Crissier

Town Canton of Vaud · District: Ouest Lausannois · approximately 11'400 inhabitants (2026, resident population according to the most recent available communal statistics)

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

Origin of the name Crissier

The name Crissier poses a more complicated attestation problem than it appears: the sources that discuss it do not all agree on the date of the very first written mention. Two reference sources converge on 1199, in the Latinised form Crissiaco, followed by the form Crissie in 1228. A glossary of Romandy toponymy nevertheless cites even older forms, Crisei as early as 1081, then Crissie in 1178 and Crisciaco in 1180, while another source suggests the dates 1190 (Crissiacum) and 1219 (Crissie). Yet another source, for its part, lists a series of later forms, Crisue in 1238, Crisu in 1250, Cresu in 1301, then Crisuz, Criseu and Criseuz up to the 18th century. It is thus established that the village's name is attested in writing from the very beginning of the 12th century at the latest, probably even from the end of the 11th century according to some sources, but the exact date of the very first occurrence remains, given the state of our research, a point that the references consulted do not allow to be settled with certainty. As for the root of the word itself, the sources are more unanimous: Crissier is said to come from a personal name of Celtic origin, in its Latinised form Crixsius or Crixius, to which the Gaulish toponymic suffix -acum (or -akos) would have been attached, typically used to designate a rural estate belonging to someone; this would originally give something like « the estate of Crixsius ». This type of formation is very common in Romandy toponymy and is found, with the same root, in the name of the Neuchâtel village of Cressier, in a Fribourg Cressier, as well as in Cressin-Rochefort in Savoy and the Geneva district of Cressy. An alternative theory, mentioned by a toponymic glossary consulted, links the root to the Gaulish crixsos, which would mean « curly » or « frizzy », perhaps a person's nickname behind the name of the estate; this hypothesis nevertheless remains secondary compared with the reading as Crixsius followed by -acum, which dominates the sources consulted. The inhabitants of Crissier are called les Crissirois and les Crissiroises. They also bear two popular nicknames found in several sources, « les Limaces » (the slugs) and « les Taleines »; the precise origin of these two nicknames could not, however, be established with the sources consulted for this research, and would deserve further investigation at some point.

Founding of Crissier

Crissier has no identifiable founder nor, strictly speaking, a founding date: the village formed gradually on a territory that had been occupied long before its name was ever written down. The place called Le Châtelard, which overlooks the Sorge valley, has yielded traces of occupation dated between 3000 and 1800 before our era, at the turning point between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. In Roman times, the commune's present-day territory lay along the route of a road coming from the Grand-Saint-Bernard pass; excavations there have revealed the remains of a villa at the foot of the Montassé hill, as well as ancient foundations at the place called Timonet, with coins dated to about two thousand years ago. It was in the Early Middle Ages that the territory took the form of an organised community, but under ecclesiastical rather than secular authority: Crissier then constituted a prebend, that is, an estate whose income was assigned to a canon, belonging to the chapter of the cathedral of Lausanne. Local justice was exercised there on behalf of the chapter by a mayor and a métral, two offices sometimes held by the same person. The village was therefore not born from a deliberate act of foundation by a lord or an abbey, as can be the case elsewhere: it took shape through the long-term development of land already frequented since prehistoric times, first under the tutelage of the Lausanne cathedral chapter, then, from the late Middle Ages onward, under that of lay seigneurial families to whom the mayorie was eventually enfeoffed before becoming a true seigneury.

History of Crissier

3000-1800 BC. Attested occupation of the Châtelard site, above the Sorge valley, at the turning point between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age: the oldest known evidence of human presence on the communal territory.

Roman period. The territory is crossed by a road coming from the Grand-Saint-Bernard pass. A villa stands at the foot of the Montassé hill, and ancient foundations have been uncovered at the place called Timonet, with coins dated to about two thousand years ago.

Early Middle Ages. Necropolises dating from this period have been discovered near the present-day cemetery. Crissier forms a prebend of the chapter of the cathedral of Lausanne; justice there is administered on its behalf by a mayor and a métral.

late 11th-13th century. The sources consulted do not agree on the date of the very first written mention of the village's name. Two reference sources give 1199 (Crissiaco), followed by Crissie in 1228; a toponymic glossary cites older forms as early as 1081, and another source suggests 1190. The name is in any case attested from the very beginning of the 12th century at the latest.

circa 1418. The mayorie of the village passes to the Valaisan family de Monthey, then, through marriage, to Jean Daux.

1416. The village has 34 hearths (households), one of the earliest known counts for the locality.

1536. The Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud places Crissier, like the rest of the region, under the authority of the bailiwick of Lausanne.

1550. The village now has only 26 hearths.

1595, or 1620 according to another source. After the conspiracy of a certain Isbrand Daux, the mayorie of the village passes to a new family and becomes a true seigneury. One source places this takeover by Isbrand de Crousaz in 1595, with a later transfer to the de Martines family; another source instead places in 1620 the direct transfer of the seigneury to a certain Claude de Crousaz, at the same time as that of the neighbouring commune of Prilly. This point of the village's seigneurial history could not be settled with certainty between the two versions.

1595-1598. The nave of the church is rebuilt after the Reformation, at a date that the sources place sometimes in 1595, sometimes around 1598.

1666. According to a non-institutional local source, the present château bears this construction date engraved on it, under the responsibility of Jacques-Nicolas de Martines; this precise date could not be cross-checked against a more solid reference, another source placing the construction of the château more broadly at the end of the 17th century.

1732. The mayorie-seigneury again changes hands. According to one source, it is acquired that year by the city of Lausanne, with Berne keeping a feudal right of redemption and justice remaining under the bailiff's jurisdiction; another source speaks more generally of a buyback by the Bernese authorities. Under the Helvetic Republic, between 1798 and 1803, the commune is for a time attached to the district of Morges.

1737. Jacques-Nicolas de Martines sells the château, with the rights attached to it, to Jean-Jacques Curchod, citizen of Lausanne, for 600 florins.

1764. The village has 261 inhabitants, managed by the assembly of communiers; the commune had in the past had a Council.

1803. The canton of Vaud joins the Swiss Confederation. Crissier becomes a commune of the new district of Lausanne and then has 354 inhabitants.

1826. Birth in Crissier of Louis Curchod, future engineer and later director of the Swiss telegraphs from 1857 to 1868; he dies in Berne in 1889.

1850. The village has 511 inhabitants.

1852-1854. Construction of the neo-Gothic bell tower of the temple, according to one source consulted.

1868. Construction of the school building on the rue d'Yverdon by the architects Jean-Baptiste Bertolini and Achille de La Harpe.

1872-1874, or 1907 according to another source. A restoration of the temple is mentioned by one source for the period 1872-1874; another source, for its part, places a restoration in 1907. It is impossible to establish with certainty whether this is a single wrongly dated campaign or two separate interventions.

late 19th century. The railway crosses the commune, with a nearby station at Renens; Crissier begins to move beyond its status as a mere farming and winegrowing village.

1900. The village has 875 inhabitants.

1906. Creation of a communal Council, the commune's legislative body, in response to its demographic growth.

1910. The population reaches 1'192 inhabitants.

1912. Establishment of the commune's first major industrial company, Baumgartner, specialising in cigarette filters and paper.

1950. The village has 2'068 inhabitants.

1955. Benjamin and Georgette Girardet take over the café of the Hôtel de Ville of Crissier; their son Frédy does his apprenticeship there.

1958-1967. Several industrial companies set up in the commune: a brickworks in 1958, a printed circuit board manufacturer (Bentronic) in 1961, a manufacturer of railway track maintenance machinery (Matisa) in 1962, a manufacturer of measuring instruments (Ruegger) in 1967.

1964. The opening of the A1 motorway shifts Crissier towards its current role as a logistics and distribution centre.

1965. On the death of his father Benjamin, Frédy Girardet takes over the management of the family restaurant.

1971. Frédy Girardet transforms the establishment into a gourmet restaurant, which will become one of the most renowned in the world.

1972. Opening of a Migros shopping centre, the commune's first major commercial facility.

1980. The population reaches 4'707 inhabitants.

1990. The population reaches 5'878 inhabitants.

1 July 1996. Philippe Rochat takes over the management of the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville, succeeding Frédy Girardet.

2000. The village has 6'577 inhabitants according to one source; another source gives the figure of 6'137 for the same year, a discrepancy that could not be explained.

2001. Opening of the Coop-Léman Centre shopping centre.

1 September 2006. Reorganisation of the Vaud districts: the districts of Lausanne and Morges are dissolved. Crissier, together with Prilly and Renens (from the former district of Lausanne) and Bussigny, Chavannes-près-Renens, Écublens, Saint-Sulpice and Villars-Sainte-Croix (from the former district of Morges), forms the new district of Ouest lausannois.

2011. For its fortieth edition, the Prix Wakker is exceptionally awarded collectively to the nine communes of the Ouest lausannois and to Lausanne, for their joint approach to spatial planning; it is therefore not a distinction belonging to Crissier alone.

2012. Benoît Violier takes over the management of the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville; Franck Giovannini, who has worked there alongside him for several years, becomes head chef.

31 January 2016. Benoît Violier dies at his home in Crissier, a few days before the release of the Michelin Guide. His death causes considerable emotion in Switzerland and beyond.

2016. Franck Giovannini takes over the management of the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville; in October, the establishment retains its three Michelin stars under his responsibility.

2018. Franck and Stéphanie Giovannini become co-owners and co-directors of the restaurant.

June 2024. The commune passes the symbolic milestone of 10'000 inhabitants.

Today. Crissier is an independent commune of the canton of Vaud, in the district of Ouest lausannois, with more than 11'000 inhabitants. A former farming and winegrowing village, it has become a major logistics, commercial and industrial hub of the Plateau lausannois, while remaining known worldwide for its Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville.

Population of Crissier

1416 (34 hearths, not inhabitants)

1550 (26 hearths)

261

1764

354

1803

511

1850

875

1900

1'192

1910

2'068

1950

3'155

1960 (single source)

4'707

1980

5'878

1990

6'577

2000

7'483

2010

8'194

2015

8'995

2020

9'181

2022

10'860

2024

11'403

2026 (July)

Population of Crissier
1416 (34 hearths, not inhabitants)	34
1550 (26 hearths)	26
1764	261
1803	354
1850	511
1900	875
1910	1'192
1950	2'068
1960 (single source)	3'155
1980	4'707
1990	5'878
2000	6'577
2010	7'483
2015	8'194
2020	8'995
2022	9'181
2024	10'860
2026 (July)	11'403

Historic sites in Crissier

Le Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville de Crissier. The establishment owes its name to the communal building that has housed it since 1955, when Benjamin and Georgette Girardet took over the café there. Their son Frédy did his apprenticeship there, took over its management in 1965 on his father's death, then transformed it in 1971 into a gourmet restaurant destined to become one of the most renowned in the world. Philippe Rochat succeeded him on 1 July 1996, then Benoît Violier in 2012; on the latter's death, on 31 January 2016, Franck Giovannini, who had held the position of head chef alongside him since 2012, took over the management of the establishment, of which he became co-owner with his wife Stéphanie in 2018. Long distinguished with three Michelin stars, the restaurant has made Crissier a world gastronomic reference, out of all proportion to the size of the village.

Le château de Crissier. The present château, on the chemin du Château, succeeds a seigneurial house attested since the 16th century. A reference source places its construction at the end of the 17th century; a local source gives the precise date of 1666 and attributes it to Jacques-Nicolas de Martines, who sells the building in 1737, with the rights attached to it, to Jean-Jacques Curchod, citizen of Lausanne, for 600 florins. The building was then said to have been thoroughly transformed in 1887-1888 into an imposing neo-Gothic residence, according to a source that could not be fully cross-checked.

The temple, former church of Saint-Saturnin. The parish is mentioned as early as 1228. Its nave was rebuilt after the Reformation, at a date that the sources place between 1595 and 1598, while the choir has kept its Gothic character. The present neo-Gothic bell tower is said, according to one source, to date from 1852-1854, and the Baroque pulpit, dated 1690, is said to come from Plan-Conthey in Valais. A restoration is mentioned for 1872-1874 by one source, another for 1907 by another source, without it being known for certain whether this is the same campaign or two separate interventions.

The school on the rue d'Yverdon. This school building was erected in 1868 by the architects Jean-Baptiste Bertolini and Achille de La Harpe, at a time when the village was still mainly agricultural and winegrowing.

The logistics and commercial hub of Crissier. The opening of the A1 motorway in 1964, then that of the A9, placed Crissier at the crossroads of the major routes linking Suisse romande, making the village a distribution and logistics centre. Several industrial companies had already established themselves there from the early 20th century, ranging from cigarette filter manufacturing, a brickworks, printed circuit boards, railway machinery and measuring instruments, before large retail outlets, a Migros centre from 1972 and then the Coop-Léman Centre in 2001, came to complete this role. Today, more than a thousand companies and several thousand jobs are recorded in the commune, for a resident population barely larger.

Remains in Crissier

Le site du Châtelard. This place, which overlooks the Sorge valley, has yielded traces of occupation dated between 3000 and 1800 before our era, at the turning point between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, making it the oldest known evidence of human presence on the communal territory.

The Roman remains of Montassé and Timonet. The territory of Crissier was crossed by a Roman road coming from the Grand-Saint-Bernard pass. Excavations have uncovered the remains of a villa at the foot of the Montassé hill, as well as ancient foundations at the place called Timonet, accompanied by coins dated to about two thousand years ago.

The Early Middle Ages necropolises. Burials dating from the Early Middle Ages have been discovered near the village's present-day cemetery, attesting to continuous occupation of the site between the Roman period and the first written mentions of the name Crissier.

Sources

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