Chesalles-sur-Moudon
Origin of the name Chesalles-sur-Moudon
The name Chesalles-sur-Moudon probably comes from the Latin casale (information to be cross-checked: this etymology, taken up by the municipality, would designate a farm or a rural estate). The first attested mention of the village dates from 1273, in the old form «Chesales». The suffix «sur-Moudon» distinguishes the village from its Vaud namesake Chesalles-sur-Oron, located in another region of the canton.
Founding of Chesalles-sur-Moudon
The village has no single identified founder: it developed as a rural hamlet attached to the episcopal castellany of Lucens, which was dependent on the bishopric of Lausanne in the Middle Ages. Its first written trace, in 1273, already mentions it as an existing locality under the authority of this castellany, with no precise account of its creation.
History of Chesalles-sur-Moudon
1273. First attested mention of the village, in the old form «Chesales», dependent on the episcopal castellany of Lucens.
1550. The village has 6 hearths (households) according to the censuses of the time.
1536 to 1798. Under Bernese rule, Chesalles-sur-Moudon is administratively attached to the bailiwick of Moudon, while remaining dependent on the castellany of Lucens.
1749. Death in Agra, India, of Daniel Moginié, a native of the village, who had risen to the rank of omrah (high dignitary) and governor of the Punjab at the court of the Grand Mughal (information to be cross-checked: the account of a marriage with a sister of the Mughal emperor rests on only one source consulted).
1754. Publication of a narrative inspired by Daniel Moginié's Indian adventure, which helps make the village known beyond the region.
1764. The village has 81 inhabitants.
1798 to 2006. Chesalles-sur-Moudon belongs to the district of Moudon, before the dissolution of that district and its attachment to the new district of Broye-Vully.
1837. The village, until then attached to the parish of Curtilles, obtains an assistant pastor.
1840. Chesalles-sur-Moudon becomes an independent parish.
1846. Construction of the village's Reformed church, restored in 1914 and then in 1952 and 1953 (information to be cross-checked: a further restoration in 2017-2018 is mentioned by only one source).
1846 to 1864. The parish is temporarily reunited with that of Moudon.
1850. The village has 133 inhabitants.
1900. The village has 108 inhabitants.
1908 to 1909. Construction of the village's presbytery.
1927. Adoption and approval by the canton of Vaud of the municipal coat of arms, a golden Persian lion, in reference to the Mughal episode of Daniel Moginié.
1950. The village has 99 inhabitants.
1960. Completion of a land consolidation (regrouping of agricultural land).
1961. The parish is attached to that of Curtilles.
1970 to 1983. The village hosts a pig-breeding selection centre.
1980. The village reaches its lowest recorded population, with 86 inhabitants.
2000. The village has 159 inhabitants.
2008. The village's school class is transferred to Brenles.
30 November 2014. The municipalities of Brenles, Chesalles-sur-Moudon, Cremin, Forel-sur-Lucens, Lucens and Sarzens vote for their merger (the municipality of Lucens had already absorbed Oulens-sur-Lucens in 2011).
1 January 2017. Official founding of the new municipality of Lucens: Chesalles-sur-Moudon loses its status as an independent municipality and becomes a locality of Lucens.
2022. The locality has 194 inhabitants.
Population of Chesalles-sur-Moudon
| 1550 | 6 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 81 |
| 1850 | 133 |
| 1900 | 108 |
| 1950 | 99 |
| 1980 | 86 |
| 2000 | 159 |
| 2010 | 165 |
| 2022 | 194 |
Historic sites in Chesalles-sur-Moudon
The Reformed church. Built in 1846, restored in 1914 and then in 1952 and 1953 (information to be cross-checked regarding a possible restoration in 2017-2018), the church is the village's main religious building, erected shortly after Chesalles-sur-Moudon became an independent parish in 1840.
The presbytery. Built in 1908 and 1909 to house the parish's pastor, at a time when the parish had just been reunited again with Curtilles.
The municipal coat of arms. Adopted and approved by the canton of Vaud in 1927, it depicts a golden Persian lion on a field parted silver and gules, in memory of Daniel Moginié, a native of the village who became a dignitary at the court of the Grand Mughal in the 18th century.
Sources
- Commune de Lucens, Historique de nos villages, Chesalles-sur-Moudon
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article Chesalles-sur-Moudon
- Wikipédia, Chesalles-sur-Moudon (français)
- Wikipedia, Chesalles-sur-Moudon (anglais)
Other villages near Chesalles-sur-Moudon
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