La Sarraz
Origin of the name La Sarraz
The name is attested in 1149 in the form «Sarrata». It is said to come from «serrata», a past participle meaning «tight», «fortified» in patois, an allusion to the defensive character of the place that grew up around a fortified tower (to be cross-checked with a linguistic source).
Founding of La Sarraz
In 1049, Adalbert of Grandson built a tower overlooking the Mormont pass, on lands belonging to the priory of Romainmôtier, in order to extend his family's hold at the foot of the Jura and to control the passage towards the Jura and France. A borough developed at the foot of this tower: open in the 12th century, it was fortified in the 13th century. The town acquired its liberties and franchises from its lords in the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, according to the custom of Lausanne. The castle and the town passed successively to the Grandson-La Sarraz (1049-1269), the Montferrand-La Sarraz (1269-1541) and then the Gingins-La Sarraz (1542-1798).
History of La Sarraz
Prehistory. Refuges at Châtillon and at the Tine de Conflens, probably prehistoric.
Roman period. Roman settlements at Les Aleveys and La Chambre.
1049. Adalbert of Grandson builds a tower overlooking the Mormont pass; beginning of the rule of the Grandson-La Sarraz.
1149. First written mention, in the form «Sarrata».
12th century. An open borough develops at the foot of the castle.
13th century. The borough is fortified.
1269. The castle passes to the Montferrand-La Sarraz.
13th-14th centuries. The town acquires its liberties and franchises from its lords, according to the custom of Lausanne.
1345. La Sarraz is among the «bonnes villes» of the Pays de Vaud (to be cross-checked).
1360-1372. Construction of the seigneurial chapel of Saint-Antoine, founded by Francis I of La Sarraz; his cenotaph is added around 1380-1400.
late 14th century. La Sarraz becomes the prosperous centre of the seigneury of the same name, with four annual fairs.
around 1400. Construction of the chapel of the Virgin, the future parish church.
1461. The seigneury of La Sarraz is raised to a barony.
1475. The castle is plundered during the Burgundian Wars.
1536. Bernese conquest: the castle is set on fire; La Sarraz depends on the bailiwick of Moudon (1536-1598), then on that of Romainmôtier (1598-1798).
1542. The barony passes to the Gingins by marriage.
1597. Grant of a weekly market.
1798. End of the Ancien Régime; the municipality belongs to the district of Cossonay until 2006.
1870. Arrival of the railway.
1928. The castle hosts the first International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM).
1929. First congress of independent cinema at the castle, with Sergei Eisenstein among others.
1982. The Swiss Horse Museum is set up in the castle.
Population of La Sarraz
| 1550 | 55 hearths (households) |
| 1696 | 52 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 363 |
| 1803 | 502 |
| 1850 | 790 |
| 1900 | 930 |
| 1950 | 1'010 |
| 2000 | 1'728 |
| 2025 | 2'609 |
Historic sites in La Sarraz
Château de La Sarraz. Born from the tower built in 1049 by Adalbert of Grandson, the castle, plundered in 1475 and burnt in 1536, has kept its 14th-century structures. Home of the same lineages until 1948, owned by the Société du musée romand since 1920 and open to the public since 1922, it hosted the first CIAM in 1928 and has housed the Swiss Horse Museum since 1982. It bears the European Heritage Label.
Chapel of Saint-Antoine. Seigneurial chapel built between 1360 and 1372, burial place of the lords from the 15th century. It houses the cenotaph of Francis I of Montferrand-La Sarraz (around 1380-1400), one of the oldest depictions of a decomposing body. Given to the municipality in 1897 and restored from 1987 to 1997, it is a cultural property of national significance.
Old town. The fortified medieval borough at the foot of the castle is listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites (ISOS).
Pillory. Presented as the last pillory in French-speaking Switzerland (to be cross-checked).
Remains in La Sarraz
Refuges of Châtillon and the Tine de Conflens. Remains of fortified refuges that probably date back to prehistoric times; the site of the Tine de Conflens, at the confluence of the Venoge and the Veyron, currently has restricted access because of falling rocks.
Roman settlements. Ruins of Roman settlements have been uncovered at Les Aleveys and La Chambre; remains of a small iron-working industry at Les Aleveys could not be dated.
Legends of La Sarraz
The «Rolye-Bo». The inhabitants bear the nickname «Rolye-Bo», «toad-beaters» in Vaud patois: tradition explains it by those who struck the water of the ponds to silence the noisy amphibians at night.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Sarraz, La (commune) »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Sarraz, La (seigneurie) »
- Commune de La Sarraz, « Histoire »
- Feuille des avis officiels du canton de Vaud, « Alphabet des communes vaudoises : La Sarraz »
- Wikipédia, « La Sarraz »
- Wikipédia, « Château de La Sarraz »
- Wikipédia, « Chapelle Saint-Antoine de La Sarraz »
- Wikipedia (en), « La Sarraz »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near La Sarraz
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