Fiez

Fiez
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Vaud (VD)
District :	Jura north vaudois
BFS no. :	5556
Postal code :	1420
Coordinates :	537 791  /  186 432 coordinates: 46 ° 49 '34 "  N , 6 ° 37' 24"  O ; CH1903:  five hundred and thirty-seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-one  /  one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred and thirty-two
Height :	520  m above sea level M.
Height range :	456–1589 m above sea level M.
Area :	6.83  km²
Residents:	448 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	66 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.fiez.ch
Location of the municipality

Fiez is a municipality in the Jura-Nord vaudois district of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland .

geography

Fiez is 520  m above sea level. M. , 5 km north of the district capital Yverdon-les-Bains (beeline). The village extends at the southern foot of the Jura , on the northern slope of the Arnon River .

The 6.8 km² municipal area is divided into two parts. The smaller part includes the area near the village at the foot of the Jura, which is bounded in the south by the course of the Arnon river. The second part of the community is on the anticline of the Chasseron chain. This includes the north-eastern part of the drainage basin of the La Dénériaz brook , which flows from Chasseron ( 1607  m above sea level, the highest point in the municipality), Crêt de la Neige ( 1457  m above sea level ; not to be confused with the highest mountain of the same name in Juras) and the rocks of the Roches Blanches ( 1470  m above sea level ) is flanked. East of the Crêt de la Neige, the valley of La Grandsonne and the height of Les Cernets ( 1448  m above sea level ) also belong to Fiez. Here there are extensive Jura high pastures with the typical mighty spruce trees , which either stand individually or in groups. In 1997, 3% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 36% for forests and woodlands, 60% for agriculture and about 1% was unproductive land.

Fiez includes the hamlet of Vers chez Patthey ( 540  m above sea level ) above the village as well as a few individual farms on the Chasseron chain. Neighboring municipalities of Fiez are Grandson , Giez , Fontaines-sur-Grandson , Champagne , Sainte-Croix and Bullet in the canton of Vaud and Val-de-Travers in the canton of Neuchâtel .

population

With 448 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Fiez is one of the small communities in the canton of Vaud. 93.3% of the residents are French-speaking, 2.9% German-speaking and 1.5% Spanish-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Fiez amounted to 399 inhabitants in 1900, after which it halved to 209 inhabitants by 1970 due to strong emigration, since then a clearly increasing trend has been observed again.

economy

Until the middle of the 20th century, Fiez was a municipality mainly characterized by agriculture . Near the bridge over the Arnon below the village there was already a paper mill in the 16th century, and a dye works in the 18th century. There was a chocolate factory in the 19th century. In the last few decades Fiez has developed into a residential community. In the employment structure, agriculture still has a certain importance. In the area around the village, agriculture and viticulture dominate , while on the Jura heights, cattle and dairy farming predominate. There are other jobs in local small businesses. However, significantly more than 50% of the workforce are commuters who work mainly in Yverdon.

traffic

The community is located off the main thoroughfares on the main road from Grandson to Mauborget . The closest connection to the A5 motorway (Yverdon-Neuchâtel) is around 4 km from the town center. Fiez is connected to the public transport network thanks to the Postbus course that runs from Yverdon to Mauborget.

history

The municipality was already settled in Roman times, which is evidenced by the remains of a villa. The first written mention of the place took place in the year 885 under the name Figiaco ; In 1228 the name Fie appeared . In the Middle Ages, Fiez first belonged to the Kingdom of Hochburgund , then it came to the Bishop of Lausanne and finally to the rule of Grandson. Through a donation, the village came into the possession of the Benedictine priory of Saint-Jean-Baptiste von Grandson, with whom it remained until the introduction of the Reformation . The lords of Grandson continued to hold secular rule. After 1476 Grandson became a bailiwick under the common rule of Bern and Freiburg . After the collapse of the Ancien Régime , Fiez belonged to the canton of Léman from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic , which then became part of the canton of Vaud when the mediation constitution came into force .

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Fiez

The current construction of the parish church of Saint-Clément dates back to 1717, but the first church in Fiez was mentioned as early as the 12th century. The so-called Bernerhaus was built in 1683.

Sons and daughters of the place

• Pierre Gilliard (1879–1962), educator and teacher at the Russian court of the tsars

Web links

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

• Official website of the municipality of Fiez (French)
• Philippe Heubi: Fiez. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial photography

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 .