Surpierre

Surpierre (Surpiérra, syˈpjeʁa or ʃyˈpjeʁa) is a municipality in the district of Broye, in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. In January 2005 Surpierre incorporated the formerly independent municipality of Praratoud, in January 2017 Surpierre incorporated Villeneuve and in January 2021 it incorporated Cheiry. Surpierre is first mentioned in 1142 as Super Petram. Cheiry is first mentioned around 1184-85 as Chirie. Its territory was enlarged in 2005 with the formerly independent municipality Chapelle. On 5 October 1994, 23 members of the cult the Order of the Solar Temple were found in dead in the farm La Rochette in Cheiry. After the 2017 merger Surpierre had an area of . Before the merger Surpierre had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 57.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads). In the 2013/18 survey a total of or about 3.1% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of over the 1981 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality decreased by and is now about 0.00% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, is used for orchards and vineyards, is fields and grasslands and consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1981 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by . Over the same time period the amount of forested land has decreased by . Rivers and lakes cover in the municipality. The municipality is located in the Broye district, in an exclave in the canton of Vaud. The village is on a cliff overlooking the Broye valley. It consists of the villages of Surpierre and Praratoud. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure, three Plates. Surpierre has a population () of . , 5.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 4.8%. Migration accounted for 13.6%, while births and deaths accounted for -0.7%. Most of the population () speaks French (222 or 93.