Author: Maarten Koning

Monthey and the Monthéleo dynasty

The town in the canton of Valais is situated at the foot of the Dents du Midi, the Portes du Soleil, the Val d’Illiez, and its river, the Vièze.

The town’s name and castle first appeared in the 13th century (castrum Monteyz). Much more is known of the local Monthéleo dynasty (see, among others, Abbé Tamini’s book Les Nobles de Monthéleo de Montheis). They ruled the town until 1536 and rebuilt the castle in the 14th and 15th centuries. 

The town in the Lower Valais (Bas-Valais, Unterwallis) was a territory of the Dukes of Savoy until 1536, and then of the Republic of the Seven Zenden or Zehnden (die Republik der Sieben Zenden/ la Républic des sept Dizains) of the Upper Valais (Haut-Valais/Oberwallis). This rule lasted until the French invasion in 1798.

Monthey is considered the first industrial town in Valais and has pioneered the chemical, synthetic, stone, and metal building sectors. 

(Source and further information: www.monthey.ch).

The Castle of Monthey

The De Monthéolo family governed the town of Monthey (canton of Valais) at the beginning of the 14th century. They (re) built the castle in the 15th century.

The Republic of the Seven Tithings in the Upper Valais (Republik der Sieben Zenden, Oberwallis/République des Sept-Dizains, Haut-Valais) conquered the Lower Valais  (Unterwallis/Bas-Valais) from the Dukes of Savoy in 1536.

The governors settled in the castle until the end of the Ancien Régime (1798). The castle became the property of the municipality in 1900.

The castle houses the Association Vieux-Monthey (Old-Monthey, www.vieux-monthey.ch) and the Zaza-Ortelli foundation, which holds an audiovisual collection and documents related to Monthey and the region.

(Source and more information: www.monthey.ch).

The Church of Kleinhüningen

The Protestant church of Kleinhüningen (canton Basel-Stadt, city of Basel) was built in 1710 by Peter Racine in a simple Baroque style. The church replaced the medieval village church. This church was destroyed in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648).

The ceiling, the western entrance and the octagonal shape of the tower are exceptional, the so-called “anti-baroque” style.

The church was restored by Amadeus Merian (1808-1889) in 1847. Several renovations took place in 1975 and 2010. The anchor at the bottom of the church tower refers to the village as a port on the Rhine.

Gruyère Castle

The castle of the Counts of Gruyère was entangled in the disputes between Savoy, Burgundy, Bern and Freiburg in the fifteenth century.

Gruyère was a vassal of Savoy, but Gruyère chose the side of Bern and Freiburg in 1475 (during the wars against Burgundy). Freiburg became the new owner after the bankruptcy of the last count in 1554.

Source and further information: Château Gruyère

Swiss Rhythm in Fleurier

The roads in the Val-de-Travers in the Jura Mountains of the canton of Neuchâtel form an east-west connection. The valley has always been an essential trade route from the Franche-Comté to the Swiss Plateau.

The valley became an industrial hotspot for the production of textiles, asphalt, absinthe, and watches in the eighteenth century. The heart of the Valley still beats to the rhythm of the watchmakers, also in Fleurier, a medieval village.

The first mention of Fleurier was in 1284. The town was first administered by the Lords of Vautravers and then by the Counts of Neuchâtel in the 14th century. David Vaucher (1712-1786) introduced the first watch industry in Fleurier in 1730.  There were 200 watchmakers in 1830.

Edouard Bovet (1797-1849), a young watchmaker from Fleurier, went to China in 1818. He paved the way for the watchmakers of Fleurier. The Chinese market was a significant boost, and many manufacturers were actively supplying the Chinese market.

More than 2,000 people were employed in this sector in Fleurier in 1900, and the population had increased to 3,300 by that time.

The Notre-Dame du Pont in Monthey

The first chapel of Notre-Dame du Pont in Monthey (canton of Valais/Valais) was

Monthey (canton of Valais) is located on the right bank of the Vièze. The chapel withstood the floods of 1726. Only the foundation was affected. On the west facade is the following inscription:

The river Vièze overflowed its banks on 6 July 1726. On 15 August of the same year, work began on a new foundation. The reconstruction was completed in 1728. (La Vièze a debordé le 6 juillet 1726. Un nouveau lit a été commencé sous la hospice de la Bienheureuse vierge Marie le 15 août de la même année et achevé en 1728).

Around 1900, a farmhouse and two barns still stood near the chapel. The chapel is a true masterpiece of Baroque chapel architecture. This type of architecture is usually found in the Saas Valley (Haut-Valais).

Monthey belonged to the diocese of Sion (Sitten) in the Haut-Valais. Monthey is part of the  Bas-Valais. The Haut-Valais, also known as the Republic of the Seven Tithings (Republik der Sieben Zenden, Républik des sept Dizains), governed and occupied this region until 1798.

Champéry

The village takes its name from Pery (Champ à Péry, Champ Péry and Champéry), apparently the first inhabitant of the valley in the Middle Ages. The village was part of the second kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032) and was ruled by the Dukes of Savoy until 1536.

In 1536, the Sieben Zenden ( les Sept-Dizains) of the Haut-Valais (Upperwallis) invaded the Bas-Valais (Lowerwallis). The valley and Champéry were part of Monthey, the main town of the Bas-Valais region, until 1798. (see Swiss Spectator 26.1.2021).

The inhabitants mainly lived from agriculture, cattle breeding and the wood trade. Military service for foreign powers (mercenaries) was also an important source of income until the middle of the 19th century. In 1848, the federal constitution prohibited this trade.

In 1839, the Canton of Valais granted Champéry municipal independence. The village is separated from Val d’Illiez. The second half of the 19th century was marked by the emigration of many families (especially to Argentina). During this period, the first roads were constructed, and tourism experienced significant growth.

Champéry gradually became a tourist destination. In 1908, the railway was put into operation. In 1959, the first ski lift was built. Despite tourism, the village has retained its rural character, as evidenced by the old chalets and many mazots (small wooden storage places for hay and grain).

(Source and more information: www.patrimoinechamperolain.ch).

The Priory of Pully

Pully’s wine-growing tradition flourished in the Middle Ages. The best grapes grew on the domain of the priory (Le Prieuré).

The Cluniac abbey of Payerne owned the priory. The kings of Burgundy (Kingdom of Burgundy 888-1032) donated the priory to Payerne Abbey in the 10th century. The kings were crowned in Payerne.

The area has been cultivated for over two thousand years. Initially, a large Roman villa existed (the Roman Museum in Pully provides further details).

The first wooden church dates back to the time of the Merovingians (6th or 7th century). In the 9th century, a stone Carolingian church was built.

In the 13th century, the church was enlarged and rebuilt in the Gothic style. The church became a Protestant temple after the conquest of the Pays de Vaud by Bern in 1536.

The temple underwent several renovations and restorations afterwards, the last one in 2001 after a fire.  Today, the priory is a restaurant.