Travers
Origin of the name Travers
The village is mentioned in 1202 in the Latin form « Transversum », then in 1229 in the form « Travers ». The sources consulted do not explain the origin of the name; the Latin « transversum » means « set crosswise » (to be cross-checked). The inhabitants bear the nickname « Strubes », « because they are crosswise ».
Founding of Travers
Neither a founder nor a founding charter is known. Travers grew up on both banks of the Areuse, with numerous hamlets, and appears in the records in 1202; its church of Saint-Côme is attested in 1228. Owned by the counts of Neuchâtel from the 13th century, the village was made a lordship in 1413 by Count Conrad of Freiburg, who added Noiraigue and Rosières to it. The lordship was granted in fief to Jean de Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus, passed to the Bonstetten in 1587, to the Sandoz in 1761, and was handed over to the prince in 1827. Agricultural by tradition, Travers industrialised around the middle of the 19th century. The village is today part of the municipality of Val-de-Travers (merger of 1 January 2009).
History of Travers
1202. First mention of the village, in the form « Transversum ».
1228. The church of Saint-Côme is attested.
1229. Mention in the form « Travers ».
13th century. Travers is owned by the counts of Neuchâtel.
1413. Count Conrad of Freiburg makes Travers a lordship and adds Noiraigue and Rosières to it. The lordship is granted in fief to Jean de Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus.
1569. The church of Saint-Côme is converted into a Reformed church.
1587. The lordship passes to the von Bonstetten family.
1627-1643. François and Rodolphe von Bonstetten divide the lordship, distinguishing the title of lord of Travers from that of lord of Rosières.
1711. Identification of the large La Presta asphalt deposit.
1717. Beginning of asphalt mining, notably in the La Presta mine.
1761. The lordship of Travers passes to the Sandoz.
1827. The Sandoz cede the seigneurial rights to the prince of Neuchâtel.
1848. Travers takes part in the overthrow of the Ancien Régime.
1850. Travers is the first Neuchâtel municipality to adopt a municipal council of republican inspiration. Around the middle of the century the agricultural tradition gives way to watchmaking factories and the systematic mining of asphalt.
1860. Opening of the Neuchâtel-Pontarlier railway line.
1865. A fire destroys 101 houses; the same year the church tower is raised.
1883. The Régional du Val-de-Travers railway enters service.
1939. Construction of the Catholic church of Saint-Joseph.
1975. Start of industrial decline: Travers gradually loses most of its firms and becomes a residential village.
1986. Closure of the La Presta asphalt mine.
2009. On 1 January Travers merges with Les Bayards, Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Môtiers, Noiraigue and Saint-Sulpice to form the municipality of Val-de-Travers.
Population of Travers
| 1850 | 1'471 |
| 1900 | 2'093 |
| 1950 | 1'653 |
| 2000 | 1'180 |
| 2008 | 1'238 |
Historic sites in Travers
The church (former church of Saint-Côme). Church attested in 1228, converted into a Reformed church in 1569; its tower was raised in 1865.
The bridge over the Areuse. Bridge listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance.
The Léopold Bourquin workshop. Former watchmaking bar-turning workshop, a witness of the village's watch industry.
The Catholic church of Saint-Joseph. Church built in 1939.
Remains in Travers
The La Presta asphalt mine. Deposit identified in 1711, mined from 1717 and systematically from the middle of the 19th century; described as the largest asphalt deposit in Europe (to be cross-checked), it was worked until the mine closed in 1986.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Travers »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rosières »
- Wikipédia, « Travers (Neuchâtel) »
- 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 Travers
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