Couvet
Origin of the name Couvet
The name is recorded in 1300 in the form « Covés ». According to a tradition, the locality takes its name from the « couvets », pots used as foot warmers made by the potters settled here since the Middle Ages; doubt remains, however, as to the direction of the borrowing, since the village name may also have given its name to the foot warmers (to be cross-checked). Pottery and stove making are well attested in Couvet from the 16th to the early 20th century, and the municipal coat of arms of 1890 shows three vessels from which a flame rises, in memory of the « couvets ». A mention as early as 1291, linked to the settlement of the Dubied, Coulin, Andrié and Favre families, is sometimes put forward (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Couvet
Neither a founder nor a founding charter of Couvet is known. The village grew up at the confluence of the Areuse and the Sucre, on the old road to France, of which it was an important staging post with several inns. External burghers of Neuchâtel are mentioned there from the 13th century and the village appears in 1300 under the name « Covés ». Part of the castellany of Vautravers until 1848, it belonged from the 14th century to the corporation of the Six Communes of the Val-de-Travers. The commune took shape in the 16th century, with the leasing of the common pastures (1522), the communal oven (1523), land and woods. Besides the village, its territory included the hamlet of Plancemont and scattered settlements. Couvet is today part of the municipality of Val-de-Travers (merger of 1 January 2009).
History of Couvet
Middle Palaeolithic. The Grotte des Plaints is occupied in the Mousterian, between 50'000 and 40'000 BC.
13th century. External burghers of Neuchâtel are mentioned in Couvet.
1300. First mention of the village, in the form « Covés ».
14th century. Couvet is a member of the corporation of the Six Communes of the Val-de-Travers; it belongs to the castellany of Vautravers until 1848. Around the middle of the century the village has 62 hearths (households).
1522-1523. The commune takes shape: leasing of the common pastures (1522), then of the communal oven (1523), land and woods.
1554. The village has 97 hearths (households), about 500 inhabitants.
1574. Date carved on the pediment of the Porte du Milieu, bearing the Petitpierre arms, an example of the Neuchâtel Renaissance style.
1658. Couvet has a church, whose construction had begun in 1657 under the direction of Jonas Favre.
1706. The Protestant parish of Couvet is separated from that of Môtiers.
1711. Couvet henceforth holds two annual fairs.
1750-1772. Activity of the Borel, Bosset and Guyenet calico printing works; from the mid-18th century, many workshops making watchmaking tools and clocks. Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), inventor of the marine chronometer, was born in Couvet.
1765-1766. Construction of the ashlar church tower by the masters Jean-Jacques and Jacob Rosselet; Jean-Jacques Rousseau was among the subscribers in 1764.
1777. Improvement of the road to Môtiers.
late 18th century. Beginning of the absinthe distilleries (Pernod, Duval, Berger, etc.), active until 1910.
1860. Construction of the Franco-Suisse railway station and foundation of the district's first hospital.
1867. Foundation of the Ed. Dubied knitting machine factory, which operates until 1987.
1883. Opening of the station of the Régional du Val-de-Travers (RVT) railway.
1890. The forester Henri Biolley applies his selection-forest and forest-control method in the communal forests.
1894. Opening of a school of mechanics, which exists until 1998.
1943. Construction of a Catholic chapel.
2009. On 1 January Couvet merges with Les Bayards, Boveresse, Buttes, Fleurier, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers to form the municipality of Val-de-Travers.
Population of Couvet
| mid-14th century | 62 hearths (households), about 300 inhabitants |
| 1554 | 97 hearths (households), about 500 inhabitants |
| 1750 | 1'004 |
| 1800 | 1'463 |
| 1850 | 1'711 |
| 1900 | 2'430 |
| 1950 | 2'897 |
| 1990 | 2'919 |
| 2000 | 2'703 |
| 2008 | 2'783 |
Historic sites in Couvet
The church. Church attested from 1658, whose construction began in 1657 under the direction of Jonas Favre. Its ashlar tower was built in 1765-1766 by the masters Jean-Jacques and Jacob Rosselet; Jean-Jacques Rousseau was among the subscribers in 1764. The parish was separated from Môtiers in 1706.
The Porte du Milieu. Fine example of the Neuchâtel Renaissance style, topped by a pediment dated 1574 bearing the Petitpierre arms.
The parsonage and the old school. The neoclassical parsonage of 1854 was built to plans by Hans Rychner; the old primary school, also neoclassical, was built in 1846-1850 by the architect Louis Châtelain.
The hospital. The district's first hospital, founded in 1860 in the building of the former Cercle républicain.
Plancemont. Hamlet of the former municipality, birthplace of the watchmaker Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), inventor of the marine chronometer.
The Dubied site. From 1867 to 1987 Couvet was the seat of the Edouard Dubied & Cie knitting machine factory, founded by Henri-Édouard Dubied (1823-1878), the village's main industry.
Remains in Couvet
The Grotte des Plaints. Cave occupied in the Mousterian (Middle Palaeolithic, 50'000-40'000 BC), the oldest evidence of human presence on the territory of Couvet.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Couvet »
- Wikipédia, « Couvet »
- État de Neuchâtel, arrêté du 21 janvier 2009 portant homologation des résultats du recensement cantonal de la population du 31 décembre 2008
Other villages near Couvet
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change