over the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee, northeast of Barberêche, stands Petit-Vivy Castle
. It is among the oldest preserved castles in the region. The still-preserved, mighty, four-sided keep
was built in the second half of the 13th century, and has 3.5-m-thick walls. Around the keep are the remains of former surrounding walls, arranged in triangular form. The residential buildings were built in the 16th century.
Farther northeast is Grand-Vivy Castle
on a narrow outcrop between the Schiffenensee and a small sidestream. This was also the site of a mediaeval castle, but this was replaced by today's late-Gothic structure with its semicircular stairway tower, and other tower construction. The chapel
next to the castle was built in the 19th century.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Lac in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Fribourg. It lies on the "language boundary" between the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking parts of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and so also bears a German name: Bärfischen. In 2003 its population was 574.
Geography
Barberêche lies 569 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, and is 5.5 km north of the cantonal capital, Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
(Freiburg). The surrounding rural municipality stretches along the north shore of the Schiffenensee
Schiffenensee
Schiffenensee is an artificial lake formed by a barrage of the Saane/Sarine river in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. The barrages at Schiffenen were completed in 1963....
, a small lake through which flows the river Saane/Sarine
Saane/Sarine
Saane or Sarine is one of the largest rivers in Switzerland. It is 128 km long and has a drainage area of 1,892 km². It is a tributary of the river Aar...
, at the foot of the Grand Bois ("Great Wood") hill on the Swiss plateau
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...
. Barberêche's coördinates are 46°51′N 7°10′E.
The municipality's area is 9.1 km², and includes a part of the Swiss plateau's molasse uplands. The sprawling, yet narrow, area is bordered on the southeast by the Schiffenensee. All along this reservoir's shoreline in the Barberêche area is a 20- to 50-m-high dike topped with trees, broken here and there by sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
cliffs. Several gullies
Gully
A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width...
carved by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
empty into the lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
; these have been partially flooded owing to the creation of the reservoir. The gullies divide the terrace that Barberêche is built on into several small plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
x, which themselves are abutted in the northwest by the molasse hill.
In the farthest south and southwest, the municipality area reaches beyond the Courtepin Valley to the flats at the mouth of the stream La Sonnaz where it empties into the Schiffenensee. From here westwards, the district stretches to the Bois de la Corbaz (a wood), which reaches 650 m above sea level, and to the edge of the Bois de l'Hôpital ("Hospital Wood") (660 m above sea level). Towards the northeast, the municipality stretches over the Breilles Heights — which at 668 m above sea level are Barberêche's highest point — the Bouley Forest, and the Grand Bois, as well as the Bulliardholz (another wood; 660 m), and on to the foot of the "Great Wood" (Grossholz) at Kleingurmels.
Land use
In 1997, useLand use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
s for the municipality's land broke down thus:
- Habitation: 5%
- Forest and Wood: 21%
- Agriculture: 60%
- Unproductive (lakeside flats): 14%
Population centres
Barberêche consists of several centres, namely:- the villageVillageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
itself, Barberêche, 569 m above sea level. - the village Pensier (Ger.: Penzers), 584 m above sea level, up from the mouth of the Sonnaz on the Schiffenensee.
- the hamletHamlet (place)A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
Hobelet (Ger.: Hubel), 655 m above sea level, on the heights above Pensier. - the hamlet Villaret, 610 m above sea level, above the Courtepin Valley.
- the hamlet Breilles (Ger.: Brigels), 640 m above sea level, on the edge of the Bouley.
- the hamlet Petit Vivy (Ger.: Klein-Vivers), 590 m above sea level, on the terrace above the Schiffenensee east of the Grand Bois.
- the hamlet Grand Vivy (Ger.: Gross-Vivers), 565 m above sea level, on the terrace above the Schiffenensee east of the Bulliardholz.
- the hamlet Grimoine (Ger.: Courmoen), 565 m above sea level, on the terrace above the Schiffenensee south of Kleingurmels.
Neighbouring municipalities to Barberêche are La Sonnaz
La Sonnaz
La Sonnaz is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cormagens, La Corbaz and Lossy-Formangueires all formed it.-External links:*...
, Misery-Courtion
Misery-Courtion
Misery-Courtion is a municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It was formed on January 1, 1997 by the union of the villages of Misery, Courtion, Cormérod, and Cournillens....
, Courtepin
Courtepin
Courtepin is a municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.It was first recorded in 1259 as Courtipin. The German name Curtepy is depecrated....
, Gurmels
Gurmels
Gurmels is a municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.Over the years, Gurmels has incorporated a number of smaller municipalities, most recently the village of Cordast in January 2005....
and Düdingen
Düdingen
Düdingen is a municipality in the district of Sense in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.SC Düdingen is a football club based in the town. They currently play in the Swiss 1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football.-External links:*...
.
Population
With only 574 inhabitants, Barberêche is among the smaller communities in the canton of Fribourg. The most heavily populated place in the municipality is Pensier with about 250 people; only about 100 people live in the village of Barberêche itself. Historically, Barberêche's population has varied from 389 in 1850 to 507 in 1900, reaching its highest ever point in 1960, when there were 674 residents. By 1980, though, the population had declined by over 25% to 499 as people left Barberêche. Since then, the population figure has rebounded somewhat.Languages
French-speaking residents of Barberêche number 74.2% while German-speaking people account for 21.8%. Also, 1.3 % of Barberêche's population are PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
-speaking (as of 2000). Until the 15th century, the local language was almost exclusively German. The French-speaking community slowly grew until in the 18th and 19th centuries, the village was bilingual. French has been the majority language in Barberêche since about 1860.
Economy
Barberêche was until the second half of the 20th century a village whose livelihood was firmly rooted in agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. Even today, tilling the soil, growing fruit, and raising cattle are important to the local economy. Other jobs are to be found in small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
and the service sector. There is a commercial area in Pensier. Until 1976, there was a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
at Barberêche (Institut Saint-Dominique). Over the last few decades, the village has developed itself into a wealthy agriculture community. Many of the residents nowadays are commuters who work in Fribourg.
Transportation
The municipality is well connected, even though it lies far from the main highwayHighway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s. The nearest expressway
Controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
, A12 (Bern-Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
) lies about 5 km from the centre of the municipality. On 23 August 1898, the railway line from Fribourg to Murten
Murten
Murten is a municipality in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat. Morat is situated between Bern and Lausanne and is the capital of the Lake District of the canton of Fribourg....
opened, with a station in Pensier. The village of Barberêche itself has no public transport connections.
History
The Barberêche area was settled quite early on, as witnessed by archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds of graves from Hallstatt times
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
and foundations from Roman times
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
.
The first documentary mention of Barberêche dates from 1154 under the name Barbereschi. Later names included Barberesche (1173), Barbaresche (1180), Barbareschi (1182) and Barbarica (1423). The placename goes back to an old family name Barbar(i)us.
There is evidence to show that, as of the 12th century, there was a noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
family in Barberêche. The Barberêche Lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
ship fell in the beginning under the Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
s of Zähringen
Zähringen
Zähringen is the name of an old German family that founded a large number of cities in what are today Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg. While the junior line that first assumed the title Duke of Zähringen, a cadet branch of the House of Baden, became extinct in 1218, the senior line persists and...
, and then later became a fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
of the Counts of Thierstein, before a series of changes in ownership in the 15th century. In 1442, Barberêche became part of the Alte Landschaft ("Old Territory") of Fribourg (Spitalpanner). After the collapse of the Ancien Régime in 1798, during the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
and the time following, the village belonged to the District of Fribourg, and from 1831 to the German District of Fribourg, before it was annexed to the Seebezirk ("Lake District") under the new cantonal constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
in 1848.
Sightseeing
The oldest parts of the parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church of Saint Maurice date back to the 11th century. It was enlarged in 1785-86 and underwent modifications in the 19th century. It has a quire
Quire (architecture)
Architecturally, the choir is the area of a church or cathedral, usually in the western part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary . The choir is occasionally located in the eastern part of the nave...
with a semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and overhanging arcades in early mediaeval style. The church contains wall paintings from the 18th century, woodcarvings
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
, and coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
in the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. The parsonage next to the church dates from 1566.
On the edge of the plateau, right above the Schiffenensee, stands Barberêche Castle
Barberêche Castle
Barberêche Castle is a castle in Barberêche in the Canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is a Swiss Heritage Site of National Significance.It is located on the edge of the nearby plateau, right above the Schiffenensee. It was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier...
. It was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
, under Petermann de Praroman's direction in the late Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. From 1839 until 1844, the castle underwent considerable remodeling, whereby the castle took its current shape in the neo-Gothic and neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
styles. The castle is today privately owned.
Furthermore, over the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee, northeast of Barberêche, stands Petit-Vivy Castle
Petit-Vivy Castle
Barberêche Castle is a castle in Barberêche in the Canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is a Swiss Heritage Site of National Significance.It is located near the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee and northeast of Barberêche. It is among the oldest preserved castles in the region...
. It is among the oldest preserved castles in the region. The still-preserved, mighty, four-sided keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
was built in the second half of the 13th century, and has 3.5-m-thick walls. Around the keep are the remains of former surrounding walls, arranged in triangular form. The residential buildings were built in the 16th century.
Farther northeast is Grand-Vivy Castle
Grand-Vivy Castle
Grand-Vivy Castle is a castle in Barberêche in the Canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is a Swiss Heritage Site of National Significance.The furthest to the north-east, of Barberêche's three castles, Grand-Vivy Castle is located on a narrow outcrop between the Schiffenensee and a small side stream...
on a narrow outcrop between the Schiffenensee and a small sidestream. This was also the site of a mediaeval castle, but this was replaced by today's late-Gothic structure with its semicircular stairway tower, and other tower construction. The chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
next to the castle was built in the 19th century.
Famous people
- Joseph DeissJoseph DeissJoseph Deiss is an economist, Swiss politician and a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party . From 1999 to 2006, he was a member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading first the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and then the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
, politician, former Federal Councillor and President of the Confederation (2004); also a former mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Barberêche.