Bourg-en-Lavaux
Origin of the name Bourg-en-Lavaux
The name was created for the merger. The five communes wanted to form «une seule et unique commune portant le nom de Bourg-en-Lavaux». Since then Cully, Epesses, Grandvaux, Riex and Villette are no longer names of communes but names of localities.[1]
Founding of Bourg-en-Lavaux
Bourg-en-Lavaux unites Cully, Epesses, Grandvaux, Riex and Villette, five communes of the Lavaux-Oron district. A first merger agreement fails in 2005. The project starts again two years later, and in May 2009 the voters of the five communes accept the new agreement. The merger takes effect on 1 July 2011. The commune takes over the coat of arms of Riex and has its administrative seat in Cully. The territory falls in steps from the Jorat down to Lake Geneva. In the Middle Ages, together with the uplands of Forel, it formed the great parish of Villette, one of the four great parishes of Lavaux, under the temporal authority of the bishop of Lausanne. No village dominated it. Under Bern the general commune was divided into quarters: those «de deçà» (Cully, Riex, Epesses) and those «de delà» (Villette, Aran, Grandvaux, Chenaux, Curson). Broken up in the 19th century, it was rebuilt almost whole in 2011, with only Forel left out. Bourg-en-Lavaux today has 265 hectares of vines out of the 800 in Lavaux, which makes it the canton's leading wine-growing commune.[1][2][4][5]
History of Bourg-en-Lavaux
967. The king of Burgundy gives Cully, then «Cusliacum», to the cathedral church of Besançon. The Besançon chapter sells it to the bishop of Lausanne in 1246.[6]
1134-1138. The church of Saint-Saturnin at Villette is recorded. A parish church in 1228, it serves Cully, Grandvaux, Epesses, Riex, Villette and the uplands of Forel.[1][5]
1160-1453. The other localities appear in writing: Villette («Vileto») between 1160 and 1179, Riex («Ruez») in 1184 (1053 according to another source, in the form «Rualdo»), Grandvaux («Gravaz») in 1250, Epesses («Espesses») in 1453.[1][5][7][8]
1359. The people of Cully obtain a weekly market and the right to surround their town with walls.[6]
1536-1798. The territory belongs to the Bernese bailiwick of Lausanne. A castellany of Villette, seated at Cully, is created in 1598.[6][7][8]
1766. Cully becomes a parish, together with Riex and Epesses, detached from Villette.[6][7][8]
1798-2006. Cully, Riex and Epesses belong to the district of Lavaux, with Cully as its chief town.[6][7][8]
1824. On 15 May the Grand Council divides the great parish into six communes: Cully-Chenaux, Epesses, Grandvaux-Curson, Riex, Villette-Aran and Forel. The final deed of partition follows on 11 August 1826.[1][4][5]
1861. The Simplon line opens, with a station at Villette.[5][6]
1972. A zoning plan allowing villas prompts Franz Weber to found the association Sauver Lavaux.[5]
2005. On 27 February the voters of Grandvaux reject a merger agreement between the five communes.[1]
2007. In June «Lavaux, vignoble en terrasse» is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.[4]
2007. In June the five communes adopt a motion that relaunches the process.[1]
2008. Joint extraordinary session of the five councils on 4 November, on the committee's proposals.[1]
2009. On 16 March each of the five communal councils adopts the draft agreement.[1]
2009. Simultaneous vote of 17 May: the voters of all five communes accept the agreement.[1]
2009. In September the Council of State submits the merger decree to the Grand Council.[1]
2011. On 23 June the new authorities are sworn in at the church of Grandvaux.[4]
2011. On 1 July Bourg-en-Lavaux replaces the five former communes.[1][2]
Population of Bourg-en-Lavaux
Sources and references: [3]
| 2025 | 5'558 |
Historic sites in Bourg-en-Lavaux
Communal administration. The commune's administrative seat is in Cully, which is also the main town of the Lavaux-Oron district.[1]
Saint-Saturnin church (Villette). The church of the whole great parish in the Middle Ages, it stands on a Roman site: remains were found beneath the building. It is a cultural property of regional importance.[5][9]
Old town of Cully. The small town has kept part of the walls and gates built around 1450. A house on the Rue de la Justice incorporates a piece of the old wall, near the fontaine de la Justice, which is also protected.[1][9]
Maison Maillardoz (Grandvaux). Listed as a cultural property of national importance, it recalls a family from Rue that lived in Grandvaux from the late 15th to the 18th century and provided castellans for the parish of Villette.[1][9]
Tour de Gourze (Riex). It stands on the former communal land of Riex and is listed as a cultural property of regional importance.[7][9]
Chapels of Epesses and Riex. The chapel of Saint-Jacques at Epesses dates from the 14th to 16th centuries. At Riex, the chapel of Saint-Théodule is recorded in 1430 and its doorway bears the date 1593.[7][8]
Sources
- État de Vaud, Conseil d'État, exposé des motifs et projet de décret no 230 sur la fusion des communes de Cully, Epesses, Grandvaux, Riex et Villette (septembre 2009)
- État de Vaud, « Fusions de communes en chiffres (2025) »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
- Commune de Bourg-en-Lavaux, « Un peu d'histoire »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Villette (Lavaux) » (Germain Hausmann, version du 06.01.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Cully » (Germain Hausmann, version du 04.05.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Riex » (Emmanuel Abetel, version du 04.01.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Epesses » (Germain Hausmann, version du 02.02.2017)
- 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 Bourg-en-Lavaux
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