Main Street (photo N. Junod 2006 - click to enlarge)	Church (photo N. Junod 2006 - click to enlarge)

(Lat. 47.08 (47°4') | Long 7.06 (7°3')

Origin of our branch of the Junod, the History of Lignières - known to us by written documents dating back to the XIIth century - is of a particular interest, when one simply things of the consequences of the share of this village between the Counts of Neuchâtel and the Archbishop of Bâle.

One dominent aspect of the history of Lignières is that of its constant problems with its Territorial limits. Indeed, Lignières served for a long period as border between the Bishopric of Basel, Their Excellencies of Bern and the Counts of Neuchâtel. This created numerous difficulties between our village and its Neighbours, which forced the setting of the village land's limits through Boundary-Stones, "Bornes" or "Boine" in old French.

The first texts on the "franc-alleu" (exemption of the Property transfer tax, or exempté of the "lods") in Lignières seem to go back to the start of the XVIth Century, and we know that the "franc-alleu" of Lignières was not the only one to prevail in the County of Neuchâtel :

Until the 14th Century, a great part of the County's territory was of "franc-alleu", a kind of "Free Zone" that owed no Dues, as its owners depended directly from the King (as opposed to local Lords).

But the Counts of Neuchâtel started buying back pieces of this "Free Zone", to rent them back to their original owners, this time with full Dues, property taxes and other forced labour...

I invite you to discover some lines of this History by selecting the links on the left - as well as discover other sites or pages on our village.

Summer 2007 - click to enlarge