Billens

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Freiburg (FR)

District :

Glâne

Municipality :

Billens-Hennens

Postal code :

1681

Coordinates :

558 751 / 171163 coordinates: 46 ° 41 '25 " N , 6 ° 53' 58" O ; CH1903: 558,751 / 171163

Height :

738 m above sea level M.

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 1998

Billens is a former municipality in the Glâne district in the canton of Friborg in Switzerland . On 1 January 1998 Billens with the former community was Hennens to the municipality Billens-Hennens merged .

history

Historic aerial photo by Werner Friedli from 1964

Located on the cantonal road Romont - Lucens . First mentioned in 1155 under Bitlens. The castle of the Lords of Billens, acquired in the 15th century, was destroyed after 1718. A new castle, built outside the village, was bequeathed to the State of Freiburg in 1864 and used as a district hospice from then on. It has served as a hospital since 1937, creating many jobs in the region. The rule of the noble von Billens family (12th – 15th centuries), vassals of the bishops of Lausanne and then of the House of Savoy , included the area of the present-day community and, until 1239, the Romont hill. It passed into the possession of the county of Gruyères through marriage in 1365 and was incorporated into the lordship of Palézieux before 1402 . In 1402 it was bought by Richard d'Illens, then the interest and taxes were left to Michel de Fer. From the end of the 15th century it changed hands several times until 1648, after which it remained in the possession of de Gottrau until 1798. From 1536 on Billens belonged to the Bailiwick, 1798–1848 to the Romont district. The parish, mentioned in 1228, also includes Hennens. The right of collage belonged to the Billens family and the subsequent owners of the Billens rule; it was given to the parish in 1826. The Saint-Maurice church was enlarged in 1659 and rebuilt in 1827–31. In the 19th century, the trade included mills and sawmills. The municipality has become a suburb of Romont while maintaining its rural character.

population

Population development in Billens
year	1811	1850	1900	1950	1990
Residents	157	174	264	399	410

Attractions

literature

Marianne Rolle: Billens. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . October 30, 2002 .

This version of the article is based on the entry in the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland (HLS), which, according to the HLS's usage instructions, is under the Creative Commons license - Attribution - Distribution under the same conditions 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). If the article has been revised and expanded to such an extent that it differs significantly from the HLS article, this module will be removed. The original text and a reference to the license can also be found in the version history of the article.