Romont

Les Pleureuses (the Weeping Women) is a solemn Good Friday procession in Romont dating back to the 15th century. Romont is one of the last places in Switzerland to maintain this ancient Catholic procession. After the reading of the Passion at the Collegiale, a cross-bearer with head covered in black cloth leads the procession, followed by approximately 20 women veiled in black who maintain absolute silence. On scarlet cushions, they carry the instruments of the Passion: a crown of thorns, nails, a hammer, birch sticks, a whip, and St. Veronica's shroud. A young girl portrays the Virgin Mary. The cortege stops at the fourteen Stations of the Cross.

The Vitromusee Romont, housed in the Chateau de Romont, officially opened on 20 June 1981 as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Canton Fribourg joining the Swiss Confederation. It holds over 14,000 works spanning from Antiquity to the present day -- stained glass windows, reverse glass paintings, glass objects, and tools. The Savoyard wing displays the stained glass collection, while the Fribourg wing holds the world's largest collection of reverse glass painting (peinture sous verre), approximately 300 selected objects largely from the bequest of Ruth and Frieder Ryser. The castle's Grand Donjon was completed before 1260 under Pierre II de Savoie.

In 1239, Pierre II de Savoie (c. 1203-1268), known as the 'Petit Charlemagne' (Little Charlemagne), acquired the rights to the hill of Romont from Anselme de Billens. In 1240, he sent a chatelain and began building the castle and founding a new town. The name Romont derives from the Latin Rotundus Mons, meaning 'round hill.' The town sits dramatically perched at 780 m above sea level. Pierre II was a prolific castle-builder across Savoy, Vaud, and even England -- in 1243 he was granted land in London where he built the famous Savoy Palace on the Strand. The Grand Donjon's well shaft is reputedly as deep as the tower is tall, approximately 40 meters.

The Tour a Boyer is a high circular keep in the Savoyard style, with walls 3.10 m thick at the base and 2.60 m at the top, rising approximately 38 meters above ground. It is the most impressive surviving tower of Romont's medieval ramparts, which stretch approximately 1,500 meters around the hilltop forming a nearly complete defensive ring. Built starting in the mid-13th century under Pierre II de Savoie, the walls originally featured a covered wooden roof. Three gate-towers guarded the entrances to the town. Other towers along the perimeter include the Tour du Sauvage, the Tour de Billens, and the Tour de Fribourg. The promenade des remparts offers panoramic views from Mont Blanc to the Jura.

The Collegiale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Romont is a living showcase of the evolution of stained glass from the medieval period to the modern era. The oldest stained glass windows still in situ date from 1348. In 1938-1939, Alexandre Cingria created the twelve apostles in the high nave windows. In 1968, Yoki (Yoki Aebischer) created an abstract Marian cycle for the Chapelle du Portail. In 1981, Sergio de Castro created windows depicting prophets. The church was first consecrated in the 13th century, destroyed by fire in the 15th century, and rebuilt in local molasse sandstone in the Flamboyant Gothic style. Together with the Vitromusee, it forms an unparalleled ensemble for studying glass art.

The Sentier du Vitrail (Stained Glass Trail) is a 15.7 km loop hike through the rolling green hills of the Glane district, starting and ending at the Vitromusee in Romont. It takes approximately 4 hours and passes key stops including the Chapelle Sainte-Anne, the Eglise paroissiale de Mezieres with 34 abstract stained glass windows by Yoki, the Chapelle de La Neirigue built in 1641, the Chapelle Notre-Dame de l'Epine in Berlens (a pilgrimage chapel since the Middle Ages), and the Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu, a Cistercian monastery occupied continuously for over 750 years, with 15 contemporary stained glass windows by British artist Brian Clarke installed in 1995-1996.

Jacques de Savoie (12 November 1450 - 30 January 1486), seventh son of Louis, Duc de Savoie, received Romont and the Pays de Vaud as an appanage in 1460. He became a close ally of Charles le Temeraire (Charles the Bold) of Burgundy and was appointed Governor of Burgundy in 1473. During the Burgundian Wars, Romont sided with Burgundy against the Swiss Confederation. After the Confederation's victories at Grandson (2 March 1476) and Morat (22 June 1476), the Confederates conquered and plundered Romont. At the Battle of Morat, Jacques's Savoyard division escaped around Lake Murten and retreated to Romont. He permanently lost his rights to the Pays de Vaud and died in 1486.

Romont holds a weekly market every Tuesday at the Place Saint-Jacques in the medieval old town, from 7:00 to 11:00. The tradition of markets and fairs goes back to the founding era: Pierre II de Savoie deliberately laid out wide streets to accommodate markets and great fairs, a feature that defines the town's layout to this day. The town received town rights modeled on those of Moudon, probably between 1285 and 1293. By the end of the 13th century, the population exceeded 1,000. In 1536, Romont chose the protection of Catholic Fribourg rather than submit to Protestant Bern, a decision that preserved its Catholic faith and shaped its identity to this day.