Coffrane

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Neuchâtel (NE)

District :

No district division

Municipality :

Val-de-Ruz

Postal code :

2207

former BFS no. :

6474

Coordinates :

556 299 / 206990 coordinates: 47 ° 0 '45 " N , 6 ° 51' 50" O ; CH1903: five hundred fifty-six thousand two hundred ninety-nine / 206990

Height :

803 m above sea level M.

Area :

6.49 km²

Residents:

696 (December 31, 2012)

Population density :

107 inhabitants per km²

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2013

Coffrane was a municipality in the Val-de-Ruz district in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland . On January 1, 2013, it merged with the municipalities of Boudevilliers , Cernier , Chézard-Saint-Martin , Dombresson , Engollon , Fenin-Vilars-Saules , Fontainemelon , Fontaines , Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane , Les Hauts-Geneveys , Montmollin , Le Pâquier , Savagnier and Villiers to form the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz .

geography

Coffrane lies at 803 m above sea level. M. , six kilometers west-northwest of the canton capital Neuchâtel (linear distance ). The farming village extends in the southwestern part of the Val de Ruz basin in the Neuchâtel Jura , at the eastern foot of Mont Racine .

The 6.5 km² municipal area covers a section in the southwest of the syncline of the Val de Ruz. The area extends from the agricultural area of the basin and the height of Serroue ( 843 m above sea level ) westward in a narrow corner to the height of the Jura range of Mont Racine. Here is at 1410 m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Coffrane. A small exclave is located on the western slope of Mont Racine above the Côtes de Marmoud . On the Jura heights there are extensive Jura high pastures with the typical mighty spruce trees , which either stand individually or in groups. In 1997, 10% of the municipal area was in settlements, 25% in forests and woodlands, 64% in agriculture and a little less than 1% was unproductive land.

The hamlet of Petit Coffrane ( 795 m above sea level ), which connects to the south of the village, and several individual farms belong to Coffrane . Neighboring municipalities to Coffrane are Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane , Boudevilliers , Valangin , Peseux , Corcelles-Cormondrèche , Montmollin and La Sagne .

Historical aerial photo from 1500 m by Walter Mittelholzer from 1926

population

With 696 inhabitants (December 31, 2012), Coffrane is one of the smaller municipalities in the canton of Neuchâtel. 91.9% of the residents are French-speaking, 2.4% Italian-speaking and 1.8% German-speaking (as of 2000). Coffrane had 510 inhabitants in 1900; the population sank to 372 in 1950, but has been increasing again since then.

economy

For a long time, Coffrane was mainly an agricultural village. Agriculture is still very important today alongside forestry . To the east of Coffrane there are several gravel and sand pits . At the end of the 19th century there were several watchmaking companies in the village . Over the past few decades, Coffrane has developed into a residential community. Today the working population is employed in the local trade or works abroad, mainly in Neuchâtel or La Chaux-de-Fonds .

traffic

The municipality is located on the cantonal road from Montmollin to Fontaines . About 1 km from the town center, in Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, is the nearest train station on the Neuchâtel - La Chaux-de-Fonds line. A bus line connects Coffrane with this station and Cernier .

history

A tumulus from the Middle Bronze Age indicates a very early settlement of the community area. The first written mention of the place took place in 1092 under the name Cusfrano , in 1228 the name Corfrano appeared . At Coffrane in 1296 a battle between the Counts of Neuchâtel and the Lords of Valangin was fought , in which it was a question of belonging to the lordship of Valangin. Neuchâtel won the battle. From then on, Coffrane belonged to the rule of Valangin , which was partly subordinate to the Counts of Neuchâtel, partly to the Counts of Montbéliard and finally came to Neuchâtel in 1592. From 1648 Neuchâtel was a principality and from 1707 it was linked to the Kingdom of Prussia through personal union. In 1806 the area was ceded to Napoleon I and came to the Swiss Confederation in the course of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , whereby the kings of Prussia until the Neuchâtel trade in 1857 also remained princes of Neuchâtel. In 1841 numerous houses fell victim to a fire.

Attractions

The current church was built in 1842 and restored in 1932–33. In the center there are still some characteristic farmhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries. There is also a farmer's museum, which can only be visited on request by telephone.

Web links

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

Coffrane Community Information
Maurice Evard: Coffrane. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .