Cremin
Origin of the name Cremin
According to local toponymic tradition, the name Cremin derives from a now drained marsh that once extended to the north and east of the village: the place is said to have first been called «Crêt-Marc», that is «the Crêt above the marsh», before becoming «Cumar» and then «Cremin» (this precise chain of evolution remains to be cross-checked). The first solidly attested written mention of the place dates from 1365, in the form «Cremyn», in registers linked to the château of Lucens and the bishopric of Lausanne.
Founding of Cremin
No founding act of the village has been preserved: like most hamlets of the Vaud Broye, Cremin probably formed through clearing and the gradual cultivation of the plateau overlooking the left bank of the Broye, north of Lucens (this precise process remains to be cross-checked). From its first mention in 1365, the place was dependent on the bishop of Lausanne because of the château of Lucens, on which it depended administratively and judicially. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud in 1536, Cremin was attached to the castellany of Lucens, itself part of the Bernese bailiwick of Moudon.
History of Cremin
1365. First attested written mention of the place, in the form «Cremyn», while the village depended on the bishop of Lausanne because of the château of Lucens.
1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud: Cremin is attached to the castellany of Lucens, within the bailiwick of Moudon.
1764. The village has an estimated population of between 76 and 80 inhabitants depending on the source (exact figure to be cross-checked), spread across about fifteen households.
1798. The canton of Vaud is created and Cremin becomes one of its municipalities; the population is 94 inhabitants.
1803. As part of the new territorial organization of the canton of Vaud, Cremin is attached to the district of Moudon.
1812. Construction of a communal oven, equipped with a schoolroom; the building will be restored and brought back into use in 1992-1993.
1825. A fire destroys a large part of the municipal archives, which considerably limits the later historical documentation of the village.
1842. Construction of the school building of Cremin (classes are said to have formally opened there in 1845 according to another source, point to be cross-checked); the building still stands today.
1850. The population reaches its known historical peak, with 101 inhabitants.
1852. Construction of the Cremin Mill, equipped with a fulling mill and an oil press.
1870. Opening of a post office in the village, later transferred to Forel-sur-Lucens.
1900. The population declines markedly, to 68 inhabitants, under the effect of rural exodus.
1918. Installation of electric lighting in the school building.
1925. Commissioning of a pressurized water network.
1930. The municipal coat of arms is adopted and approved by the canton: «per fess argent and vert, a scythe and a flail or in saltire, a sheaf of the same over all», symbolizing the village's agricultural vocation.
1933. Closure of the village's school class.
1950-1980. A land consolidation reorganizes the agricultural land around the village; the draining of the original marsh, begun during the Second World War according to one source (point to be cross-checked), is completed during this period.
1980. The population reaches its known historical low, with 45 inhabitants.
2006. The district of Moudon is abolished and Cremin joins the new district of Broye-Vully (the exact year, 2006 or 2007 depending on the source, remains to be cross-checked).
2014. On 30 November 2014, the population of Cremin votes in favour of a six-municipality merger with Brenles, Chesalles-sur-Moudon, Forel-sur-Lucens, Lucens and Sarzens.
2017. On 1 January 2017, the merger takes effect: Cremin becomes a locality of the new municipality of Lucens.
Population of Cremin
| 1764 | 76 to 80 (depending on the source) |
| 1798 | 94 |
| 1850 | 101 |
| 1900 | 68 |
| 1950 | 65 |
| 1980 | 45 |
| 2000 | 51 |
| 2022 | 59 |
Historic sites in Cremin
The communal oven. Communal bread oven built in 1812-1813, originally associated with a schoolroom. Restored and brought back into use in 1992-1993, it bears witness to the village's collective rural life.
The former school. School building built around 1842-1844, whose classes are said to have run from 1845 according to one source (point to be cross-checked) until its closure in 1933. The building still stands today in the village.
The Cremin Mill. Built in 1852, equipped with a fulling mill and an oil press, this mill illustrates the village's traditional agricultural economy, geared toward grain and oil.
The street-village of Cremin. Cremin presents itself as a street-village set on the plateaus overlooking the left bank of the Broye, on the border of the Fribourg enclave of Surpierre. Its vocation remains agricultural (fruit growing, livestock farming); an 18-hole swin-golf course and a café-restaurant are today its only businesses.
Remains in Cremin
Archaeological remains. No archaeological remains are currently recorded at Cremin in the sources consulted; this point remains to be cross-checked with the Vaud cantonal archaeological inventories.
Surviving built heritage. The communal oven, the former school and the Cremin Mill make up the main surviving 19th-century built elements, having survived the 1825 fire, which destroyed only the municipal archives and not the buildings.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Cremin »
- Wikipédia, article « Cremin »
- Commune de Lucens, page historique de Cremin
- Commune de Lucens, historique et armoiries des villages fusionnés
- Recueil systématique de la législation vaudoise (RSV), arrêté relatif aux armoiries communales de Cremin
- La Liberté, « C'est «Oui» pour un mariage à six autour de Lucens »
Other villages near Cremin
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