Val-de-Ruz

Val-de-Ruz is a municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.

The municipalities of Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontainemelon, Fontaines, Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Les Hauts-Geneveys, Montmollin, Le Pâquier, Savagnier and Villiers merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz.

History

Boudevilliers is first mentioned in 1195 as Boudeviler. Cernier is first mentioned in 1324 as Cernies. Saint-Martin is first mentioned in 998 as Sancto Martino. Petit-Chézard was mentioned in 1143 as Esser, while Grand-Chézard was first mentioned in 1285 as Chesas. Coffrane is first mentioned in 1092 as de Cusfrano. Coffrane is also the site of the Battle of Coffrane, 1296. Dombresson is first mentioned in 1178 as ecclesiam de Danbrizun. Engollon is first mentioned in 1228 as Engolun. Fenin-Vilars-Saules was created in 1875 when Fenin, Vilars and Saules merged. Fenin was first mentioned in 1191 as de Finilis and Saules was mentioned in 1269 as Sales. Fontainemelon is first mentioned about 1350 as Fontainnemelom. In 1358 it was mentioned as Fontannamillon. Fontaines is first mentioned in 1228 as Fontanes. Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane is first mentioned about 1342 as Geneveis sus Corfranoz. Les Hauts-Geneveys is first mentioned in 1342 as Geneveis sus Fontannes. In 1599 it was mentioned as Haultz Geneveys. Montmollin is first mentioned in 1347 as Mommolens. In 1372 it was mentioned as Montmolens. Le Pâquier is first mentioned in 1328 as Pasquier. Savagnier is first mentioned in 1143 as Savaigner. Villiers is first mentioned in 1191 as in Vilar. In 1308 it was mentioned as de Villier.

Val-de-Ruz District

Val-de-Ruz District is a district of the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, consisting of the region of Val de Ruz and the surrounding Jura Mountains. The district capital is the town of Cernier. It has a population of 16,891 (as of 31 December 2014).

Municipalities

Val-de-Ruz comprises the following municipalities:

Mergers and name changes

The municipalities of Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontainemelon, Fontaines, Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Les Hauts-Geneveys, Montmollin, Le Pâquier, Savagnier and Villiers merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Val-de-Ruz.

Demographics

The Val-de-Ruz has a population (as of December 2014) of 16,891.

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (13,144 or 90.5%) as their first language, German is the second most common (451 or 3.1%) and Italian is the third (255 or 1.8%). There are 10 people who speak Romansh.

As of 2008, the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. The population was made up of 6,698 Swiss men (42.3% of the population) and 1,154 (7.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 7,069 Swiss women (44.7%) and 906 (5.7%) non-Swiss women.