Gorgier

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Count of Neuchâtel and Valangins see James Alexander de Pourtalès-Gorgier .

Gorgier
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Neuchâtel (NE)
District :	No district division
Municipality :	La Grande Béroche
Postal code :	2023
former BFS no. :	6410
Coordinates :	549 861  /  195 151 coordinates: 46 ° 54 '20 "  N , 6 ° 46' 50"  O ; CH1903:  five hundred and forty-nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-one  /  one hundred ninety-five thousand one hundred fifty-one
Height :	491  m above sea level M.
Area :	13.97  km²
Residents:	2021 (December 31, 2017)
Population density :	145 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.lagrandeberoche.ch
Gorgier Castle
map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2018

Until December 31, 2017, Gorgier was a municipality in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland .

geography

Part of the rock arena of the Creux du Van

Historic aerial photo by Werner Friedli from 1949

Gorgier lies at around 491  m above sea level. M. , 15 km southwest of the canton capital Neuchâtel , on the northwest shore of Lake Neuchâtel and at the foot of the southern slopes of the Jura in the Béroche area .

The area of ​​the 14.0 km² large municipal area extends from the narrow edge of the bank to the northwest up to the first gently rising Jura slope. This slope is densely forested in the upper part and is quite steep ( Côte de Gorgier and Côte de Saint-Aubin ). In the north, the heights of the Soliat anticline belong to Gorgier: La Chaille (at 1,451  m above sea level, the highest point in the municipality) and Signal de Lessy ( 1,387  m above sea level ), separated from each other by the Combe du Laga valley . Here there are extensive Jura high pastures with the typical mighty spruce trees , which either stand individually or in groups. In the extreme north-west, the municipal area includes the rock arena of the Creux du Van located in the catchment area of ​​the Areuse on the northeast flank of the Soliat. In 1997, 7% of the municipal area was in settlements, 56% in forests and woodlands, 35% in agriculture and a little more than 2% was unproductive land.

Gorgier includes the hamlet of Chez-le-Bart ( 450  m above sea level ) located on a small alluvial cone on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel , the newer settlement area Derrière-Moulin ( 520  m above sea level ) in a panoramic position above the lake and numerous Individual farms on the southern slopes of the Jura and on the Jura heights. Gorgier's neighboring communities are Saint-Aubin-Sauges , Montalchez , Val-de-Travers , Boudry and Bevaix in the canton of Neuchâtel and Provence in the canton of Vaud .

population

With 2021 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2017), Gorgier was one of the medium-sized communities in the canton of Neuchâtel. 86.2% of the residents are French-speaking, 5.5% German-speaking and 2.2% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Gorgier rose only slowly from 1850 (866 inhabitants) to 1950 (1012 inhabitants), and since then a clear upward trend has been observed. The settlement area of ​​Gorgier has merged seamlessly with that of Saint-Aubin.

politics

The voting shares of the parties on the occasion of the National Council election 2015 were: FDP 28.4%, SP 23.3%, SVP 23.2%, GPS 9.9%, glp 4.9%, PdA 4.0%, CVP 3.4 %, Nouveau Parti Libéral 1.0%, BDP 0.9%.

economy

Gorgier was mainly an agricultural village until the middle of the 20th century. The vineyards stretch along the slopes near the lakeshore , above which mainly arable farming is practiced. Livestock and dairy farming predominate on the Jura Heights . There is only limited industrial activity, for example precision turning and vinegar processing . In the last few decades Gorgier has developed into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who work in the Neuchâtel region.

traffic

Gorgier is well developed in terms of traffic. It is located above main road 5 from Neuchâtel to Yverdon . With the opening of a section of the A5 motorway in 2002, the district of Chez-le-Bart on the Seeuferstrasse was relieved of through traffic. The A5 passes under Gorgier in a tunnel. On November 7, 1859, the Neuchâtel – Yverdon railway line was inaugurated. The Gorgier-Saint-Aubin train station is on the border between the two municipalities. Bus routes to Yverdon, Boudry and Provence ensure the fine distribution of public transport .

history

Gorgier can look back on a long tradition of settlement. The lakeshore was inhabited as early as the Neolithic . Further traces of settlement have been found from the Hallstatt period , the Roman period (remains of a villa inhabited in the 2nd and 3rd centuries) and the Burgundian period .

The first written mention of the place took place in 1252 under the name Corgie . Since the 13th century Gorgier was the center of a small dominion that included the area of ​​the Béroche with the towns of Saint-Aubin, Sauges, Fresens and Montalchez and also had rights in Cortaillod and in the Bevaix priory. The rule initially belonged to the Lords of Estavayer , but after 1344 came under the sovereignty of the Counts of Neuchâtel, whereby they remained relatively independent for a long time. From 1433 to 1678 it was associated with the rule of Vaumarcus . In 1749 Gorgier finally came to the Principality of Neuchâtel, which had been linked to the Kingdom of Prussia by a personal union since 1707 . 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.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in La Grande Béroche

Gorgier Castle (now privately owned) is located on a forest hill north of the village. It was first mentioned in 1299. Most of the components built in the Renaissance style today date from the 16th century, major alterations and extensions took place in the 19th century. Also noteworthy is a round tower with dovecotes built in 1640, which stands in the middle of the more recent farm buildings.

In the district of Chez-le-Bart near the harbor, a characteristic group of houses from the 16th and 17th centuries has been preserved, including the house of the Vevey-Werly family.

Web links

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

• Official website of the municipality of Gorgier (French)
• Germain Hausmann: Gorgier (community). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial photography

Individual evidence

1. ^ Election du Conseil National du October 18, 2015, Résultats des partis - Les suffrages. (aspx) (No longer available online.) Chancellerie d'État neuchâtelois, October 18, 2015, archived from the original on November 1, 2015 ; Retrieved October 30, 2016 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.