Croy
Origin of the name Croy
The village is recorded under its present name, «Croy», in 1498. The municipality explains the name by the crossing of two routes (the Lausanne-Vallorbe and Yverdon-Vallée de Joux roads), recalled by the saltire in its coat of arms; another source derives it from an Old French word meaning «cross». The etymology remains to be clarified (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Croy
Croy sits on a small terrace overlooking the Nozon stream, where the Jougne pass road meets the road along the foot of the Jura. The territory was frequented very early: a cup-marked stone and iron-working sites from the Gallo-Roman period and the Early Middle Ages have been identified there. The village itself only appears in written records at the end of the 15th century. In the Middle Ages it was subject to the convent of Romainmôtier, represented locally by a mayor, and it always belonged to the parish of Romainmôtier. None of the sources consulted names a founder; the village's position at a crossroads is put forward to explain its origin (to be cross-checked). The power of the Nozon drove mills, a fulling mill and a threshing mill serving the whole lordship.
History of Croy
Prehistory. A cup-marked stone, the «Pierre des Gottettes», south of the village, bears witness to early use of the territory.
Gallo-Roman period and Early Middle Ages. Smelting of iron ore in bloomery furnaces in the Bellaires forest.
13th century. Construction of a canal diverted from the Nozon, which would feed the village's water-powered installations (to be cross-checked).
1412. Birth in Croy of the jurist Jehan Bagnyon (to be cross-checked).
1498. First mention of the village under its present name, «Croy».
Middle Ages. Croy is subject to the convent of Romainmôtier, represented there by a local mayor. A chapel there is dedicated to Saint Anne and Saint Vincent Ferrer.
16th century. Mills, a fulling mill and a threshing mill, driven by the Nozon, serve the whole lordship of Romainmôtier.
1529. Croy has 5 hearths.
1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud: Croy is incorporated into the bailiwick of Romainmôtier. The chapel of Saint Anne and Saint Vincent Ferrer is destroyed. Under Bernese rule, the village has many disputes with Romainmôtier over common land.
1752. Construction of the village's communal bread oven.
1798. Under the Helvetic Republic, Croy belongs to the canton of Léman and is attached to the district of Orbe, then to the canton of Vaud from 1803.
19th century. Operation of the Grand Chaney quarry, from which more than 200 fountain basins are cut and distributed among the municipalities of the canton.
1870. A railway station serving Croy opens.
1929. Adoption of the municipal coat of arms: a saltire recalling the original crossroads, on a silver and red field evoking the abbey of Romainmôtier.
1989. Croy is connected to the motorway network.
2008. New districts take effect: Croy moves from the district of Orbe to the district of Jura-Nord vaudois.
2017. Installation of a sculpture in tribute to the washerwomen.
2018. Restoration of the 13th-century canal.
Population of Croy
| 1529 | 5 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 154 |
| 1850 | 268 |
| 1888 | 309 |
| 1900 | 279 |
| 1950 | 266 |
| 2000 | 267 |
| 2022 | 386 |
| 2025 | 408 |
Historic sites in Croy
Communal bread oven. Communal oven built in 1752, renovated, where sourdough bread is still baked today.
Wash houses and canal. Two historic wash houses line the village canal, whose origin is said to date back to the 13th century (to be cross-checked) and which was restored in 2018; since 2017 a sculpture has paid tribute to the washerwomen. The Nozon still drives a water wheel that supplies the municipal drinking water network.
Cascade du Dard. Waterfall of the Nozon, along the path leading from Croy to Romainmôtier.
Village core. The village retains farmhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Remains in Croy
Bloomery furnaces of the Bellaires forest. In the Bellaires forest, between Croy and Romainmôtier, iron-smelting workshops were excavated from 1963 to 1968 by Pierre-Louis Pelet. Mining is thought to date back to the La Tène period and intensified in Merovingian times. Two reconstructed furnaces are preserved under a shelter; the site, a cultural property of national significance, lies within Romainmôtier-Envy according to some sources (to be cross-checked).
Pierre des Gottettes. Erratic boulder bearing cup marks and engravings, south of the village, considered pre-Celtic (to be cross-checked).
Grand Chaney quarry. Quarry worked in the 19th century to cut more than 200 fountain basins for the municipalities of the canton.
Legends of Croy
The «Bouilleurs de chats». The inhabitants of Croy are nicknamed «lè Buya-tsa», the Cat Boilers (or Cat Washers), and also the Racle-Osiers (Willow Scrapers). According to tradition, the first nickname comes from a cat accidentally caught, several centuries ago, in the hot water of a laundry wash.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Croy »
- Wikipédia, « Croy »
- Commune de Croy, « Présentation de la commune »
- Feuille des avis officiels du canton de Vaud, « Alphabet des communes vaudoises : Croy »
- Wikipédia, « Bas fourneaux de la forêt des Bellaires »
- Wikipedia (de), « Croy VD »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Croy
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