Ependes combines a sculpture trail among houses, gardens and meadows with pottery classes, Roman traces and an observatory. The village is part of the municipality of Bois-d’Amont in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. This gives you a range of options for your stay: art in the village, hands-on work with clay, local history and an evening programme about stars and planets. Which of these activities appeals to you most can help you decide whether Ependes suits your travel interests.
Art in the village and protected cultural heritage
The Ependes sculpture trail is a cultural walk through the village. Along this public circular route, you will encounter around 40 works by about 20 artists. These approximate figures give an idea of the scale of the art on offer; houses, gardens and meadows provide the setting for the walk. The trail thus combines viewing the works with a route through a variety of village surroundings.
Historic buildings also form part of Ependes’ cultural landscape. As of 1 January 2026, the Château de Lanther puis d’Amman and the parish church of Saint-Etienne in Ependes, as well as the Manoir Wild in Le Petit-Ependes, are listed as protected cultural assets. Traces of a Roman settlement have been discovered beneath and around the church. Objects found in Ependes include a silver coin from 79 AD, spindle whorls, ceramics and roof tiles. The protected buildings and archaeological finds thus represent different aspects of local history.
Work with clay or spend the evening at the observatory
POTSFINK Poterie d’Ependes regularly offers pottery classes for beginners and advanced participants. There is also a one-day course involving hands-on work with clay and various shaping techniques. The options differ according to two specific criteria: the regular classes explicitly cater to different experience levels, while the one-day format focuses on working with the material and learning techniques. This gives you a clear guide when choosing between a class for different experience levels and a one-day hands-on course.
The Ependes Observatory offers stargazing evenings for everyone, as well as educational activities about stars, planets and celestial phenomena. Group tours have specific conditions: they take place only in the evening, last 90 minutes and cost CHF 200. They include a tour of the premises, talks and explanations of the instruments. Observations using the instruments are included, weather permitting. This lets you choose between a stargazing evening and a group tour with a set duration, price and programme.
Getting there and outdoor experiences
By car, you can reach the observatory from Fribourg via Marly and Chésalles, or from Bulle via Le Mouret. These two routes provide guidance for travelling from those directions, without specifying a journey time.
At Ruisseau de Copy, you can walk barefoot over stones, through water, across moss and on plant-covered ground. The activity offers direct contact with a variety of natural surfaces and is clearly different from walking among the sculptures.
The information about the landscape is also specific in time and place: the former municipality of Ependes was located in the higher Fribourg Central Plateau, near the northern edge of the Alps, and comprised a small high plateau, wooded hills and gently rising slopes. In 1997, agriculture accounted for 68 percent of the area of this former municipality, while forests and wooded areas accounted for 23 percent. These figures describe land use at the time and add a historical perspective to today’s cultural and landscape attractions.
There are several options to choose from: a walk through the village, hands-on work with clay, an evening focused on astronomy or a barefoot activity at Ruisseau de Copy. The stated conditions for group tours and the different pottery classes can help you plan your stay around your interests.
Discover more destinations: Treyvaux, Marly Fr, Fribourg, Rossens, Avry Fr, Givisiez, Belfaux, Le Glèbe.
For the wider travel overview: La Sarine.
