Crausaz

Origin of the name Crausaz

The place is called « En Crausaz »; at the end of the 15th century the house of the Order of Saint John there is called « de domo de Crosa » (to be cross-checked). The origin of the name is not explained in the sources consulted.

Founding of Crausaz

Crausaz is a hamlet in the municipality of Gollion, about two kilometres north-east of the village, on the right bank of the Venoge and on the road to Cossonay station. Its history is linked to the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, which owned a commandery there mentioned in 1228. The donor of the estate is not known; a lord of Cossonay probably gave it directly to the order (to be cross-checked). When the Hospitallers acquired La Chaux, a former house of the Order of the Temple, they made it their general commandery for the Pays de Vaud and Crausaz became a dependency of it.

History of Crausaz

1228. A commandery of the Hospitallers of Saint John, at Crausaz, is mentioned: the place belongs to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.

1458. Crausaz still has its own commander: the office is held by the knight Philibert de Cunscoi (to be cross-checked).

1483-1494. The knight Louis Franc, commander of La Chaux, also bears the title « prior et rector de domo de Crosa » (to be cross-checked).

before 1536. A church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, patron of the order, draws many pilgrims to Crausaz (to be cross-checked).

1536-1798. Under Bernese rule, the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste falls into ruin (to be cross-checked).

1540-1798. The estate of the former commandery of Crausaz forms a lordship.

Historic sites in Crausaz

Estate of the former commandery. The hamlet of En Crausaz, by the Venoge, occupies the site of the estate of the Hospitallers of Saint John, mentioned in 1228 and a lordship from 1540 to 1798.

Bois de Saint-Jean. The wood above the hamlet bears the name Bois de Saint-Jean, in memory of the commandery's church (to be cross-checked).

Remains in Crausaz

Chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Church of the commandery, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and visited by many pilgrims before the Reformation; fallen into ruin under Bernese rule, it stood in the fields near the Bois de Saint-Jean, at the place called La Chapelle (to be cross-checked).

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Gollion »
• Wikipédia, « Gollion »
• geo.admin.ch, répertoire des noms géographiques, « En Crausaz (VD), Gollion »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Crausaz

• Penthaz (VD)
• Gollion (VD)
• Vufflens-la-Ville (VD)
• Mex (VD)
• Penthalaz (VD)