Grandcour

Grandcour
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Vaud (VD)
District :	Broye-Vully
BFS no. :	5817
Postal code :	1543
Coordinates :	561 265  /  191 297 coordinates: 46 ° 52 '18 "  N , 6 ° 55' 50"  O ; CH1903:  561 265  /  one hundred and ninety-one thousand two hundred ninety-seven
Height :	484  m above sea level M.
Height range :	437–508 m above sea level M.
Area :	10.20  km²
Residents:	929 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	91 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.grandcour.ch
Location of the municipality

Grandcour is a municipality in the Broye-Vully district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland . The former German name Langendorf is no longer used today.

geography

Aerial photo (1946)

Grandcour is 484  m above sea level. M. , 6 km north of the district capital Payerne (air line). The clustered village stretches from a promising location on the south side of the ridge between Lake Neuchâtel and the Broye plain, in the north-eastern Vaud Central Plateau .

The 10.1 km² municipal area covers a section of the Vaud Central Plateau. The communal soil extends from the agriculturally intensively used Broye plain northwards over the canalized course of the Petite Glâne to the adjacent Molasse ridge . On the Bellevue is with 502  m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Grandcour. The eastern boundary is formed by the Laret forest valley, which is sunk into the molasse layers . To the north of the village, the area extends over the broad ridge with the forests of Bois de Rombu , Bois de Prahens and Bois des Râpes to the Ruisseau de Robin stream , which drains the northern part of the municipality directly to Lake Neuchâtel. Grandcour extends westward in a narrow corner and includes the Moraye forest . In 1997, 6% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 14% for forests and woodlands and 80% for agriculture.

Grandcour includes the hamlets Ressudens-Dessous ( 442  m above sea level ) in the Broye plain, Ressudens-Dessus ( 447  m above sea level ) at the foot of the ridge, Fin de Ressudens ( 464  m above sea level ), Chesard ( 477  m above sea level ) and Sur la Vigne ( 489  m above sea level ) on the heights east of the village as well as some individual farms. Neighboring communities of Grandcour are Chevroux , Payerne and Corcelles-près-Payerne in the canton of Vaud and Gletterens , Vallon and Estavayer in the canton of Friborg .

population

With 929 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018) Grandcour is one of the smaller municipalities in the canton of Vaud. 93.2% of the residents are French-speaking, 4.1% German-speaking and 1.8% Portuguese-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Grandcour was 782 in 1870 and 725 in 1900. After the population had decreased to 642 by 1970, an increase in population has been registered again since then.

economy

Until the second half of the 20th century, Grandcour was a village dominated by agriculture . Even today, arable farming (especially grain, sugar beet and tobacco) and fruit growing play an important role in the income structure of the population. Further jobs are available in local small businesses (in construction and in horticulture) and in the service sector. In the last few decades the village has also developed into a residential community thanks to its attractive location. Many workers are commuters who work mainly in the Payerne area.

traffic

The community has good transport connections. It is on the main road from Estavayer-le-Lac to Sugiez . The closest motorway connections to the A1 (Lausanne-Bern) are Payerne (to the west) and Avenches (to the east). Grandcour is connected to the public transport network through the Postbus course, which runs from Payerne to Chevroux. The village is also served by the bus line that connects Freiburg with Estavayer-le-Lac.

history

Already in the early Middle Ages there was a settlement in the municipality south of today's village. Probably the first Grandcour castle was built in the 10th century. A settlement developed around this castle in the 11th and 12th centuries. However, only the Lords of Cossonay - Prangins , who owned the castle around 1200, are historically well documented . The first written mention of the place under the name Grancort (1212) was made during this period . The spellings Grandcort (1299) and Grancor (1342) appeared later . The place name is made up of the Latin words grandis (large) and cortis (courtyard).

Grandcour had been a fortified little town since the 12th century and formed the center of a rule that also included Chevroux and the villages of Chesard and Ressudens (now incorporated). In 1293 the rule came to Louis of Savoy , who granted the town certain freedoms. From 1311 to 1397 Grandcour belonged to the Lords of Grandson , then again to Savoy. The rule, which was elevated to a barony in the middle of the 16th century, has seen numerous changes of ownership since the 15th century.

With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Grandcour came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Avenches , forming an exclave with Chevroux. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime , the village 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 . In 1798 Grandcour was first assigned to the Avenches district, in 1803 it came to the Payerne district and became the capital of a district.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Grandcour

The castle of Grandcour with two small side wings was built from 1737 to 1741 in the classicism style on the site of the medieval castle. The center of the village is the Saint-Nicolas church, which was built in the 15th century and extensively restored in 1946. Stately farmhouses and town houses from the 18th and 19th centuries are grouped around this central square. The town hall dates from 1563.

The actual parish church of Notre-Dame is in Ressudens. It was built in the 13th century in place of an early medieval church. During renovation work in 1922, an important cycle of frescoes dating from the 14th century was discovered in the choir. The rectory was rebuilt in 1742. A water tower in the shape of a round tower with a tiled top roof has stood at Bellevue since 1936.

Web links

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

• Official website of the municipality of Grandcour (French)
• Gilbert Marion: Grandcour. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Gilbert Marion: Ressudens. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial views of the village and its surroundings
• Château de Grandcour (French)

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 .