Bugnaux
Origin of the name Bugnaux
Name origin: the hamlet is recorded in 1609 in the form « Bugnyoulz ». The name may derive from « bugnon », meaning a gushing spring (etymology presented as possible). The inhabitants of Bugnaux are called the Bugnaulans.
Founding of Bugnaux
Bugnaux is not a municipality: it is a hamlet of the municipality of Essertines-sur-Rolle, in the district of Nyon, lying at about 600 metres above sea level, on the boundary between the La Côte vineyards and the forests. No founding charter is known and the sources consulted do not say who founded it. A few Roman remains have been found there. In the Middle Ages the municipal territory corresponded to the lordship of Mont-le-Vieux, whose castle and small town were destroyed in 1475; the town was abandoned in favour of the hamlets, including Bugnaux. The hamlet then lived mainly from vine-growing.
History of Bugnaux
Roman period. A few Roman remains are found at Bugnaux.
12th century. Mont-le-Vieux castle, centre of the lordship to which the territory belongs, is recorded (in the mid-12th century according to one source, from 1179 according to another).
1315. Bugnaux benefits from the franchises granted by Louis of Savoy.
1475. Mont-le-Vieux castle and its town are destroyed; the town is abandoned in favour of the hamlets.
1536. Under Bernese rule (1536-1798), Bugnaux belongs to the bailiwick of Morges.
1609. The hamlet is mentioned in the form « Bugnyoulz ».
17th century. A molasse quarry is worked at the « Pierraire », above the place called La Romma.
1690. The hamlet has nineteen dwellings; four of them are ravaged by a fire seven years later.
1756. Rebuilding of the manor house of the Favières estate.
1777. A bell tower is built at Bugnaux; the same year the baron of Rolle donates a bell.
1798. Construction of the manor house of the La Romma estate, altered in 1867.
1825-1828. The hamlets of Châtel, Roussillon and Bugnaux seek to break away from Essertines, without success (between 1825 and 1827 according to one source, a request of 1828 according to another).
1884. Construction of the manor house known as Beauregard and its outbuildings.
1910. Start of a population decline in the municipality, probably due to the phylloxera that ravaged the vines.
1925. The municipality adopts a coat of arms whose three interlaced rings symbolise the union of Essertines, Châtel and Bugnaux.
2012. Survey by the federal ISOS inventory: Bugnaux is a hamlet of national importance worthy of protection.
Historic sites in Bugnaux
Favières estate. Manor house rebuilt in 1756, with neo-Gothic turrets built around 1880.
La Romma estate. Three-storey manor house of 1798, altered in 1867, with a gallery supported by slender columns on the lake side and a half-hipped roof.
Beauregard manor house. Manor house with outbuildings of 1884, whose main façade has a wide pediment.
Former school with bell turret. Former school from the early 19th century, with a bell turret marking the end of a row of houses.
Remains in Bugnaux
Roman remains. A few remains from the Roman period have been found at Bugnaux, evidence of early occupation of the slope.
Sources
- Inventaire fédéral des sites construits à protéger en Suisse (ISOS), « Bugnaux »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Essertines-sur-Rolle »
- Wikipédia, « Essertines-sur-Rolle »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Bugnaux
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