Grolley-Ponthaux

Grolley-Ponthaux (French: [ɡʁɔlɛ pɔ̃to]) is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2025 by the merger of Grolley and Ponthaux. It had an official population of 2881 as of 31 December 2022.^[1]

Grolley-Ponthaux
Municipality
Catholic church of Grolley
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Grolley-Ponthaux
Grolley-Ponthaux Show map of Switzerland Grolley-Ponthaux Show map of Canton of Fribourg
Coordinates: 46°50′N 7°04′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Fribourg
District	Sarine
Government
• Executive	Conseil communal with 9 members
• Mayor	Syndic Christophe Prétet (as of 2025)
• Parliament	Conseil général with 42 members
Area
• Total	11.25 km2 (4.34 sq mi)
Population  (2023-12-31)
• Total	2,926
• Density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	1772
SFOS number	2239
ISO 3166 code	CH-FR
Localities	Corsalettes, Grolley, Nierlet-les-Bois, Ponthaux
Surrounded by	Belfaux, Belmont-Broye, Corminboeuf, Misery-Courtion, Montagny, Prez
Website	www.grolley-ponthaux.ch SFSO statistics

Geography

Grolley-Ponthaux is located between Fribourg in the east and Payerne in the west, on the divide between the Broye and Sarine watersheds.^[2] It borders the municipalities of Belfaux, Belmont-Broye, Corminboeuf, Misery-Courtion, Montagny, and Prez. It has an area of 11.25 square kilometres (4.34 sq mi).^[1]

History

Grolley became part of Fribourg's Anciennes Terres [fr] in 1442,^[3] while Ponthaux has been in Fribourg's possession since 1478, except when it was briefly attached to the canton of Léman from 1798 to 1803.^[2][4]

A vehicle park for the Swiss Army and a wastewater treatment plant were built in Grolley in 1970, and a new primary school in 1972.^[3][5]

The municipality of Nierlet-des-Bois [fr] merged with Ponthaux in 1981,^[2] and Corsalettes merged with Grolley in 2000.^[6]

A proposal to merge Grolley and Ponthaux narrowly failed in 2015,^[7] but a second referendum on merging the two municipalities succeeded in 2024.^[8] The merger went into effect on 1 January 2025.^[9]

Economy and infrastructure

Agricultural activities in the area include the farming of cereals, fodder crops, and livestock. While Ponthaux has retained its agricultural character,^[4] Grolley has experienced some residential development since the 1980s due to its proximity to Fribourg,^[3][10] and it has an industrial park.^[11]

Grolley-Ponthaux is located on Swiss main road H157, which connects it to Fribourg in the east and Payerne in the west. It is served by Grolley station on the Fribourg–Yverdon railway,^[3] on which RER Fribourg provides regular service to Fribourg/Freiburg and Yverdon-les-Bains.