Blonay - Saint-Légier
Origin of the name Blonay - Saint-Légier
The name simply joins those of the two merged communes, Blonay and Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, in a shortened form: Blonay - Saint-Légier. The old names no longer designate communes, but localities.[1]
Founding of Blonay - Saint-Légier
Blonay and Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz have formed a single commune since 1 January 2022. The idea grew out of a study launched in 2011 on merging the ten communes of the Riviera. The two communes turn down this «mégafusion», then study a two-commune merger from 2015. Together they had 11'394 inhabitants at the end of 2019. The new arms show «deux cœurs de sinople bordés d'or, évidés, entrelacés et l'un versé». The two localities rise in tiers on the heights of the Riviera, above Vevey, which Blonay castle overlooks. Their bond is old. The castle was the centre of a lordship that covered, depending on the period, part of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Corsier and Vevey. The Church joined them too: since at least the 13th century both communities have belonged to the parish of Blonay, whose church stands at La Chiésaz. Still agricultural in the late 19th century, they developed in the 20th, Blonay notably thanks to tourism and the railway. Their combined territory covers 3'124 hectares, 1'607 for Blonay and 1'517 for Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz.[1][2][5]
History of Blonay - Saint-Légier
1001. Blonay appears in a document of that year, the oldest known.[1]
1079. The land of Saint-Légier is part of the lordship of Blonay.[1][4]
1105. The church of La Chiésaz is recorded. It belongs to the Benedictine priory of Blonay, which Amédée de Blonay helps to found the same year.[4][5]
1228. Saint-Légier appears under the Latin name «Sanctus Leodegarus».[4]
1300. Jean de Blonay cedes to Count Amadeus V of Savoy what will become the barony of Saint-Légier, then receives it back from him as a fief. His descendants later exchange it, and the Blonay family regains it only in 1565, until 1686.[1][4]
1733. Jacques-Philippe d'Herwarth buys the barony and attaches the Hauteville estate to it.[1][4]
1798-2006. Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is part of the district of Vevey.[4]
1830. Fire destroys a large part of the village of Saint-Légier.[1][4]
1902. The Vevey-Blonay-Chamby railway opens. The Blonay-Les Pléiades rack railway follows in 1911.[1][4]
1981. The A9 and A12 motorways cross at the La Veyre interchange, on the territory of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz.[1][4]
2011. Start of a feasibility study on merging the ten communes of the Riviera.[1]
2012. Blonay and Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz turn down the «mégafusion» but revive the idea of smaller mergers and regional governance.[1]
2015. The two communes approve an opportunity study on their merger.[1]
2017. A steering committee and five working groups are set up.[1]
2019. In May the two councils instruct their executives to draft a merger agreement.[1]
2020. The communal councils accept the agreement on 21 January.[1]
2020. In the vote of 27 September Blonay says yes by 1'478 votes to 1'424, Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz by 1'388 to 1'151.[1]
2022. The commune of Blonay - Saint-Légier is born on 1 January.[1][2]
Population of Blonay - Saint-Légier
Sources and references: [1][3]
| 2019 | 6'151 (Blonay, on 31 December) |
| 2019 | 5'243 (Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, on 31 December) |
| 2019 | 11'394 (two merged communes) |
| 2025 | 12'597 |
Historic sites in Blonay - Saint-Légier
Administrative seat. The administration and the polling office are in Blonay. Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz keeps a letterbox for early voting.[1]
Blonay castle. Built around 1175 and recorded at least from 1184, it has remained with the Blonay family to this day, except from 1752 to 1806, when it belonged to the von Graffenried. With its farm and fountain, it is a cultural property of national importance.[1][5][6]
Hauteville castle (Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz). Pierre-Philippe Cannac remodelled it from 1764. The castle, its park, orangery, gloriette and outbuildings form a cultural property of national importance.[4][6]
Notre-Dame church of La Chiésaz. The former church of the Benedictine priory of Blonay is surrounded by a cemetery where the Grand d'Hauteville family lies. The whole is a cultural property of national importance.[4][6]
Blonay-Chamby museum railway. Operated until 1966, the line reopened in 1968 as a museum railway. Together with Blonay station, it is a cultural property of regional importance.[4][6]
Gilamont mill (Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz). Already drawn on a plan of 1699, it remained until 1920 one of the largest mills in Switzerland.[1][4]
Sources
- État de Vaud, Conseil d'État, exposé des motifs et projet de décret sur la fusion des communes de Blonay et de Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, 21_LEG_2 (février 2021)
- État de Vaud, « Fusions de communes en chiffres (2025) »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz » (Elisabeth Salvi, version du 18.09.2023)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Blonay, de » (Bernard Andenmatten, version du 25.01.2018)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale VD (état au 1.1.2026)
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Blonay - Saint-Légier
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