Murten

Murten is first mentioned in documents in 515 as Muratum, which was donated to the monastery of St. Moritz. The name of the settlement allegedly originated from the Celtic Moridunum (mori - lake and dunum - fortress).

Murten belonged to the kingdom of Burgundy , whose center since 888 was located in St. Moritz . In 1033-1034 the fortress of Murtena was captured by the emperor Konrad II and destroyed. In the period between 1157 and 1177, Murten was rebuilt by Duke Berthold IV , soon after which he experienced an economic upswing and became a free imperial city in 1218. However, the location in the border area between the possessions of the Dukes of Savoy and the Hapsburgs made the life of the city restless. In 1238 a fortress wall was erected around the city, fortifications of which have been preserved to this day. In 1255, during the reign of Peter II of Savoy, Murten fell under the authority of Savoy, where he remained, with a few exceptions, until 1475. In 1416, most of the wooden buildings of the city were destroyed by fire, while the city fortifications were not affected by the fire.

A new page in the history of the city began during the Burgundian Wars between the Swiss Confederation and the Duke of Burgundy, Karl the Brave . Murten at that time belonged to Jacob of Savoy, Marshal of Burgundy. The city, which had close economic ties with Bern , in 1457 voluntarily surrendered to the Confederation, which opposed Burgundy and its allied Savoy. After Karl Brave was defeated at the Battle of Granson , in 1476 he besieged Murten. June 22, 1476 the battle of Murten was held, in which the troops of the Swiss Confederation and their allies caused significant damage to the Duke of Burgundy. According to the Friborg peace treaty of 1476, Savoy ceded Murten to the Swiss Confederation.

Until 1798, Berten and Friborg jointly managed Murten, who were alternately appointed for a period of 5 years by an inspector, whose residence was in Murten Castle.

In 1530, Murten joined the Reformation , which gave rise to disagreements between the Catholic Friborg and Bern. Bern took over the administration of church and civil affairs, while Fribur was in charge of military administration. At the same time, in peacetime, Bern received a greater influence on the civilian life of the city, which gradually led to the advancement of the German language in the then mostly French-speaking Murten.

Since 1803, the city and commune of Murten were ceded to the canton of Friborg.

The city is located at an altitude of 453 meters above sea level, 14 kilometers north of the capital of the canton of Friborg on the southeast shore of Lake Murten (Murtensee).

Murten covers an area of ​​12 square kilometers, most of the city is located on the southern shore of the Murtensee (the length of the coast is about 1,800 meters) in the coastal valley and on the Murten highlands.

To the east of the city stretch the wooded plateaus of Birchenwald, Trimble (up to 560 meters above sea level), Blooster (576 meters above sea level) and the Murten forest (Murtenwald) (582 meters above sea level).

Murten lands are intensively used for agricultural purposes. In 1997, 54% of the commune's land was occupied by agricultural land, 27% by forests and green spaces, and 19% by the territory of the settlement.

Since 1975, the Burgh settlement was also part of the commune of Murten, and since 1991 Altavilla on the plateau near Murten. In addition, rural settlements of Prel on the south-eastern outskirts of the city, Leuvenberg and Early, were attached to Murten.

The population of Murten is 6,024 people (as of December 31, 2008), which makes it one of the largest settlements of the canton of Friborg ^[1] . In 1900, the population in the city was 2,645 inhabitants, then it briefly decreased, and after 1950 it grew steadily, especially after the construction of new residential areas in the 1990s, which were mostly settled by Germans , as a result the share of francophone decreased from 40% in 1950s up to 13% per crust time ^[2] .

76.5% of the inhabitants of Murten speak German , 12.8% of the citizens are French-speaking , for 1.9% of the inhabitants their native language is Italian (according to 2000 data). The city is located in the bilingual French-German language zone, however, unlike the rest of the canton of Friborg, the use of the German language prevails.

Until about the 17th century, the population of Murten predominantly spoke French, but German became increasingly important, and at present the majority of the population of the city is German-speaking ^[2] . The local language is maintained in German, but French-language classes are also kept in the school.

Historically, Murten has always been an agrarian town in which the processing of locally grown agricultural products, as well as trade and fisheries, were of primary importance. Since the city until the end of the XIX century lay on the side of the main transport routes, industrialization took place slowly. The main industrial enterprise at that time was the factory where the watches were made. The economic upturn in Murten began only after the Second World War .

As of 2001, there are approximately 3,400 jobs in the city, of which about 36% are in the industrial sector of the economy, 61% in the consumer services and trade, and only 3% of the population is engaged in agriculture.

Vegetable growing and gardening, as well as a dairy farm, are developed on fertile lands around the city.

Industrial areas of Murten are located in close proximity to the railway. The main industries are electronics , glass production, and food processing . In addition, there are small and medium-sized businesses operating in the field of construction, transportation, information technology, precision mechanics and clothing manufacturing.

The city has developed banking and insurance, as well as the tourism industry.

Murten is located along the old road that leads from Bern to Lausanne via Payerne. Transit traffic was eliminated from the old part of the city with the opening in 1997 of a 2.2 km long tunnel between Leuvenberg and Gregg as part of the A1 motorway.

Railway traffic connected Murten with other cities in Switzerland on June 12, 1876, when part of the railway between Murten and Liss was commissioned. Somewhat later, on August 25, 1876, the Murten-Payerne-Palezio railway line was opened. In 1898, the railway communication with Fribur was opened.

Bus routes connect the city with Greng and Kurtepen, and water transport on Lake Murten - with other coastal settlements.

There is an open-air theater in Murten, where various concerts are organized, including the Murten Summer Festival of Classical Music . In early March, the city also hosts the inter-regional festival Murten Maslenitsa.

The city has football and tennis courts, a tennis hall and an indoor pool.

The main tourist attractions are located in a well-preserved old part of the city, surrounded by walls and towers.

The old town is an architectural monument of national importance. He retained the typical rectangular plan of medieval cities with a central area of ​​approximately 300 × 200 meters. Buildings in this area of ​​the city mainly belong to the Baroque epoch of the XVII – XVIII centuries.

The fortress wall around Murten is one of the best preserved medieval fortifications in Switzerland. It was built in 1238 and later reconstructed several times, rising up and strengthening. In the XX century, the wall underwent extensive restoration. The fortress wall has an average height of 8.5 meters and 12 towers of various designs and sizes. The city had 2 main entrances. The Berne Gate from the northeast side was built in 1778 in its final form.

In the south-western part of the old town stands the castle, whose construction began in the middle of XIII by Peter II, Duke of Savoy. The oldest surviving part of the castle is the massive quadrangular main tower. The outer walls of the castle are connected to the city fortifications and reinforced with semicircular towers. The residential premises of the castle were repeatedly rebuilt, primarily during the transformation of the castle into the residence of an inspector appointed by the Swiss Confederation (significant changes took place from 1476 to 1540 and at the end of the XVIII century). Currently, the castle is a combination of different architectural styles from late Gothic and Renaissance to Baroque. Currently, the castle is the prefecture of the municipality of Murten.

Below the castle is the old town mill, built in 1578, which houses the exposition of the historical museum.

Among the historical buildings, the German-reformist baroque parish church and the pastor’s house, built in 1732, stand out. The town hall was built in 1474 by renovating two former private houses.

Below the old town are houses of artisans in the later Gothic style in the district of Ruf. Outside the city walls is the Catholic Church of St. Mauritius, built in 1885-87. in the style of pseudo - gothic . Northeast of the city in the village of Leuvenberg is located the eponymous castle of the XVII century.

In 2002, the historical part of Murten was one of the five venues for the Swiss exhibition Expo.02. As a symbol of the exhibition, a metal cube was used - “Monolith”, installed on a concrete base in Lake Murten about 200 meters from the harbor, designed by architect Jean Nouvel.

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