History of the villages of the Ouest Lausannois district (Vaud)
The 8 documented localities of the Ouest Lausannois 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.
Bussigny
In 1855-1856 this village on the Venoge became the railway junction between Lausanne, Morges and Yverdon, and later a town.
VD · TownChavannes-près-Renens
63 inhabitants in 1764, over 6'000 in 2000: Chavannes grew with Renens station, the motorway and the University of Lausanne.
VD · TownCrissier
Three Michelin stars since 1993: the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville has made this former farming and winegrowing village a world gastronomic reference.
VD · TownEcublens
Commune west of Lausanne, originally farming and winegrowing, where the University of Lausanne settled in 1970 and EPFL in 1977.
VD · TownPrilly
Between 1950 and 1970 Prilly grew from 3'992 to 13'352 inhabitants: the former village west of Lausanne became a town, known for the Cery psychiatric hospital.
VD · TownRenens
A marshalling yard installed in 1876 turned this farming village west of Lausanne into a working-class railway town, today the fourth-largest in the canton.
VDSaint-Sulpice
Grown up around a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Sulpicius and a small priory of Molesme Abbey, the village's inhabitants are the « Serpelious », nicknamed the « medzé corbé ».
VDVillars-Sainte-Croix
The Maltese cross in its coat of arms recalls the village hospice, mentioned from 1272 and attached in 1458 to the commandery of La Chaux of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.