Bussy-Chardonney

Canton of Vaud · District: Morges · around 400 inhabitants (last available statistic for the former municipality, as of 31 December 2020); this figure is no longer published separately since the village joined the municipality of Hautemorges in 2021, and a more recent but not precisely dated municipal profile gives a slightly lower number, around 384, a discrepancy that would deserve to be verified against an up-to-date official statistic

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Bussy-Chardonney

Bussy-Chardonney takes its name from the union of two former distinct villages, Bussy-sur-Morges and Chardonney-sur-Morges, both located at the foot of the Vaud Jura, between Morges and Cossonay. They should not be confused with Bussy-sur-Moudon, another municipality of Vaud located in the Broye, nor with Chardonne, a village of the Vaud Riviera above Vevey, which has no connection to this one despite the similarity of names. The name Bussy is attested in writing from around 1059, in the Latinised form « Bussi ». This form belongs to a very widespread family of Romand and French toponyms in Bussy, generally linked to a Gallo-Roman personal name followed by a suffix of landed property, but no source specialised in Vaud toponymy could be consulted directly for this entry to confirm which precise name would be at the origin of the Vaud Bussy; this point therefore remains a general hypothesis rather than an established fact for this particular place. Chardonney, for its part, appears for the first time in texts in 1324, in the form « Chardonne ». The village's current coat of arms, which combines a thistle with a key, plays visually on the resemblance to the word « chardon » (thistle), but this type of so-called «speaking» heraldry belongs to a late heraldic tradition and does not constitute proof of the real origin of the name, which remains to be documented more precisely. The inhabitants of Bussy-Chardonney are nicknamed the Rogneux, according to a reference work on the nicknames and demonyms of French-speaking Swiss municipalities; another municipal profile also mentions the variant or additional nickname of Moudzets, without the origin of this second term having been traceable in the sources consulted.

Founding of Bussy-Chardonney

Neither Bussy nor Chardonney seems to have been founded by a single, dated act: like many villages at the foot of the Vaud Jura, they are progressive rural settlements, born from the agricultural development of the region in the early Middle Ages. According to one source consulted, the two localities were probably founded by monks of the abbey of Lac de Joux, whose influence extended over several villages in the region at that time; this point would deserve to be more solidly cross-checked, since the abbey of Lac de Joux is mainly documented for its later role, further west, around the Vallée de Joux itself. In the 14th century, the two villages came under the dependency of the abbey of Romainmôtier, before later falling under the lordship of Vufflens, though the sources consulted do not allow certainty as to whether this concerns Vufflens-le-Château or Vufflens-la-Ville. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud in 1536, the territory passed under the authority of the Bernese bailiwick of Morges, a regime that lasted until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798. The village's recent administrative history is marked by repeated mergers and separations. Bussy and Chardonney had apparently already been united into a single community at a period before 1744, before separating again. A second union then exists, between the very end of the 18th century and 1819 according to one source, or more precisely between 1803 and 1819 according to another: this slight discrepancy in dates could not be settled with certainty in the sources consulted. The two municipalities in any case definitively separated in 1819, before merging one final time, this time lastingly, in 1961, to form the municipality of Bussy-Chardonney as it existed until 2021. In 2006, the territorial reorganisation of the canton of Vaud abolished the former district of Cossonay to which the municipality belonged, which then joined the new district of Morges, like most of the neighbouring municipalities in the region. Sixty years after its own merger, in 2021, Bussy-Chardonney underwent a new reunification: following a favourable vote by the population in November 2018, it merged on 1 July 2021 with five neighbouring municipalities, Apples, Cottens, Pampigny, Reverolle and Sévery, to form the new municipality of Hautemorges. Bussy-Chardonney has thus no longer been an independent municipality since that date, but remains an identifiable village within Hautemorges, with its own history and its own heritage.

History of Bussy-Chardonney

Early Middle Ages. Progressive agricultural development of the territory at the foot of the Jura; according to one source, the two villages were founded at the initiative of monks, a point that remains to be more solidly confirmed.

around 1059. First known written mention of the name Bussy, in the Latin form « Bussi ».

1324. First known written mention of the name Chardonney, in the form « Chardonne ».

14th century. Bussy and Chardonney come under the dependency of the abbey of Romainmôtier, then fall under the lordship of Vufflens.

1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud; the two villages come under the authority of the Bernese bailiwick of Morges.

before 1744. A first administrative union between Bussy and Chardonney is said to have existed at this time, before a new separation; the precise dates of this first episode remain uncertain in the sources consulted.

1798. End of the Bernese Ancien Régime with the Helvetic Revolution; the canton of Vaud becomes independent. Chardonney then has 58 inhabitants.

end of the 18th century to 1819. New administrative union between Bussy and Chardonney, dated either to 1799 or to 1803 according to the sources consulted, which do not agree precisely on the starting year.

1819. Definitive separation of Bussy and Chardonney into two distinct municipalities.

1860. Combined population of the two villages estimated at 228 inhabitants.

around 1895. Opening of the Bière-Apples-Morges railway line, which serves the village with its own station; the precise date would deserve to be confirmed.

1900. Combined population of the two villages estimated at 234 inhabitants.

1960. Just before the definitive merger, Chardonney has 66 inhabitants.

1961. Definitive merger of Bussy-sur-Morges and Chardonney-sur-Morges, which form the municipality of Bussy-Chardonney.

1970. The merged municipality has 178 inhabitants, a demographic low compared with the following decades.

1 September 2006. Reorganisation of the Vaud districts: the former district of Cossonay is abolished and Bussy-Chardonney joins the new district of Morges.

November 2018. The population of Bussy-Chardonney and five neighbouring municipalities votes in favour of a merger project to create the municipality of Hautemorges.

1 July 2021. The merger takes effect: Bussy-Chardonney, Apples, Cottens, Pampigny, Reverolle and Sévery form the new municipality of Hautemorges. Bussy-Chardonney ceases to be an independent municipality, exactly sixty years after its own merger of 1961.

Today. Bussy-Chardonney is a village of the municipality of Hautemorges, district of Morges, canton of Vaud.

Population of Bussy-Chardonney

1798 (Chardonney only)

228

1860

234

1900

1960 (Chardonney only)

178

1970

285

1990

337

2000

379

2010

404

2020

Historic sites in Bussy-Chardonney

Bussy-Chardonney Castle. Built in the first half of the 18th century above Morges, this castle was notably managed, at a period not specified in the sources consulted, by a certain Pierre Auguste Chappuis. Details on its architecture, its successive owners and its current use could not be documented further and would deserve further research, for example with the Vaud historic monuments authority.

The Protestant church of Bussy-Chardonney. The village has a Reformed place of worship, attached to the parish network of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Vaud. Its date of construction and its own history could not be established with certainty in the sources consulted for this entry.

The Bussy-Chardonney railway station. The village is served by a station on the Bière-Apples-Morges railway line, opened towards the end of the 19th century, which still today links the villages at the foot of the Vaud Jura to Morges.

Sources

Other villages near Bussy-Chardonney

Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.

Suggest a change