Барбереш: История и особенности швейцарской деревни

Barberêche (baʁbəʁɛʃ; Bärfischen; ) is a former municipality in the district of Lac in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. It lies on the "language boundary" between the French and German speaking parts of Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 it merged with Villarepos and Wallenried into the extant municipality of Courtepin.

The Barberêche area was settled quite early on, as witnessed by archaeological finds of graves from Hallstatt times and foundations from Roman times. The first documentary mention of Barberêche dates from 1154 under the name Barbereschi. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 39.0% is used for growing crops and 19.3% is pastures, while 1.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.

Barberêche had a population (as of 2015) of 527. as of 2008, 13.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. The most heavily populated place in the municipality is Pensier with about 250 people; only about 100 people live in the village of Barberêche itself. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 5.9%. Migration accounted for 1.4%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.8%. as of 2008, the population was 51.1% male and 48.9% female. The population was made up of 247 Swiss men (45.7% of the population) and 29 (5.4%) non Swiss men. There were 216 Swiss women (40.0%) and 48 (8.9%) non Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 171 or about 31.0% were born in Barberêche and lived there in 2000. There were 191 or 34.7% who were born in the same canton, while 100 or 18.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 82 or 14.9% were born outside of Switzerland. as of 2000, there were 184 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.47%.

Grand Vivy Castle, Barberêche Castle, Petit Vivy Castle, the barn and stable at Chemin de la Fruiterie 5 A and the granary at Route de Grimoine 20 B are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The area around Petit and Grand Vivy is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

The oldest parts of the parish church of Saint Maurice date back to the 11th century. It was enlarged in 1785 86 and underwent modifications in the 19th century. It has a quire with a semicircular apse and overhanging arcades in early mediaeval style. The church contains wall paintings from the 18th century, woodcarvings, and coats of arms in the stained glass. The parsonage next to the church dates from 1566. On the edge of the plateau, right above the Schiffenensee, stands Barberêche Castle. It was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier fortification, under Petermann de Praroman's direction in the late Gothic style. From 1839 until 1844, the castle underwent considerable remodeling, whereby the castle took its current shape in the neo Gothic and neoclassical styles. The castle is today privately owned. Furthermore, over the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee, northeast of Barberêche, stands Petit Vivy Castle. It is among the oldest preserved castles in the region. The still preserved, mighty, four sided keep was built in the second half of the 13th century, and has 3.5 m thick walls. Around the keep are the remains of former surrounding walls, arranged in triangular form. The residential buildings were built in the 16th century. Farther northeast is Grand Vivy Castle on a narrow outcrop between the Schiffenensee and a small stream. This was also the site of a medieval castle, but this was replaced by today's late Gothic structure with its semicircular stairway tower, and other tower construction. The chapel next to the castle was built in the 19th century.

Barberêche is twinned with the town of Zeuthen, Germany.

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 24.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (22.6%), the SVP (20.3%) and the FDP (8.7%). The SPS improved their position in Barberêche rising to first, from third in 2007 (with 18.5%) The CVP retained about the same popularity (22.5% in 2007), the SVP moved from first in 2007 (with 25.0%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (10.4% in 2007). A total of 205 votes were cast in this election, of which 3 or 1.5% were invalid.

Barberêche was until the second half of the 20th century a village whose livelihood was firmly rooted in agriculture. Even today, tilling the soil, growing fruit, and raising cattle are important to the local economy. Other jobs are to be found in small business and the service sector. There is a commercial area in Pensier. Until 1976, there was a boarding school at Barberêche (Institut Saint Dominique). Over the last few decades, the village has developed itself into a wealthy agriculture community. Many of the residents nowadays are commuters who work in Fribourg. as of 2010, Barberêche had an unemployment rate of 2%. as of 2008, there were 60 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 8 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 95 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 15 businesses in this sector. In 2000, there were 55 workers who commuted into the municipality and 185 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.6% used a private car. During the 2010 11 school year, there were a total of 48 students attending 3 classes in Barberêche. A total of 99 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There were no kindergarten classes in the municipality, but 11 students attended kindergarten in a neighboring municipality. The municipality had 2 primary classes and 38 students. During the same year, there were no lower secondary classes in the municipality, but 18 students attended lower secondary school in a neighboring municipality. There were no upper Secondary classes or vocational classes, but there were 15 upper Secondary students and 14 upper Secondary vocational students who attended classes in another municipality. The municipality had no non university Tertiary classes, but there was one specialized Tertiary student who attended classes in another municipality. as of 2000, there were 37 students from Barberêche who attended schools outside the municipality.

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (409 or 74.2%) as their first language, German is the second most common (120 or 21.8%) and Portuguese is the third (7 or 1.3%). There are 5 people who speak Italian. Until the 15th century, the local language was almost exclusively German. The French speaking community slowly grew until in the 18th and 19th centuries, the village was bilingual. French has been the majority language in Barberêche since about 1860.

The municipality is well connected, even though it lies far from the main highways. The nearest expressway interchange, A12 (Bern Vevey) lies about from the center of the municipality. On 23 August 1898, the railway line from Fribourg to Murten opened, with a station in Pensier. The village of Barberêche itself has no public transport connections.

Joseph Deiss, politician, former Federal Councillor and President of the Confederation (2004); also a former mayor of Barberêche.