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Lavey-Morcles

Merger 1852 Canton of Vaud · District: Aigle · 1'024 inhabitants (31.12.2025)
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Lavey-Morcles

The name places side by side those of the two communes merged in 1852, Lavey and Morcles.[1]

Founding of Lavey-Morcles

The commune, in the Aigle district on the right bank of the Rhône, results from the merger of Lavey and Morcles in 1852. Morcles, a mountain commune, had been autonomous until then. It was joined to Lavey because of management problems. The territory, on the right bank of the Rhône opposite Saint-Maurice, includes Lavey-Village, Lavey-les-Bains, Eslex and Morcles. Morcles now has barely twenty year-round residents. Together with Saint-Maurice, the commune forms a natural gateway to the Alps, a passage used since Antiquity. Lavey originally belonged to the commune and parish of Saint-Maurice, whose abbey held jurisdiction over the village until 1798. It broke away at the end of the 15th century.[1][2][3]

History of Lavey-Morcles

1016. The abbey of Saint-Maurice grants Lavey as a precarium. The place is then called «Laver».[1]

1189. The name is written «Laveto».[1]

1411. The burghers of Lavey receive privileges.[1]

1476-1798. Lavey belongs to the Bernese bailiwick of Aigle, first within the castellany of Bex, then as a castellany of its own from 1564.[1]

1529. Lavey leaves the parish of Notre-Dame Sous-le-Bourg, at Saint-Maurice, for the Reformed parish of Bex.[1][2]

1671. The serfs of Lavey are freed.[1]

1831. Jean de Charpentier isolates the sulphurous spring of Lavey-les-Bains.[1]

1852. Merger of Lavey and Morcles.[1][2][3]

1889. A Protestant church is built.[1]

1891. Construction of the Savatan and Dailly forts begins (1892 according to another source). The army becomes the commune's main employer.[1][2]

1900. A Catholic church is built.[1]

1904. Federal civil servants win an absolute majority on the council. The executive resigns en bloc and the Council of State runs the commune for several years.[2]

1928. The spa installations are taken over by the State.[1]

1931. The Protestant parish is created.[1]

1946. On 28 May a series of explosions destroys three ammunition stores of the Dailly fort. Ten people are killed.[7]

1947. The parish absorbs the Protestant community of Saint-Maurice.[1]

1950. The Lavey hydroelectric plant on the Rhône comes into service.[6]

1995. The Confederation decides to decommission the armament of the Dailly fort.[7]

1998. The baths return to private hands.[1]

2005. The Savatan fort houses the Vaud and Valais police academy.[1]

Population of Lavey-Morcles

Sources and references: [1][4]

Population of Lavey-Morcles
1860365
1900789
1950884
1990861
2000781
20251'024

Historic sites in Lavey-Morcles

Lavey baths. At Lavey-les-Bains. The first spa hotel dates from 1836 and the chapel from 1842-1844. The thermal centre, taken over by Eurothermes in 1999, claims the hottest thermal water in Switzerland.[5]

Savatan fort. A military work from the late 19th century, it houses the police academy of Vaud and Valais.[1]

Dailly fort. Above Morcles, at about 1'400 metres. Two 15 cm turrets were put into service there in 1960. The Confederation still owns it, and a volunteer association, the CIPAD, manages it and runs visits.[7]

Lavey hydroelectric plant. The dam near Evionnaz holds back the Rhône, and the underground power station lies near Lavey-Village. The plant of the Services industriels de Lausanne produces on average about 400 GWh a year.[6]

Remains in Lavey-Morcles

Fortifications of 1831. The commune's first military works, built in 1831 at the instigation of G.-H. Dufour, can still be seen.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, Germain Hausmann, « Lavey-Morcles », version du 18.03.2009
  2. Commune de Lavey-Morcles, « Historique »
  3. État de Vaud, « Fusions de communes en chiffres (2025) »
  4. Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
  5. Les Bains de Lavey, « Qui sommes-nous »
  6. Ville de Lausanne (SiL), « Aménagement hydroélectrique de Lavey »
  7. CIPAD, « Offensive touristique au fort de Dailly » (article de presse, décembre 2021)

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Lavey-Morcles

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