Bevaix
Origin of the name Bevaix
The place is mentioned in 998 in the Latin form « in villa Bevacensi », on the occasion of the founding of the priory. A form « Betuaci » is reported in 1139 (to be cross-checked). The sources consulted give no etymology for the name.
Founding of Bevaix
Bevaix did not arise from a single act of foundation. The place enters written history in 998 with the founding of the Cluniac priory of Bevaix. The priory was endowed with a small territory on which a lordship developed whose extent matched that of the former municipality, and the village, grouped in front of a small marshy plateau, is mentioned from the time of this foundation. The donation is attributed to a lord named Rodolphe, who is said to have given land and vineyards, and the priory is said to have received monks from Payerne under Abbot Odilo of Cluny (to be cross-checked). The site was inhabited long before: twelve Neolithic and Bronze Age sites have been counted along the lake shore.
History of Bevaix
Neolithic and Bronze Age. Settlement of the lake shore: twelve Neolithic and Bronze Age sites are counted along the shore in the territory of Bevaix. The site of Bevaix-L'Abbaye 2 is one of the 56 Swiss lakeside settlements on the UNESCO World Heritage list (« Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps »).
around 1040-986 BC. Dendrochronological dating of the Late Bronze Age lakeside village of Bevaix-L'Abbaye 2, around 180 metres from the present shore: several dozen pile dwellings and nearly 400 Bronze Age objects have been found there in the water (to be cross-checked).
Bronze Age / early Iron Age. A Bronze Age menhir stands at the foot of the mountain. Other standing stones are reported: a stone carved with the features of a human face, kept in a regional archaeological collection, and the Vauroux menhir, between Bevaix and Cortaillod (to be cross-checked).
Late Bronze Age. A necropolis of the Urnfield culture is established west of the village.
Roman period. The bay of Bevaix has yielded dugout canoes and boats that have shed light on shipbuilding techniques in Gallo-Roman times. A paved path along the lake, the « vy d'Étra », is attributed to this period (to be cross-checked).
Burgundian period. Walled graves on three levels are built at Le Châtelard; they were destroyed when this mound was lowered.
998. Founding of the Cluniac priory of Bevaix; the place is mentioned in the form « in villa Bevacensi ». The donation is attributed to a lord named Rodolphe, and monks from Payerne are said to have settled there under Abbot Odilo of Cluny (to be cross-checked).
1139. The place is mentioned in the form « Betuaci » (to be cross-checked).
around 1263. The lordship of Bevaix belongs jointly to the lords of Gorgier, the lords of Colombier and the prior; in 1263 an agreement between these advocates sets the rights of the inhabitants. The count of Neuchâtel holds the wardship, the right of banner and the execution of capital sentences, and Bevaix follows the customary law of Neuchâtel.
1362. First mention of the mairie of Bevaix: civil justice is administered there by a mayor (maire), with appeal to the three advocates and then to the count of Neuchâtel.
late 15th century. The inhabitants organise themselves and manage to acquire some properties from the prior (woods, meadows, waste land); in the early 16th century they try without success to issue their own regulations and to free themselves from the heaviest fines.
1531. The village adopts the Protestant Reformation, leading to the abandonment of the priory (to be cross-checked).
1541-1545. After the Reformation, the lordship of Bevaix passes to Jean-Jacques de Watteville, lord of Colombier (partly in 1541, partly in 1545).
1564. The lordship of Bevaix passes to the counts of Neuchâtel.
1605. As the sanctuary near the monastery was falling into ruin, a new church, completed in 1605, replaces it in the centre of the village.
1722. Frédéric Chambrier has the château of Bevaix built as a country residence, thanks to the property of his wife Esther Jeanjaquet. The construction date is engraved beneath the building's pediment.
1746-1747. Construction of the Maison Chambrier.
18th century. A violent conflict over the use of the woods sets the commune's burghers against the non-burgher inhabitants.
early 19th century. Bevaix sides resolutely with the republican cause. The calico (indienne) factories of the lower Areuse attract many people from Bevaix, but the village remains agricultural.
1832. The mairie (local court) of Bevaix is abolished in favour of Boudry, which already exercised criminal justice.
1859-1860. Bevaix station is opened on the Jura foothills line; together with the growth of road transport, it makes Bevaix an increasingly residential place. Local industry is mainly in microtechnology.
around 1900. Drainage works change the landscape; they are followed by land consolidations in 1941-1945 and 1960.
1960s. A three-lane bypass road is built around the village.
2002. The commune's drinking water resources attract the interest of the Nestlé group.
2006. The extension of the A5 motorway towards Neuchâtel connects Bevaix to the Swiss motorway network, with two exits (Bevaix-Est and Bevaix-Ouest/Boudry).
1 January 2018. Bevaix merges with Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Gorgier, Vaumarcus, Montalchez and Fresens to form the new municipality of La Grande Béroche, of which it becomes a locality.
Population of Bevaix
| 1559 | 36 hearths (households) |
| 1750 | 431 |
| 1850 | 740 |
| 1900 | 1'074 |
| 1950 | 1'217 |
| 1960 | 1'407 (to be cross-checked) |
| 1970 | 1'945 |
| 1980 | 2'601 (to be cross-checked) |
| 1990 | 3'375 (to be cross-checked) |
| 2000 | 3'603 |
| 2010 | 3'837 |
| 2017 | 3'784 |
Historic sites in Bevaix
Château of Bevaix. Baroque country residence built in 1722 by Frédéric Chambrier thanks to the property of his wife Esther Jeanjaquet. The construction date is engraved beneath the building's pediment.
Temple of Bevaix (Reformed church). Church completed in 1605 in the centre of the village to replace the old sanctuary near the monastery, which was falling into ruin.
Maison Chambrier. Building constructed in 1746-1747, linked to the same family as the château, in the historic village built at the foot of the Jura.
Lake shore and vineyards. The part of the territory close to Lake Neuchâtel is occupied by sloping vineyards and the village's marina, separated from the historic centre by a former marshy area now used for farming.
La Vy d'Étra. Old paved path along the lake, attributed to the Roman period by local documentation (to be cross-checked).
Remains in Bevaix
Prehistoric lakeside settlements. Twelve Neolithic and Bronze Age sites have been counted along the shore in the territory of Bevaix, including L'Abbaye 2 and Treytel. Bevaix-L'Abbaye 2 is one of the 56 Swiss lakeside settlements on the UNESCO World Heritage list as « Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps ».
Late Bronze Age lakeside village (L'Abbaye 2). Dated by dendrochronology to around 1040-986 BC, this pile-dwelling village about 180 metres from the present shore has yielded nearly 400 Bronze Age objects found in the water (to be cross-checked).
Menhirs. A Bronze Age menhir was found at the foot of the mountain. Also reported are a standing stone carved with the features of a human face, kept in a regional archaeological collection, and the Vauroux menhir, between Bevaix and Cortaillod (to be cross-checked).
Urnfield necropolis. A necropolis of the Urnfield culture (Late Bronze Age) has been uncovered west of the village.
Gallo-Roman remains. The bay of Bevaix has yielded dugout canoes and boats that have shed light on shipbuilding techniques in Gallo-Roman times. The paved path of the vy d'Étra along the lake and a remain reported at the place called Plan Jacot are also attributed to the Roman period (to be cross-checked).
Burgundian graves. Walled graves on three levels from the Burgundian period were destroyed when Le Châtelard was lowered.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bevaix (commune) » (Germain Hausmann)
- Wikipédia FR, « Bevaix »
- Wikipédia DE, « Bevaix »
- Wikipédia EN, « Bevaix »
- Wikipédia FR, « Alice de Chambrier »
- Documentation historique du site de Treytel (PDF)
- Site officiel de la commune de La Grande Béroche
- Fritz Chabloz, La Béroche : recherches historiques sur la paroisse de Saint-Aubin (1867), via Google Books
- UNESCO, Sites palafittiques préhistoriques autour des Alpes
- Office fédéral de la statistique, portraits régionaux des communes
Other villages near Bevaix
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