Cottens

Canton of Vaud · District: Morges · About 490 inhabitants at the last census as an independent municipality (491 inh. as of 31.12.2020; another compilation source gives 493). Since 1 July 2021, Cottens is no longer a municipality but a locality of the municipality of Hautemorges, which had 4'387 inhabitants as of 31.12.2024.

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

Origin of the name Cottens

Cottens appears for the first time in a written document in 1041, in the Latinised form Chotens; a variant, Cotens, is attested from 1049. Toponymists trace this name to a Burgundian personal name, Cotto, combined with the locative suffix -ens (derived from the Gallo-Romance -ingos, which means roughly « at the people of »). The meaning would thus be close to « at the people of Cotto » or « the estate of Cotto », a formation pattern very widespread in the village names of the Vaud Plateau: it is found in several neighbouring localities such as Bettens, Bottens or Sullens, formed on the same model with another personal name. We did not find, in the sources consulted, a distinct patois form of the name nor an officially attested demonym to designate the inhabitants of Cottens; this point would remain to be documented should a reliable source specify it one day.

Founding of Cottens

Like many villages of the Vaud Plateau, Cottens was not founded all at once by a charter or a deed: it is a rural settlement born progressively in the early Middle Ages, probably around a family group or an estate associated with the name Cotto that eventually came to designate the place itself. Much older traces of occupation, dating back to the Roman period, have been found on the territory of the village, which shows that the site was inhabited long before its first written mention, even though nothing indicates a direct continuity between this ancient settlement and the medieval village. In the Middle Ages, the lordship of Cottens depended on the powerful barony of Cossonay, which exercised its authority over a large part of the region until the 14th century. A fortified house, residence of a local lord, is attested there from this period. After the region came under Bernese rule in 1536, Cottens was attached to the bailiwick of Morges, where it remained until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798.

History of Cottens

Roman period. A Roman-period settlement occupies the place called Praz de Mex, on the territory of the future village; the remains brought to light attest to a human presence well before the first written mention of Cottens.

1041. First known written mention of the place, in the Latinised form Chotens, in a medieval document.

1049. A variant of the name, Cotens, appears in another old source.

14th century. A fortified house, a seigneurial residence, is attested at Cottens. The lordship then depended on the barony of Cossonay.

1380. A mill is mentioned at Cottens, a sign of organised economic activity around the village.

1536. Bernese conquest of the Vaud country; the region shifts under Bernese administration.

1539-1798. Cottens is part of the bailiwick of Morges, under the Bernese regime.

Early 17th century. The Crinsoz family, having become holders of the seigneurial rights, has a new château built, replacing the old medieval fortified house, by then abandoned.

1684. Construction of a first Reformed place of worship at Cottens.

1798. Fall of the Bernese Ancien Régime; the region passes through the short-lived canton of Léman before entering the Helvetic Republic, then the canton of Vaud.

1798-2006. Cottens belongs to the newly created district of Cossonay.

1823. The idea of structured agricultural teaching at Cottens is considered, prefiguring the school that will be held there a few years later.

approximately 1840-1865. Private agricultural teaching is given at the château of Cottens, one of the very first of its kind in the canton of Vaud, before the creation of the official cantonal schools from 1870 onwards.

1841. The château of Cottens is destroyed by a fire, with the exception of its outbuildings.

1842. Construction of the village school building by the Lausanne architects Henri Perregaux and Achille de La Harpe.

1893. Complete reconstruction of the church of Cottens, in neo-Romanesque style, on the site of the 1684 building, by the architect Francis Isoz.

1963. Closure of the village inn.

31 August 2006. The district of Cossonay is abolished during the reform of the Vaud districts; Cottens joins the new district of Morges.

2014-2018. Cottens undertakes, together with Apples, Bussy-Chardonney, Pampigny, Reverolle and Sévery, a process of study and then a merger project, approved by the municipal legislative bodies in May 2018 and by the voters in November 2018.

1 July 2021. Cottens ceases to exist as an independent municipality and merges with Apples, Bussy-Chardonney, Pampigny, Reverolle and Sévery to form the new municipality of Hautemorges, in the district of Morges. Cottens becomes a locality of this municipality.

Population of Cottens

1764

127

1803

190

1850

252

1870

213

1900

163

1930

196

1950

225

1970

343

2000

438

2010

491

2020

Historic sites in Cottens

Cottens Castle. The present-day castle dates back at least to the early 17th century, when the Crinsoz family had a new manor house built to replace the old medieval fortified house, by then dilapidated. Destroyed by a fire in 1841, with the exception of its outbuildings, the building then experienced a second life: between 1840 and approximately 1865, private agricultural teaching was given there, one of the very first in the canton of Vaud, a project whose idea already dated back to 1823. It is thus at Cottens that, before the creation of the official cantonal schools from 1870 onwards, the beginnings of structured agricultural training in the canton took shape.

Church of Cottens. A first Reformed place of worship is built in 1684. It is entirely replaced in 1893 by the present-day church, in neo-Romanesque style, the work of the architect Francis Isoz, who reuses the site of the previous building. The building remains today one of the village's visual landmarks.

1842 school building. The village school, built in 1842, is the work of the Lausanne architects Henri Perregaux and Achille de La Harpe. It illustrates the effort to build communal schools that the canton of Vaud experienced in the mid-19th century, even before the generalisation of public education.

Dairy and cheese factory. Cottens retains a dairy and cheese factory still in operation, a witness to the agricultural and cheese-making economy that long structured the life of the village, in a region where agriculture still occupies more than three-quarters of the territory today.

Remains in Cottens

Remains of Roman settlement, place called Praz de Mex. Remains of a Roman-period settlement have been brought to light at the place called Praz de Mex, on the territory of the former municipality of Cottens. They attest to an occupation of the site well before the first written mention of the village in 1041. The general sources consulted, however, give no excavation details (precise dating, artefacts found, archaeological publication): this point would deserve to be completed should a specialised source become accessible.

Former medieval fortified house. Before the construction of the present-day castle, a fortified house, probably the residence of a local lord dependent on the barony of Cossonay, is attested from the 14th century. It seems to have remained occupied until the early 17th century, before being abandoned when the Crinsoz family had a new castle built. The sources consulted do not allow any remains possibly visible today to be precisely located; this point remains to be verified on site or through a local archaeological source.

Sources

Other villages near Cottens

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