Chénens

Chénens
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Freiburg (FR)
District :	Saane
BFS no. :	2177
Postal code :	1744
Coordinates :	566584  /  176689 coordinates: 46 ° 44 '26 "  N , 7 ° 0' 5"  O ; CH1903:  566584  /  176689
Height :	696  m above sea level M.
Height range :	637-776 m above sea level M.
Area :	3.94  km²
Residents:	856 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	217 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.chenens.ch
Chénens Lady Chapel
Location of the municipality

Chénens ( Freiburger Patois Tsinin ^{? / I} ) is a municipality in the District de la Sarine (German: Saanebezirk) in the canton of Friborg in Switzerland . The former German place name Geiningen is no longer used today.

geography

Chénens is 696  m above sea level. M. , 14 km southwest of the canton capital Friborg (linear distance). The village extends in a panoramic location on the northern slope of the Glâne , on the Molasse plateau of the Freiburg Central Plateau .

The area of ​​the 4.0 km² municipality covers a section of the Molasse heights of the Freiburg Central Plateau. The southern border runs along the Glâne, which flows here in a valley that is slightly sunk into the plateau. From the Glâne, the municipality extends northward over the Pevauge promontory ( 687  m above sea level ) and the slope of Chénens to the adjacent slightly undulating high plateau ( La Fin , up to 740  m above sea level ). In the west, the municipal ban extends into the forest of Vigny and to the northwest over the forest heights of Bois des Gottes (at 773  m above sea level, the highest point in Chénens) into the catchment area of ​​the Arbogne . In 1997, 9% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 23% for forests and woodlands and 68% for agriculture.

The hamlet of Les Essinges ( 725  m above sea level ) on the plateau above the village and several individual farms belong to Chénens . Neighboring municipalities to Chénens are La Brillaz , Autigny , Villorsonnens and Villaz .

population

With 856 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Chénens is one of the smaller communities in the canton of Friborg. 93.9% of the residents are French-speaking, 3.8% German-speaking and 0.9% speak Portuguese (as of 2000). The population of Chénens was 263 in 1850 and 240 in 1900. In the course of the 20th century, the population fluctuated between 310 and 370 people. Rapid population growth has been recorded since 1980 (323 inhabitants).

economy

Until the second half of the 20th century, Chénens was predominantly an agricultural village. Even today, the have farming , the fruit production , the dairy industry and animal husbandry an important role in the employment structure of the population. Other jobs are available in local small businesses and in the service sector, including in vehicle manufacturing companies. Chénens is the location of a regional grain warehouse. The hydroelectric power of the Glâne was previously used to operate mills and a sawmill. In the last few decades the village has also developed into a residential community thanks to its attractive location. Many workers are therefore commuters who mainly work in the Freiburg region.

traffic

The community has good transport links. It is located on the main road from Freiburg to Romont . The closest connection to the A12 motorway (Bern – Vevey) is around 8 km from the town center. On September 4, 1862, the railway line from Friborg to Lausanne with a train station in Chénens was put into operation.

history

The first written mention of the place took place in 1138 under the name Cheineis . Later the spellings Cheinens (1143), Chinins (1214), Cheneins (1215), Cheineins (1244), Cheynens (1285), Chieniens (1403), Zeinin (1577) and Chennens (1781) appeared. The German version of Geiningen is documented for the first time in 1449. The origin of the place name is not clearly established. Chénens is probably derived from the personal name Skîno or C (h) agan and means with the suffix -ens as much as for the people of Skîno / Chagan .

Since the 12th century, the rulership of the village of Chénens was incumbent on the noble family of the same name. In the 13th century the place came under the influence of the Counts of Savoy. The Abbey of La Fille-Dieu near Romont also had property and tithe rights in the municipal area. Chénens was often the meeting place when contracts were signed between Freiburg and Savoy regarding disputes and claims to power in the border area.

By purchase, the village came under the rule of Freiburg at the latest in 1442 and was assigned to the old landscape (Neustadtpanner). After the collapse of the Ancien Régime (1798), Chénens first belonged to the Romont district during the Helvetic period and from 1803 to the Friborg district before it was incorporated into the Saane district in 1848 with the new cantonal constitution.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Chénens

Since 1584 Chénens owned a Lady Chapel, which was rebuilt in 1750 after a fire. The village belongs to the Autigny parish.

• 

  Interior view of the Lady Chapel

• 

  Painted wooden ceiling of the Lady Chapel

• 

  Chénens train station

• 

  Village center

Web links

Commons : Chénens  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Chénens (French)
• Marianne Rolle / EM: Chénens. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial views of the village

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 .