Cornaux
Origin of the name Cornaux
The oldest written mention of the name dates from 1212, in the form « Curnaul », in a charter concerning a dispute between the first inhabitants of the place and the abbey of Saint-Jean. Its etymology is not established. The name then went through several spellings (Curnal, Culnau, Cornaul) before settling as « Cornaux ». One hypothesis links it to the Romance « corte » (farm estate or hamlet, from the Latin cohors) combined with the Germanic first name « Arnald » or « Arnold », i.e. « the estate of Arnald » (to be cross-checked). An old German name, « Gurnau », now out of use, is also reported (to be cross-checked). In the 13th century the inhabitants were called the « Corbonetchs » (attested between 1212 and 1220); today they are nicknamed « les Chasseurs » (the Hunters), a nickname of unknown origin.
Founding of Cornaux
No founding charter or founder is known for Cornaux: the village took shape gradually as a rural community. Its settlement was probably favoured by modest springs, one of which, now vanished, is cited as early as 1373 to the east of the territory. The hypothesis of a Roman farming colony, based on fragments of Roman tiles, has been put forward (to be cross-checked). A rural community existed in any case at the beginning of the 13th century: between 1212 and 1220 its inhabitants were in dispute with the abbey of Saint-Jean. It only became a political body in the 15th century. Apart from a few families who had become burghers of Neuchâtel in the 14th century, most inhabitants were of servile status until the general emancipation of 1526. Cornaux belonged to the châtellenie of Thielle until 1848 (the neighbouring village of Cressier depended on the châtellenie of Le Landeron). The parish of Saint-Pierre, cited from 1228, belonged to the deanery of Soleure (diocese of Lausanne). The modern municipality was created in 1869.
History of Cornaux
Hallstatt (early Iron Age, approx. 800-450 BC). A group of Hallstatt-period burial mounds is attested above the place called Souaillon.
1892. Six skeletons are exhumed in a gravel pit located between Cornaux and Cressier; one wears three stamped bronze bracelets and another a lignite bracelet, dated to the Hallstatt period.
2nd-1st century BC (Late La Tène). A wooden bridge about 90 metres long, with seven pile bents each made of three piles and two oblique side supports, crosses the Thielle at the place called Les Sauges. Dendrochronology dates the felling of the oaks used to the year 116 BC.
Roman period. Isolated Gallo-Roman finds, in the village and in the bed of the Thielle, attest a presence in Roman times. Fragments of Roman tiles have also been noted; the hypothesis of a Roman farming colony linked to a spring cited in 1373 has been put forward (to be cross-checked).
Early Middle Ages. Isolated Merovingian finds are also attested, in the village and in the bed of the Thielle.
1212-1220. First written mention of the village, in the form « Curnaul » (1212). The first inhabitants, then called « Corbonetchs », are documented in dispute with the abbey of Saint-Jean.
1228. The parish of Cornaux (church of Saint-Pierre) is cited for the first time; it belongs to the deanery of Soleure, in the diocese of Lausanne.
1340. Construction of the church, dedicated to Saint Peter.
15th century. The rural community of Cornaux organises itself politically.
1500. Claude Layderrier and Guillauma Marchandet finance the construction of the Chapelle Clottu, adjoining the church.
1526. General emancipation of the inhabitants: until then, apart from a few families who had become burghers of Neuchâtel in the 14th century, the majority were of servile status.
1532. With the Reformation, the Protestants of Enges are attached to the parish of Cornaux.
1743-1746. First coats of arms of the village, commissioned by local notables: those of 1743 (Abraham Clottu and Abraham Charles) are carved into the stone lintel of the entrance door of the forge, rue des Fontaines, where they are still visible today; those of 1746 (Jean-Pierre Clottu and Abraham Junod) are not preserved anywhere in Cornaux, but engraved on two pewter wine jugs (semaises) now in the Musée d'art et d'histoire of Neuchâtel.
1770. Construction of the Hôtel du Soleil.
1775. The king of Prussia Frederick II, then sovereign of Neuchâtel, authorises the transformation of the Hôtel du Soleil into a tavern and hotel.
1806-1814. Under prince Berthier, sovereign of Neuchâtel during the Napoleonic period, the Hôtel du Soleil becomes the seat of the justice of the châtellenie.
until 1848. Cornaux is part of the châtellenie of Thielle.
1869. Creation of the municipality of Cornaux.
13 December 1890. Adoption of the modern coat of arms of the municipality: « azure with a sun of gold, accompanied in chief by two clovers of silver ».
1895. Extension of the nave of the church by about 50%, with the addition of galleries.
1937. Construction of an organ in the church.
1964. The second Jura water correction makes it possible to drain the banks of the Thielle and to establish heavy industry there; winegrowing and agriculture had dominated the economy until the mid-20th century.
1965-1966. During the second correction of the Jura waters, excavations uncover at the place called Les Sauges the collapsed remains of the Late La Tène wooden bridge, under which lay about twenty human skeletons as well as livestock remains, accompanied by swords, spearheads, tools, fibulae, bits, coins and vessels, now kept at the Laténium (Archaeology Museum of Hauterive).
1966. Commissioning of the Juracime cement works, which quarries the limestone of the Bois Jacques. Cornaux also hosts the marshalling yard of the Cressier refinery, opened the same year.
1978. Thorough restoration of the church, which reveals remains of plaster and sacred decorations from the 15th century.
1979. Installation of a new organ in the church.
1 January 2018. The district of Neuchâtel, on which Cornaux administratively depended, is abolished with the suppression of districts in the canton.
Population of Cornaux
| 1750 | 308 |
| 1850 | 459 |
| 1900 | 522 |
| 1950 | 405 |
| 1990 | 1'545 |
| 2000 | 1'473 |
| 2022 | 1'635 |
| 2025 | 1'681 |
Historic sites in Cornaux
The Church. Main religious building of the village, built in 1340 and dedicated to Saint Peter. It is enriched in 1500 by the Chapelle Clottu, financed by Claude Layderrier and Guillauma Marchandet. Its nave is extended by about 50% in 1895. A thorough restoration carried out in 1978 reveals plaster and remains of sacred decorations from the 15th century. It houses an organ built in 1937, replaced in 1979.
L'Hôtel du Soleil. Built in 1770, this building receives in 1775 royal authorisation (Frederick II, king of Prussia and sovereign of Neuchâtel) to operate as a tavern and hotel. It also serves as the municipal house, then, under prince Berthier (1806-1814), as the seat of the justice of the châtellenie.
Estate and garden of the Château de Souaillon. Dwelling and barn built from 1718 for Pierre Chambrier, between Cornaux and Saint-Blaise. The estate is progressively enriched with a French-style garden with three superimposed terraces, adorned with two neoclassical fountains. After a fire, James-Ferdinand de Pury modernises the property: reconstruction of the barn, the stables and a greenhouse in 1880, then extension of the manor house in 1882. The garden of the Château de Souaillon is listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Importance.
Old houses of the village. Several houses in the village centre date from the 16th century, witnesses to the antiquity of the village core.
Ensemble of the Vieille Thielle. Archaeological ensemble grouping Neolithic and Roman sites along the former bed of the Thielle (before its correction), listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Importance under the category « archaeology ».
Remains in Cornaux
Celtic wooden bridge of Les Sauges. Uncovered in 1965-1966 during the second Jura water correction, this wooden bridge about 90 metres long, with seven pile bents, crossed the Thielle in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC (Late La Tène). Dendrochronology dates the felling of the oaks to 116 BC. Under the collapsed structure lay about twenty human skeletons, some still containing their brain, as well as cattle, with Late La Tène finds (swords, spearheads, tools, fibulae, bits, coins, ceramic vessels), now kept at the Laténium (Archaeology Museum of Hauterive). This discovery made Cornaux renowned in the world of Celtic archaeology.
Hallstatt-period tumuli of Souaillon. A group of tumuli dating from the early Iron Age (Hallstatt period, approx. 800-450 BC) is attested above the place called Souaillon.
1892 burials on the border with Cressier. Six skeletons were exhumed in 1892 in a gravel pit located between Cornaux and Cressier; one wore three stamped bronze bracelets, another a lignite bracelet, dated to the Hallstatt period.
Scattered Gallo-Roman and Merovingian finds. Isolated Gallo-Roman and Merovingian finds have been made in the village and in the bed of the Thielle. Fragments of Roman tiles have also been noted near a now-vanished spring; the related hypothesis of a Roman farming occupation remains to be confirmed (to be cross-checked).
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Cornaux »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Cressier (NE) »
- Commune de Cornaux, Histoire de la commune (page officielle)
- Commune de Cornaux, document historique officiel (Meier)
- Commune de Cornaux, La commune en bref
- Wikipédia FR, « Cornaux »
- Wikipédia EN, « Cornaux »
- Wikipédia FR, « Liste des biens culturels d'importance nationale dans le canton de Neuchâtel »
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 4 février 2026 homologuant le recensement cantonal de la population au 31 décembre 2025
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Cornaux
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