Barberêche (French pronunciation: [baʁbəʁɛʃ]; German: Bärfischen; Arpitan: Barberêtse[2] [baʁbəˈʁɛtsə] ⓘ) is a former municipality in the district of Lac in the Swiss canton of Fribourg.

The Barberêche Lordship fell in the beginning under the Dukes of Zähringen, and then later became a fiefdom of the Counts of Thierstein, before a series of changes in ownership in the 15th century.

[5] Barberêche lies 569 m (1,867 ft) above sea level, and is 5.5 km (3.4 mi) north of the cantonal capital, Fribourg (Freiburg).

The surrounding rural municipality stretches along the north shore of the Schiffenensee, a small lake through which flows the river Saane/Sarine, at the foot of the Grand Bois ("Great Wood") hill on the Swiss plateau.

The former municipality's area includes a part of the Swiss plateau's molasse uplands.

All along this reservoir's shoreline in the Barberêche area is a 20 to 50 m (66 to 164 ft) high dike topped with trees, broken here and there by sandstone cliffs.

Several gullies carved by erosion empty into the lake; these have been partially flooded owing to the creation of the reservoir.

The gullies divide the terrace that Barberêche is built on into several small plateaux, which themselves are abutted in the northwest by the molasse hill.

In the farthest south and southwest, the former municipality area reaches beyond the Courtepin Valley to the flats at the mouth of the stream La Sonnaz where it empties into the Schiffenensee.

From here westwards, the district stretches to the Bois de la Corbaz (a wood), which reaches 650 m (2,130 ft) above sea level, and to the edge of the Bois de l'Hôpital ("Hospital Wood") (660 m [2,170 ft] above sea level).

Towards the northeast, the former municipality stretches over the Breilles Heights — which at 668 m (2,192 ft) above sea level are Barberêche's highest point — the Bouley Forest, and the Grand Bois, as well as the Bulliardholz (another wood; 660 m [2,170 ft]), and on to the foot of the "Great Wood" (Grossholz) at Kleingurmels.

[13] The oldest parts of the parish church of Saint Maurice date back to the 11th century.

The church contains wall paintings from the 18th century, woodcarvings, and coats of arms in the stained glass.

It was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier fortification, under Petermann de Praroman's direction in the late Gothic style.

Furthermore, over the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee, northeast of Barberêche, stands Petit-Vivy Castle.

Farther northeast is Grand-Vivy Castle on a narrow outcrop between the Schiffenensee and a small stream.

[16] Barberêche was until the second half of the 20th century a village whose livelihood was firmly rooted in agriculture.

Even today, tilling the soil, growing fruit, and raising cattle are important to the local economy.

In the tertiary sector; 17 or 25.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 11.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 8 or 11.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 3 or 4.4% were in education and 9 or 13.2% were in health care.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs.

After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.

[18] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (409 or 74.2%) as their first language, German is the second most common (120 or 21.8%) and Portuguese is the third (7 or 1.3%).

The nearest expressway interchange, A12 (Bern-Vevey) lies about 5 km (3.1 mi) from the center of the municipality.