Noréaz (French: [nɔʁea]; Arpitan: Noréya) is a former municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.

It is home to the En Praz des Gueux prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[3] En Praz des Gueux is the only prehistoric lakeside settlement on the banks of a small lake in the Canton of Fribourg.

The site was discovered by accident in 1971 in a boggy area near the present shore of the Lac de Seedorf.

Under a layer of about 70 cm (28 in) of peat timbers, gravel and stone slabs were discovered.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Or a Semi Lion rampant issuant Gules and Azure three Escallops Argent.

[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (430 or 91.1%) as their first language, German is the second most common (29 or 6.1%) and Portuguese is the third (7 or 1.5%).

[10] The historical population is given in the following chart:[5][14] In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 29.1% of the vote.

[10] There were 269 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 47.6% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 2 or 1.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 145 or 96.7% were in education.

[10] From the 2000 census[update], 405 or 85.8% were Roman Catholic, while 41 or 8.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

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.