Champvent
Origin of the name Champvent
First mentions: «Canvent» in 1011 («inter Chanvent et Mornens»), «Canventum» in 1013, «Chanvent» in 1228. The name has no satisfactory explanation; it probably goes back to a pre-Latin origin whose meaning is unknown (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Champvent
None of the sources consulted names a founder or dates the creation of the village, which is attested from 1011. Its church of Notre-Dame, cited in 1013, was the centre of a parish that also included Mathod, Suscévaz and Villars-sous-Champvent. Around 1225, Henri, younger son of Ebal of Grandson, received the lordship of Champvent and began building the castle (to be cross-checked); the village then belonged to the lordship of Champvent and, under Bernese rule, to the bailiwick of Yverdon. The municipality includes the hamlet of Saint-Christophe (briefly a municipality from 1789, united with Mathod and then with Champvent in 1811) and the enclave of Mornens. Since 1 January 2012 it has also included Essert-sous-Champvent and Villars-sous-Champvent, which have their own entry. The inhabitants, the Chanvannais, are nicknamed the Crouille-Gens, the Vauriens or the Rufians.
History of Champvent
1011. First mention, «Canvent».
1013. Mention of «Canventum» and of the church of Notre-Dame, seat of a parish including Mathod, Suscévaz and Villars-sous-Champvent.
around 1225. Henri, younger son of Ebal of Grandson, receives the lordship of Champvent and begins building the castle (to be cross-checked).
1336. The house of Neuchâtel acquires the lordship (to be cross-checked).
1373. Marguerite de Vufflens inherits the lordship, which then passes by marriage to the Burgundian Vergy family (to be cross-checked).
1416. The village has 44 hearths.
1475. The Confederates burn the castle, whose lord was linked to Charles the Bold (to be cross-checked).
1536. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud, Champvent is attached to the bailiwick of Yverdon.
1611-1731. The castle belongs to the von Diesbach family (to be cross-checked).
1682. A new parsonage is built.
1691-1693. The church is rebuilt.
1740. The communal organisation is codified; the village is run by a council of six members.
1769. Louis-Rodolphe Doxat acquires the castle, which remains in his family until 1929 (to be cross-checked).
1798. Champvent is part of the district of Yverdon.
1811. Saint-Christophe, which became a municipality in 1789 and was then united with Mathod, is joined to Champvent.
1834. Essert-sous-Champvent joins the parish.
1846. The parish (without Suscévaz) is united with that of Montagny, then restored in 1849.
1890. A bell tower with porch is added to the church.
1948. A land consolidation leads to the uprooting of 90% of the vineyards; only 10 hectares remain in 1989.
2000. The primary sector still employs 49% of the working population, but two thirds of them work outside the municipality (Yverdon, Lausanne, Geneva).
2008. The new Vaud districts come into force: Champvent becomes part of the Jura-Nord vaudois district.
2012. On 1 January, merger with Essert-sous-Champvent and Villars-sous-Champvent under the name Champvent.
Population of Champvent
| 1416 | 44 hearths (households) |
| 1453 | 36 hearths (households) |
| 1550 | 37 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 237 |
| 1850 | 421 |
| 1900 | 416 |
| 1950 | 335 |
| 1970 | 243 |
| 2000 | 299 |
| 2025 | 692 (merged municipality) |
Historic sites in Champvent
Champvent Castle. Four-towered fortress overlooking the Orbe plain, begun around 1225 by Henri de Grandson, burned by the Confederates in 1475, then owned by the Diesbach (1611-1731) and Doxat (1769-1929) families (to be cross-checked). Cultural property of national significance, privately owned.
Church (former church of Notre-Dame). Church cited from 1013, centre of a parish of several villages; rebuilt in 1691-1693 and given a bell tower with porch in 1890.
Parsonage. New parsonage built in 1682.
Manor of Saint-Christophe. Manor in the hamlet of Saint-Christophe, listed as cultural property of national significance. The hamlet was a short-lived municipality from 1789 before being united with Champvent in 1811.
Built heritage. The village of Champvent and its surroundings, as well as the Saint-Christophe area, are listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance (ISOS).
Legends of Champvent
Queen Bertha's castle. A local tradition attributes the building of the castle to Queen Bertha; historical sources, however, link it to the lords of Grandson in the 13th century (to be cross-checked).
«Bon vin, bonne terre, crouilles gens». A saying in Vaud patois praises the wine and soil of Champvent but calls its inhabitants «crouilles gens», hence their nickname Crouille-Gens.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Champvent (commune) »
- Wikipédia, « Champvent »
- Wikipedia (en), « Champvent »
- Feuille des avis officiels du canton de Vaud, « Alphabet des communes vaudoises : Champvent »
- Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Champvent
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