Juriens

Origin of the name Juriens

First mentioned in 1263 in the form «iurians» («Jurians»), then in the present form «Juriens» in 1359. The name is said to go back to a Burgundian settler named «Juringos» (to be cross-checked); the suffix «-ens» is common in place names of Burgundian origin in the Pays de Vaud (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Juriens

The territory of Juriens was frequented long before the Middle Ages: traces of Bronze Age occupation are reported, and the locality of Prims Bois has yielded Roman-period remains linked to the smelting of iron ore (pottery, tiles, slag), along a trade route towards Geneva and Nantua. The medieval village itself appears in the texts in the 13th century as a possession of the monastery of Romainmôtier, in whose lordship it remained until the Bernese conquest. None of the sources consulted names a founder; the name suggests an origin linked to an early medieval settlement (to be cross-checked). Originally laid out as a street village, Juriens took on its more scattered appearance as a result of successive fires. The municipality comprises the village and the hamlet of Cosson, on the slopes of the Mollendruz. Activity has always been agricultural; at the end of the 20th century livestock farming predominates.

History of Juriens

Bronze Age. Traces of human occupation on the territory of the municipality.

Roman period. Smelting of iron ore at the locality of Prims Bois, where pottery, tiles and heaps of slag remain.

1263. First mention of the village, in the form «iurians»; it belongs to the monastery of Romainmôtier.

1316. The inhabitants are already dealing with the parish priest of Romainmôtier; Juriens has always belonged to this parish.

1359. The name appears in its present form, «Juriens».

1400. People from the barony of La Sarraz invade Juriens, plunder the village and carry off 2'000 head of cattle as a pledge; the monks of Romainmôtier lodge a complaint and the attackers are sentenced to heavy damages.

1529. Juriens has 26 hearths, more than Vallorbe (12), Vaulion (20), Arnex (20) or Bretonnières (16); the village prospers in the 16th century, then stagnates.

1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud: Juriens is incorporated into the castellany and bailiwick of Romainmôtier (until 1798).

1705. The community, until then governed by a general council, has to accept the creation by Bern of a Council of Twelve.

1733-1758. Four fires ravage the village; that of 21 May 1758 destroys fourteen buildings, barns and stables, with their furniture and small livestock.

1798. Under the Helvetic Republic, Juriens belongs to the canton of Léman and is attached to the district of Orbe (until 2006), then to the canton of Vaud from 1803.

1811. A fire destroys half of the village.

late 19th century. Lime kilns are brought back into operation near the forests that supply the wood.

1968. Construction of the Protestant temple by the architect Paul Lavenex.

1976. Opening of a care home by the deaconesses of Saint-Loup, taken over in 1988 by the Infirmerie Contesse.

1989. Creation of a land improvement association.

2006-2008. Reform of the Vaud districts (adopted in 2006, in force on 1 January 2008): the district of Orbe is dissolved and Juriens joins the district of Jura-Nord vaudois.

Population of Juriens

Population of Juriens

1529	26 hearths (households)
1550	30 hearths (households)
1764	241
1850	280
1900	281
1910	287
1950	235
1980	201
2000	237
2022	347
2025	345

Historic sites in Juriens

Juriens temple. Modern Protestant temple built in 1968 to plans by the architect Paul Lavenex, decorated with slab-glass windows by the painter Casimir Reymond.

Village core. Former street village that became more scattered after the fires of the 18th and 19th centuries, surrounded by springs; it retains typical 19th-century farmhouses.

Remains in Juriens

Roman ironworking site of Prims Bois. At the locality of Prims Bois, pottery, tiles and heaps of slag bear witness to the smelting of iron ore in Roman times, along a trade route to Geneva and Nantua.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Juriens »
• Commune de Juriens, « Histoire »
• Wikipédia, « Juriens »
• Wikipedia (de), « Juriens »
• Wikipedia (en), « Juriens »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Juriens

• Envy (VD)
• Romainmôtier (VD)
• Premier (VD)
• La Praz (VD)
• Ferreyres (VD)