Fenin-Vilars-Saules

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Neuchâtel (NE)

District :

No district division

Municipality :

Val-de-Ruz

Postal code :

2063

former BFS no. :

6477

UN / LOCODE :

CH VLA (Vilars)

Coordinates :

561172 / 209271 coordinates: 47 ° 2 '0 " N , 6 ° 55' 40" O ; CH1903: 561172 / 209271

Height :

750 m above sea level M.

Area :

6.48 km²

Residents:

845 (December 31, 2012)

Population density :

130 inhabitants per km²

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2013

Fenin-Vilars-Saules 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 , Coffrane , Dombresson , Engollon , Fontainemelon , Fontaines , Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane , Les Hauts-Geneveys , Montmollin , Le Pâquier , Savagnier and Villiers to the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz .

geography

Fenin-Vilars-Saules is about five kilometers north of the canton capital Neuchâtel (as the crow flies). The three farming villages extend in the southeastern Val de Ruz in the Neuchâtel Jura , on the northwest slope of the Chaumont , above the Seyon brook .

The area of the 6.5 km² municipal area comprises a small section in the southeast part of the valley of the Val de Ruz. The community soil extends from the course of the Seyon to the southeast over the open slope on which the villages lie and to the anticline of the Chaumont. On the ridge of the Chaumont, the slopes of which are densely wooded, is 1151 m above sea level. M. the highest point in the municipality. In 1997, 6% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 50% for forests and woodlands and 44% for agriculture.

Fenin-Vilars-Saules consists of the three villages Fenin ( 756 m above sea level ), Vilars ( 746 m above sea level ) and Saules ( 800 m above sea level ) and some individual farms. The neighboring municipalities of Fenin-Vilars-Saules are Valangin , Fontaines , Engollon , Savagnier and Neuchâtel .

Aerial photo from 1500 m by Walter Mittelholzer (1927)

population

With 845 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2012) Fenin-Vilars-Saules is one of the smaller municipalities in the canton of Neuchâtel. 93.2% of the residents are French-speaking, 3.5% German-speaking and 0.9% English-speaking (as of 2000). Fenin-Vilars-Saules had 420 inhabitants in 1900; the population sank to 260 inhabitants by 1950, but has shown a clear rising trend since then.

economy

Fenin-Vilars-Saules was mainly an agricultural community until the middle of the 20th century . In the last few decades Fenin-Vilars-Saules has developed into a residential community. In Fenin there is a watchmaking business and a timber trade. However, many workers are commuters and work mainly in Neuchâtel.

traffic

The community is located off the major thoroughfares on the cantonal road from Neuchâtel to Dombresson . The three villages of Fenin, Vilars and Saules are connected to the public transport network by a bus that runs from Neuchâtel via Savagnier to Cernier .

history

The municipal area around Fenin-Vilars-Saules was already committed in Roman times . The Vy Marchand, a road along the edge of the Chaumont forest above the three villages, probably follows the route of a side road of the Vy d'Etra built by the Romans.

Fenin was first mentioned in 1191 under the name de Finilis , and in 1228 the name Fenis appeared . Vilars was first mentioned in 1191 as in Vilar and Saules was first mentioned in 1269 ( Sales ). The three villages belonged to the lordship 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 Napoléon 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 1875 the previously independent communities Fenin, Vilars and Saules merged.

Attractions

The current construction of the Saint-Laurent church above the center of Fenin, mentioned in 1191, was built in the 15th century, but was later restored several times; the church tower was built in 1736. The so-called Château is a late Gothic mansion with two corner towers, which was built in 1561. Some characteristic farmhouses from the 17th to 19th centuries have been preserved in the town center.

Web links

Commons : Fenin-Vilars-Saules - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Maurice Evard : Fenin. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 16, 2016 .
Maurice Evard: Saules. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Maurice Evard: Vilars. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Dominique Quadroni: Fenin-Vilars-Saules. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .