History of the villages of the Nyon district (Vaud)
The 58 documented localities of the Nyon district, in the canton of Vaud. Each page covers the origin of the name, the main stages of its history and its remains, with sources.
Towns and villages 57
Arnex-sur-Nyon
Ceded in 1432 to the priory of Ripaille by the Marquis of Saluzzo, this small farming village near Nyon passed in 1763 to the Genevan banker Antoine Saladin.
VDArzier-Le Muids
Until 1980 the municipality needed no taxes: the forest was enough. Arzier and Le Muids were born of the liberties granted in 1304 by the Oujon charterhouse.
VDBassins
Until the 1970s Bassins was one of the richest communes in the canton, thanks to its forests and its ten alpine chalets.
VDBegnins
A fragment of a Roman milestone dated 252 was found here in 1811. The southern edge of the village is lined with castles and manor houses.
VDBénex
A Roman mausoleum overlooking a villa, then an estate of the Templar commandery of La Chaux: since the 16th century Bénex has been no more than a place name in Prangins.
VDBogis-Bossey
The Château de Bossey once belonged to Madame de Staël, housed Polish officers during the war and has been home to the Ecumenical Institute since 1946.
VDBorex
Borex, at the foot of the Jura near the French border, is crossed by the Roman aqueduct that carried the waters of Divonne to Nyon.
VDBugnaux
A bell tower raised in 1777, a bell given by the baron of Rolle and three manor houses: Bugnaux is listed in the ISOS as a site of national importance.
VDBursinel
On La Côte, facing Lake Geneva, Bursinel has kept its castle, seat of the Sacconay and then the Watteville families, and its layout as a wine-growing street village.
VDBursins
In 1011 King Rudolph III of Burgundy handed the church of Saint-Martin to the priory of Romainmôtier. Beneath it, dwellings from the 4th-5th centuries have been found.
VDBurtigny
Above the Serine, the fortress of Bioley, besieged by the Count of Savoy in 1293, was gradually abandoned in the 14th century. Burtigny also keeps a church of Saint-Pierre of Romanesque origin.
VDChâtel (Essertines-sur-Rolle)
Below the hamlet stood Mont-le-Vieux castle, burned by Swiss troops in the autumn of 1475. The neighbouring town was then abandoned.
VDChavannes-de-Bogis
A clearing opened up for the monks of Bonmont in the 13th century, Chavannes-de-Bogis grew from 137 inhabitants in 1970 to 986 in 1990, after the Geneva-Lausanne motorway opened.
VDChavannes-des-Bois
The last Vaud village before the Geneva border: the dome of the Geneva Observatory stands on its land, while the offices are across the line, in Sauverny.
VDChéserex
Chéserex is home to Bonmont, affiliated to Clairvaux in 1131: the oldest Cistercian foundation beyond the Jura.
VDClarens (Vich)
From 1591 to 1874 Clarens ran a paper mill said to be the oldest in the canton of Vaud.
VDCoinsins
The castle built for Louis de Portes, who had raised a Protestant regiment in the service of Sardinia, later housed Paul Moultou, Rousseau's executor.
VDCommugny
Beneath the church of Saint-Christophe and the cemetery lie the remains of a 1st-century Roman villa whose wall paintings are unique in Switzerland for their quality.
VD · TownCoppet
Laid out as a new town at the end of the 13th century by the lords of Thoire et Villars, Coppet owes its European reach to Necker's château and Madame de Staël's «Coppet group».
VDCrans
To set itself apart from Crans in Valais, the municipality took the name « Crans-près-Céligny » in 1935. It has since gone back to its original name, « Crans ».
VDCrassier
Suzanne Curchod, daughter of the pastor Louis Antoine Curchod and the future Madame Necker, is born on 2 June 1737 in Crassier, a border village between Nyon and Divonne.
VDDuillier
From 1675 to 1690 a printing press operated in Duillier castle, then owned by the Genevan Jean-Baptiste Fatio. Parts of the building go back to the 12th century.
VDDully
A Neolithic lake dwelling, Roman milestones, a cemetery said to hold a Burgundian woman with a deformed skull: Dully, above Lake Geneva, was settled very early.
VDEssertines-sur-Rolle
The castle of Mont-le-Vieux and its small town were destroyed in 1475. Beneath the Romanesque church of Saint-André lie the foundations of a first Carolingian church.
VDEysins
Eysins enters history in 1001/1002, when King Rudolph III and the lords of the Kingdom of Burgundy held an assembly there.
VDFounex
In 1893 Founex led the way in the canton of Vaud, replanting its vineyards with American stock to fight phylloxera.
VDGenolier
According to tradition, Genolier dispensed justice under three lime trees planted in the middle of the village. The three trees now appear on the municipal flag.
VDGermagny
Among the vines of Mont-sur-Rolle, the Clos de Germagny, ceded in 1607 to Hans Steiger, baron of Rolle, still shows the facade remodelled in 1679.
VDGilly
Gilly's territory was home to the castle of La Motte, described as the oldest castle in Vaud and destroyed in 1292. The castle of Vincy was burnt by the Bernese in 1530.
VDGingins
The inhabitants are nicknamed the Sèche-Chrétiens: legend has it that a vagrant sleeping in the still-warm communal oven was nearly roasted at dawn by the baker.
VDGivrins
From 1435 Givrins bought mountain pastures and forests at the foot of the Jura, and the timber trade became an important source of income for the village.
VD · TownGland
A farming village of 1'180 people in 1950, Gland became a town after the 1964 motorway and is now home to the headquarters of WWF and IUCN.
VDGrens
Strung out along its main street between Nyon and the foot of the Jura, Grens has yielded Roman tiles at three spots. Its church of Saint-Pierre came under the abbey of Bonmont.
VDHaute-Cour
Recorded in 1260 as « Alteria Curia », the upper part of Haute-Cour, now La Noyère, is the old core of the wine-growing municipality of Mont-sur-Rolle.
VDLa Cure
At the Hôtel Arbez the Franco-Swiss border runs through several rooms. Under the occupation, German soldiers could not enter its Swiss part.
VDLa Rippe
At the foot of the Dôle, La Rippe had to cede land in the Dappes valley to France in 1862-1864.
VDLe Vaud
Born of the decline of two settlements of the abbey of Bonmont, whose two keys remain on its coat of arms, Le Vaud grew from 164 to 942 inhabitants between 1970 and 2000.
VDLe Vernay
Almost emptied in the 15th century, probably by the plague, Le Vernay nevertheless remained a municipality until 1830, when its land was divided up.
VDLes Serraux
A lordship mentioned from 1145 and long a municipality with a castle and a court of justice, Les Serraux keep only two large winegrowers' houses from the old village, now wine estates.
VDLongirod
On 14 May 1788 a fire destroyed three quarters of Longirod. On its territory stands the Pierre d'Outard, a megalith listed as a historic monument.
VDLuins
Around 1234, when the lordship of Prangins was divided, the wine village of Luins went to the Cossonay branch, which it had to supply with wine.
VDMarchissy
Near the church of Marchissy, at the foot of the Jura, stands a linden tree about 700 years old, one of the largest in Switzerland.
VDMies
In the 15th century the community of Mies sought to free itself from serfdom. On the lakeshore, the Crénées shoreline settlement dates back to the Late Neolithic.
VDMont-sur-Rolle
The village was called Mont-le-Grand until the 20th century: the Council of State imposed «Mont-sur-Rolle» for postal reasons, despite the inhabitants' opposition.
VD · TownNyon
Founded as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar around 45 BC, then a Savoyard town around its castle, Nyon is now home to UEFA and the Paléo Festival.
VDPerroy
In 1530, during the affair of the Knights of the Spoon, the Confederates set fire to the castle of Perroy, a wine village above Lake Geneva recorded from 910.
VDPrangins
Built for the banker Louis Guiguer in 1732-1739, the castle of Prangins belonged to Joseph Bonaparte before becoming the French-speaking branch of the Swiss National Museum.
VDPromenthoux
In 1482 Louis Cruse printed one of the first books of the Pays de Vaud at Promenthoux. In 1689 the Piedmontese Waldensians who had taken refuge in Geneva embarked from its beach.
VD · TownRolle
The last new town founded by Savoy in the Pays de Vaud, on Lake Geneva, birthplace of Frédéric-César de La Harpe and home of the Institut Le Rosey.
VDSaint-Cergue
Around 1299 the lords of Thoire-Villars built a castle to hold the Givrine pass. The small town that grew up at its foot has become a winter sports resort.
VDSaint-George
Between 1698 and 1740 three glassworks operated at Saint-George, a village at the foot of the Jura on the Col du Marchairuz road that long lived from livestock and timber.
VDSigny-Avenex
On the «Balcon de la Petite Côte», Signy and Avenex were crossed by the Roman aqueduct that brought the waters of Divonne to Nyon. In 1017 King Rudolph III gave them to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.
VDTannay
The oak in the coat of arms recalls the probable origin of the name, a place where oaks abound. The village castle, recorded in 1649, is now a municipal building.
VDTartegnin
Small wine-growing village of La Côte, above Rolle, recorded from 1018 and long part of the lordship of Mont-le-Vieux.
VDTrélex
A relay for the Paris stagecoach on the road over the Col de la Givrine, Trélex kept inns and forges busy. Its inhabitants are nicknamed «lè z'Ecoualle», the bowls.
VDVich
On the «route des Bourguignons», between the lake and the Jura, Vich was one of the first centres of medieval metalworking in Vaud. A paper mill opened at Clarens in 1591.
VDVinzel
A wine-growing village of La Côte crossed by the old Etraz road, Vinzel has two castles and lends its name to the malakoff, also called «beignet de Vinzel».