Valangine

Valangine

State :	Switzerland Switzerland
Canton :	Canton of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (NE)
District :	No district division
BFS no. :	6485i1 f3 f4
Postal code :	2042
Coordinates :	559 576 / 207429 coordinates: 47 ° 1 '0 " N , 6 ° 54' 25" O ; CH1903: 559,576 / 20742947.016674 6.906959 651
Height :	651 m above sea level M.
Height range :	589–795 m above sea level M.
Area :	3.76 km²
Residents:	509 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	135 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.valangin.ch
Valangine
Location of the municipality
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Valangin is a municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland . The former German name Valendis is no longer used today.

geography

Valangin lies at 651 m above sea level. M. , 3 km northwest of the canton capital Neuchâtel (linear distance). The village extends in the valley of the Seyon at the mouth of the side creek Sorge in the south of the Val de Ruz in the Neuchâtel Jura . It is located at the upper entrance to the Gorges du Seyon , the breakthrough valley of the Seyon through the foremost Jura range.

The area of the 3.8 km² municipal area covers a section in the south of the valley of the Val de Ruz. The Seyon and its tributaries, including the Sorge, are sunk in this area of the basin in valleys up to 80 m deep. Below Valangin, the Seyon enters a ravine that separates the Chaumont chain in the east from the wooded heights of the Combe Perroud in the west. The highest point of the community is at 800 m above sea level. M. on the western slope of the Chaumont. In 1997, 8% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 51% for forests and woodlands, 40% for agriculture and a little less than 1% for unproductive land.

The hamlets of La Borcarderie , 674 m above sea level, belong to Valangin . M. in the valley of the Seyon, and Bussy ( 746 m above sea level ) in the basin of the Val de Ruz west of the village and some individual farms. The neighboring communities of Valangin are Val-de-Ruz , Neuenburg and Peseux .

Historical aerial photo from 1500 m by Walter Mittelholzer from 1927

population

With 509 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018) Valangin is one of the smaller communities in the canton of Neuchâtel. 87.0% of the residents are French-speaking, 5.5% Portuguese-speaking and 3.5% German-speaking (as of 2000).

politics

The voting shares of the parties in the 2015 National Council election were: SP 34.4%, FDP 26.3%, SVP 13.4%, GPS 12.2%, PdA 7.1%, glp 3.0%, CVP 1.4 %, Nouveau Parti Libéral 1.0%, BDP 0%.

economy

For a long time, Valangin was mainly an agricultural village. Today the residents live from handicrafts, from local small businesses (sawmill and locksmith's shop) and from tourism. Many people in employment are also commuters and work mainly in Neuchâtel.

Belval SA, which emerged from a one-man distributor for film equipment and projectors founded in 1979, certainly has a special position on site. Test devices for solar cells and solar modules that are in demand around the world are manufactured here with 15 employees . But automatic PV cell sorters or devices for simulating solar radiation are also manufactured here. In July 2007, Belval was completely taken over by the production line manufacturer 3S Industries AG and renamed Pasan in 2008.

traffic

The community has good transport links. It is bypassed by the motorway-like expressway that connects the cities of Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds . Here the cantonal road from Neuchâtel to Dombresson branches off the expressway. Valangin is connected to the public transport network by the bus line that runs from Neuchâtel via Cernier to Villiers . From 1949 to 1969 the community was also served by the Neuchâtel trolleybus and the Val de Ruz trolleybus . The two networks bordered each other in Valangin, there was a continuous common line from Neuchâtel to Cernier, line 4.

history

The history of the town of Valangin is closely linked to that of the castle of the same name. The Valangin reign is first mentioned around 1150 in a deed of donation from the Fontaine-André Abbey in Hauterive . Around 1215 the rule came to the Counts of Aarberg , a branch of the Counts of Neuchâtel from the Fenis family. The Valangin dominion encompassed the entire Val de Ruz and extended to La Chaux-de-Fonds and Les Brenets . However, disputes soon arose between Valangin, who wanted to maintain its independence from Neuchâtel and therefore leaned on the Bishop of Basel, and the Count of Neuchâtel. In the Battle of Coffrane , Rudolf von Neuchâtel won a victory against Valangin in 1296. Because the Bishop of Basel then tried to take control of Valangin, Rudolf von Neuchâtel also destroyed the town of La Bonneville .

In the following period the rule of Valangin belonged partly to the Counts of Neuchâtel, partly to the Counts of Montbéliard , until it finally came to Neuchâtel in 1592. In 1536 the residents of Valangin joined the Reformation . From 1648 Neuchâtel was a principality and from 1707 it was linked to the Kingdom of Prussia through personal union. The King of Prussia made Valangin a county in the same year. In 1806 the whole area was ceded to Napoleon I and in 1815 came to the Swiss Confederation as part of the Congress of Vienna , whereby the kings of Prussia up to the Neuchâtel trade in 1857 also remained princes of Neuchâtel. Until the 19th century, Valangin was the location of a court of appeal of the three estates and a political body (Bourgeoisie de Valangin), which was dissolved in 1852.

Attractions

The town (Le Bourg) has retained its picturesque, late medieval appearance. It occupies an area of around 70 by 50 m and has a main street, which is flanked by rows of houses from the 16th to 18th centuries and is closed in the north by a city gate that was built in the 15th century.

The isolated castle hill with the Valangin Castle forms the southern end of the town. This was built in several stages from the 13th to the 16th century and provided with a circular wall with six semicircular towers. The current building of the palace dates back to the 15th century. Today it houses the regional museum with numerous exhibits on the history of the canton of Neuchâtel.

To the north of the town is the reformed church, the former collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, which was built from 1500–05. As part of the extensive restoration between 1839 and 1841, the late Gothic building was shortened and now shows the shape of a Greek cross. Inside the church is the tomb of the church's founder and his wife, Claude d'Aarberg and Guillemette de Vergy. The Maison Touchon, built in 1588 next to the church, houses an art gallery.

A castle-like mansion is located in the hamlet of La Borcarderie.