Duillier

Origin of the name Duillier

The name appears in the form «Duelliei» in 1145. It is said to derive from the Latin «Dulliacum», formed on a Roman gentile (family) name (to be cross-checked). The inhabitants are called Duilliérans.

Founding of Duillier

None of the sources consulted says who founded the village or when. In the 12th century, Duillier appears divided between several lords: a noble family of Duillier, mentioned from 1145, and the Cistercian abbey of Bonmont, which held property there from 1166, received from the lords of Crassier. A castle is mentioned there from the 12th century. After the Bernese conquest and the Reformation, the place was made a lordship and granted as a fief to Bernese patrician or Genevan burgher families.

History of Duillier

1145. First mention («Duelliei»); the noble family of Duillier is mentioned.

1166. The abbey of Bonmont holds property in Duillier.

12th century. A castle is mentioned in Duillier.

1490. Jean d'Usier sells the «maison soit tour» (house or tower) of Duillier to Amédée de Chatillon.

early 16th century. A chapel dedicated to Saint Gratus exists in the village.

1586-1587. Hans Rudolf Wurstemberger, bailiff of Nyon, acquires the fortified house.

1655. Vincenz Wagner inherits the castle, which is raised to a lordship with rights of jurisdiction.

1669. Jean-Baptiste Fatio buys the castle.

1669-1670. Construction of the Protestant church.

1675-1690. A printing press operates in the castle, set up by Jean Hermann Widerhold and later taken over by David Ritter.

1753. The castle passes to the Bazin de Liméville family, related by marriage to the Fatio and the Guiguer of Prangins.

1764. The village has 204 inhabitants.

1922. The Humbert family acquires the castle estate.

from 1960. Duillier becomes a residential municipality; it partly hosts the federal agricultural research station of Changins.

2000. The municipality has 901 inhabitants.

2008. Duillier becomes part of the new district of Nyon, created by the Vaud territorial reorganisation that came into force on 1 January 2008.

Population of Duillier

Population of Duillier

1764	204
1850	281
1880	315
1900	271
1950	230
2000	901
2025	1'120

Historic sites in Duillier

Duillier Castle. Mentioned from the 12th century, the castle retains parts from that period, the main part dating from the 16th century. A fortified house of the Bernese bailiffs and a lordship with jurisdiction from 1655, it was bought in 1669 by Jean-Baptiste Fatio; a printing press operated there from 1675 to 1690. It then passed to the Bazin de Liméville (1753), to Count Saint-George de Marsay and then to the Humbert family (1922). It is listed as a cultural property of national significance.

Tithe barn (Grange des Dîmes). A building of original architecture, now privately owned, listed as a cultural property of national significance.

Protestant church. Built in 1669-1670, after the Reformation; a chapel dedicated to Saint Gratus existed in the village at the beginning of the 16th century.

Legends of Duillier

The nuns of the castle. According to tradition, nuns are said to have found refuge in the castle and engraved on a window a thought that is reproduced on the façade of the barn: «Les plaisirs du monde sont trompeurs» (The pleasures of the world are deceptive) (to be cross-checked).

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Duillier »
• Commune de Duillier, « Histoire de Duillier »
• Wikipédia, « Château de Duillier »
• Wikipédia, « Duillier »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
• Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »

Other villages near Duillier

• Clarens (Vich) (VD)
• Coinsins (VD)
• Bénex (VD)
• Prangins (VD)
• Vich (VD)