Baulmes
Origin of the name Baulmes
First mentioned in 652 as «in loco Balmensi», then «Balmis» in 1123; the form «Balmo» is given for 902 (to be cross-checked). The name comes from the common noun «balma», «baume», meaning a rock shelter or cave, a reference to the rock shelters in the cliff above the village.
Founding of Baulmes
The site of Baulmes, at the foot of the Jura on the Franco-Swiss border, has been occupied since the end of the Ice Age: the rock shelters in the cliff above the village were inhabited intermittently for more than 12'000 years, from the Upper Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages. The historic village grew up on the alluvial fan of the Baumine, around a monastery dedicated to Mary founded in the 7th century by Duke Chramnélène (mentioned in 652) and his widow Ermentrude. This monastery became a priory dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Michael, recorded before 1174, linked to the Cluniac priory of Payerne and later united with it. The village lies on the road over the Aiguillon pass, between the Suchet and the Aiguilles de Baulmes, towards Burgundy. No source consulted names any other founder. In 1536 the priory passed to Bern. Baulmes then lived from farming, its mills and forges on the Baumine, weaving and later a lime and cement factory (1893-1957).
History of Baulmes
Upper Palaeolithic. Hunters settle in the rock shelters at the foot of the cliff; the Abri de la Cure site has more than thirty phases of occupation, from the end of the Ice Age to the early Middle Ages, over at least 7 metres of deposits.
652. First mention, «in loco Balmensi»: a monastery dedicated to Mary is founded by Duke Chramnélène; his widow Ermentrude continues the foundation in 667/668 or 671/672.
974. The priory of Saint-Michel of Baulmes is attached to that of Payerne, which had itself been given to the abbey of Cluny (to be cross-checked).
1123. Mentioned as «Balmis».
before 1174. A priory dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael is recorded.
1228. The parish church, later dedicated to Saint Peter, is recorded.
1294. The abbot of Cluny confirms the perpetual union of Baulmes and Payerne, which henceforth share a single prior; Pope Clement V confirms this union in 1309 (to be cross-checked).
1432. The priory of Payerne grants franchises to the inhabitants of the little town (to be cross-checked).
1441. Faced with bands of raiders coming from France over the Aiguillon pass, the prior has the village defences strengthened; a castle is said to have been built at this time (to be cross-checked).
15th century. The Baumine drives mills and forges; a renowned linen-weaving industry is recorded in Baulmes.
1536. Bernese conquest of Vaud: the priory passes to Bern. Protestant worship is imposed on 3 January 1537.
1549. On 2 June a play entitled «La chrétienté qui estoit malade» is performed for the first time in Baulmes (to be cross-checked).
1555. Marguerite Perusset, a burgher of Baulmes accused of witchcraft, is burned alive on the castle square in Yverdon (to be cross-checked).
1750. Construction of the clock tower, topped by an onion roof, which also serves as the prison of the Baulmes district (cercle).
1827. On 30 November the last bear of the region is killed in the rocks of the «cave à Barbarreau».
1867. Baulmes builds one of the first pressurised water networks in Switzerland.
1874. The prehistoric sites at the foot of the cliff are discovered during the construction of the Suchet road.
1893. Opening of a lime and cement factory, operated until 1957, and start of service on the Yverdon-Sainte-Croix railway, which serves Baulmes.
1901. On 14 December the town hall, built in the Heimatstil to plans by Jean Béguin, is inaugurated.
2006. Dissolution of the Orbe district: Baulmes joins the Jura-Nord vaudois district.
Population of Baulmes
| 1764 | 443 |
| 1798 | 573 |
| 1850 | 862 |
| 1900 | 1'241 |
| 1950 | 1'006 |
| 1970 | 811 |
| 2000 | 970 |
| 2025 | 1'189 |
Historic sites in Baulmes
Baulmes Reformed church. Former parish church recorded from 1228, dedicated to Saint Peter (mentioned in 1340), then to Our Lady in the 16th century; a Gothic church altered in 1821 and 1870, whose bell tower retains Gothic windows. It houses a historic organ of 1871 and belongs to the network of Cluniac sites in Europe. According to a tradition, it stands on the site of a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo (to be cross-checked).
Clock tower (beffroi de Baulmes). Tower built in 1750, topped by an onion roof, which served as the prison of the Baulmes district (cercle). It is listed as a cultural property of national significance.
The parsonage. Building probably erected between the 11th and 12th centuries, with walls up to 1.70 metres thick (dating to be cross-checked).
Tithe house and regional museum. Former tithe house that now houses the regional museum of Baulmes.
Town hall. Built in the Heimatstil to plans by Jean Béguin and inaugurated on 14 December 1901.
Pierre à Bollet. Erratic boulder above the village, described as the largest erratic boulder of the Swiss Jura located above 1'000 metres.
Remains in Baulmes
Abri de la Cure and rock shelters. Three sites at the foot of the cliff above the village were discovered in 1874, during the construction of the Suchet road, and yielded stone, pottery and bone material from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Test excavations in 1966 in the parsonage orchard revealed at the Abri de la Cure more than thirty phases of occupation over at least 7 metres of deposits, from the end of the Ice Age to the early Middle Ages, including Mesolithic stone industries. The site, largely unexcavated, is listed as a cultural property of national significance.
Remains of the priory. Of the priory founded in the 7th century and attached to Payerne, the ambo of the Carolingian church is said to survive (to be cross-checked). The priory church disappeared after the Reformation; the parish church and the tithe house bear witness to the village's Cluniac past.
Legends of Baulmes
The «Roule-Chaudière». The inhabitants, the Baulmérans, are nicknamed the Roule-Chaudière («lè Rebatte-Tsaudâire» in Vaud patois). According to legend, a herdsman dropped a cauldron on the path to a mountain chalet; it rolled down the slope, driving the herds all the way to France.
The «Tue-Bourguignons». Another nickname of the Baulmérans, linked by tradition to the disputes over the line of the border between Baulmes and Franche-Comté.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Baulmes »
- Commune de Baulmes, « Histoire de la commune de Baulmes »
- Feuille des avis officiels du canton de Vaud, « Alphabet des communes vaudoises : Baulmes »
- Clunypedia, « Prieuré Saint-Michel de Baulmes »
- Carillons.ch, « Baulmes, ancien prieuré clunisien sur la route du col de l'Aiguillon »
- Wikipédia, « Baulmes »
- Wikipédia, « Abri de la Cure »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Baulmes
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