Valangin

Town Canton of Neuchâtel · Region: Littoral · 523 inhabitants (31.12.2020, former municipality of Valangin, last census before the merger)

Part of the municipality of Neuchâtel

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Valangin

First mentioned in 1241 as « de Valengiz »; the old German name is « Valendis ». The name is often explained by Latin vallis angina, « the narrow valley », referring to the Seyon's passage through narrow gorges (to be cross-checked). The linguists Wulf Müller and Eric Sigrist published « Le toponyme Valangin, nouvel essai d'explication », a sign that the question is still debated. The Valanginian, a stage of the Lower Cretaceous described in 1853 by Édouard Desor, is named after the place.

Founding of Valangin

Valangin lies at the northern entrance to the Seyon gorges and includes the hamlet of La Borcarderie and the estates of Bussy and Sorgereux. The site has been frequented since the Hallstatt period, as some ten burial mounds in the Bussy woods show. The castle, seat of the medieval lordship of Valangin, has yielded remains of a Romanesque tower of the 11th or 12th century; its keep dates from the 13th century. The origins of the lordship are obscure: a charter of donation to the abbey of Fontaine-André around 1143 is said to name lords claiming Valangin, and a Berthold de Valangin is said to have had the land cleared and the castle built in 1152 (both points to be cross-checked). The lordship then passed to the lords of Aarberg. The present small town, with its regular plan, results from a foundation planned and willed by the Aarbergs between 1301 and 1330, probably after the destruction of La Bonneville. Jean d'Aarberg granted it its first franchises in 1352; the burghership, at first reserved for house-owning inhabitants of Valangin, later recruited throughout the lordship and beyond, until it was dissolved in 1852.

History of Valangin

Hallstatt period. Some ten burial mounds are raised in the Bussy woods; they are excavated between 1920 and 1960.

11th-12th century. A Romanesque tower, remains of which have been found, is built on the hilltop.

around 1143-1150. A donation charter to the abbey of Fontaine-André mentions lords claiming Valangin, Renaud and Guillaume of Aarberg. This is the oldest known indirect trace of the place, which would allow the origin of the castle to be traced back to the first half of the 12th century, or even the 11th century (to be cross-checked).

1152. Berthold de Valangin, backed by Count Rudolf II of Neuchâtel, is said to have enlisted many villagers to clear the land and build the castle (to be cross-checked).

before 1218. The lordship of Valangin passes into the hands of the counts of Neuchâtel (to be cross-checked).

1215-1251. The lords of Aarberg take control of Valangin; the date varies between sources, from 1215 to after 1251 (to be cross-checked).

1241. Oldest known written mention of the place name, in the form "de Valengiz".

1276. Death of Ulrich I of Aarberg. His lands, including Valangin, are divided among three of his sons. One of them, Jean I, founds the Aarberg-Valangin branch (to be cross-checked).

13th century. Construction of the castle keep, a four-storey Gothic hall tower combining lordly residence and defence.

6 January 1296. First explicit mention of the castle in an archival document, under the formula "li chastels de Valangins".

1296. The same year, after the defeat at Coffrane against Count Rudolf IV of Neuchâtel, Jean I and Thierry d'Aarberg temporarily surrender their lands to the bishop of Basel (to be cross-checked).

1301-1330. The Aarbergs found the small town below the castle on a regular plan, probably after the destruction of La Bonneville, a new town opposed by the count of Neuchâtel (the latter to be cross-checked).

1352. Jean d'Aarberg grants the town its first franchises.

mid-14th century. Construction of the Prisonnière tower, which overlooks the castle's outer courtyard.

15th-16th century. The walls are completed and an outer enclosure links the town to the castle. Inventories list some ten rooms in the castle in 1429 and some thirty in 1517.

1505. Consecration of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, built by Claude d'Aarberg and Guillemette de Vergy; its chapter of a provost and six canons incorporates seven of the eleven parish churches of the lordship.

1517. Death of Claude of Aarberg. His widow, Guillemette de Vergy, has a large new residential wing built at the castle, with a stove-heated room, large kitchen, ovens, bedrooms and galleries.

1531. The collegiate church is sacked during the Reformation, which ends the chapter; the lordship adopts the Reformation in 1536 (to be cross-checked for this date). Valangin, which had belonged to the parish of Engollon, then forms a parish with Boudevilliers.

1552. René de Challant has the wall separating the castle from the town rebuilt at great expense.

1563-1564. Construction, opposite the collegiate church, of a house known as « de Madame T. »; a « Maison Touchon » dated 1588 is also mentioned on the same site (to be cross-checked).

1565. Death of René de Challant, which marks the end of the major construction works carried out at the castle.

1592. Following a disagreement between heirs, the lordship of Valangin is attached to the county, then to the principality, of Neuchâtel.

1601, 1701 and 1713. Successive collapses of castle towers, leading to the partial levelling of its outer wall.

1707. After the extinction of the sovereign house of Orléans-Longueville, the Estates of Neuchâtel choose the King of Prussia as the new prince. Valangin follows this change of sovereign with the rest of the principality.

1747. An accidental fire destroys most of the castle's buildings, with the exception of the great Gothic tower.

1766. A calico-printing works (indiennes) is set up at La Borcarderie.

1769-1772. Reconstruction of the castle, which gives it essentially its present-day silhouette: the north part is replaced by a terrace, the south wing is lowered by one storey.

1789. Demolition of the Prisonnière tower.

1806. The principality of Neuchâtel, to which Valangin belongs, is ceded by Prussia to Napoleon (to be cross-checked).

1815. The principality of Neuchâtel, and therefore Valangin, joins the Swiss Confederation.

1839-1841. Restoration of the church of Saint-Pierre, which takes the form of a Greek cross.

1848. The castle ceases to serve as a court; Valangin belongs to the district of Val-de-Ruz until 2017.

1852. Dissolution of the burghership of Valangin.

1853. The geologist Édouard Desor describes the Valanginian, a geological layer named after the place.

1894. The castle ceases to serve as a prison. The State grants its use to the Society of History and Archaeology, which sets up a regional museum there.

1896-1916. Successive restoration campaigns at the castle, carried out notably under the direction of the architects Léo Châtelain, Jean Béguin and then Louis Reutter.

1901. A tramway links Valangin to Neuchâtel; it is replaced by a trolleybus from 1948 to 1968, then by the Neuchâtel-Cernier bus.

1905. The castle and its walls are listed as a historic monument.

1973. The Valangin bypass viaduct collapses during construction (seven injured, to be cross-checked).

1975. Opening of the bypass viaduct leading to the Seyon gorges.

1994-1996. Modernisation of the museum access and securing of the collections. A water reserve and a shelter for cultural property are set up beneath the terrace.

early 21st century. Valangin keeps a few farms and some small crafts; most of the working population commutes.

2005. Latest restoration of the collegiate church.

2011. A single Reformed parish now covers the whole Val-de-Ruz.

2016. The population of Valangin approves by vote the principle of a merger with the City of Neuchâtel.

2017. Valangin joins the association "Les plus beaux villages de Suisse" (The most beautiful villages of Switzerland).

summer 2020. Inauguration at the castle of a medieval-inspired garden, laid out in terraces over about 8'000 square metres around nine themes.

2021. On 1 January Valangin merges with Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche and Peseux and becomes a locality of the new municipality of Neuchâtel, which then has 44'411 inhabitants.

Population of Valangin

186

1750

418

1850

476

1900

427

1950

400

2000

409

2010

523 (cantonal census at 31.12.2020)

2020

Historic sites in Valangin

The Castle of Valangin. Built on a rocky spur at the mouth of the Seyon gorges, the castle remained the residence of the lords of Valangin from the 12th to the 16th century. Its present-day silhouette combines a Gothic tower-hall from the late 13th century, a large residential wing remodelled in the 16th century, and an outer wall with eleven semicircular towers. Converted into a regional museum from 1894 after having served as a courthouse and then a prison, it has been listed as a historic monument since 1905. Visitors can see the great hall, the seigneurial bedroom, the kitchen, as well as former dungeons. A medieval-inspired garden, laid out in terraces over about 8'000 square metres, was inaugurated in summer 2020.

Le Bourg, the fortified old town. Founded on a regular plan between 1301 and 1330 below the castle, the town keeps a medieval layout of about 70 by 50 metres. Its main street is lined with 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century houses and ends to the north at a 15th-century town gate.

The collegiate church of Saint-Pierre. Built by Claude d'Aarberg and Guillemette de Vergy and consecrated in 1505, it holds the recumbent effigies of its two founders, who are buried there. Restored in 1839-1841, it has a late Gothic Greek-cross plan; its latest restoration dates from 2005.

The house opposite the collegiate church. An old house now occupied by an art gallery. Some sources call it « maison de Madame T. » and date it to 1563-1564, while others mention a « Maison Touchon » of 1588 on the same site (to be cross-checked).

The hamlet of La Borcarderie. A rural hamlet with a manor-type residence; a calico-printing works was set up here in 1766. Together with the village of Valangin, it is listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance (ISOS).

Remains in Valangin

Burial mounds of the Bussy woods. Some ten Hallstatt-period burial mounds were excavated here between 1920 and 1960. Mound 8 held a man buried with an iron razor, a bracelet and a toilet set; mound 4 yielded bronze and sapropelite bracelets, rings and a small bell; mound 5 contained four burials, including that of a late Hallstatt woman with a decorated bronze belt plate.

Remains of the first castle, 11th-12th century. Remains of a Romanesque tower of the 11th or 12th century were found on the hilltop; of the original castle only a few stretches of wall survive, embedded in later rebuilding.

The castle dungeons. Two dungeons and a wooden cage are still visible at the castle, evidence of its use as a courthouse until 1848 and then as a prison until 1894.

The outer enclosure. The 15th- and 16th-century outer enclosure linking the town to the castle keeps semicircular towers pierced with loopholes, despite the collapses of 1601, 1701 and 1713.

The town gate of the Bourg. Dating from the 15th century, it still marks the northern entrance to the main street of the fortified town.

20th-century fortifications. The area keeps fortifications linked to national defence during the Second World War; a museum devoted to Border Brigade 2 is said to exist nearby (to be cross-checked).

Sources

Other villages near Valangin

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