Le Chenit

Canton of Vaud · District: Jura-Nord vaudois · Approximately 4,640 inhabitants as of 31 December 2023, the official figure from the commune's management report. More recent estimates put the population, depending on the source, at between 4,750 and 4,780 inhabitants for 2024, without a single official figure having been confirmed for this entry.

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Le Chenit

The name Le Chenit appears late in the documents, compared to the rest of the vallée de Joux: its first known written mention dates to the very beginning of the 16th century, in the form "Chinit". The sources do not fully agree on the exact year of this first attestation. Some sources place it in 1489, while others point instead to a document from 1513, in which the abbot of the abbaye du lac de Joux authorises the inhabitants of Vaulion to cut wood "in an area of the vallée de Joux called Chinit", wood then transported by raft across the lake. It is possible that these two dates refer to two distinct documents and that the earliest mention therefore lies somewhere between 1489 and 1513; the original deeds could not be consulted directly for this entry, so this point would deserve verification with the relevant archive services. On the etymological side, the most commonly advanced hypothesis derives the name from the patois word "tsneu", said to designate dry foyard (beech) branches producing a bright flash when burned, echoing the forestry activity that shaped the entire economy of the valley. This remains, however, a philological hypothesis rather than an established certainty. The inhabitants of Le Chenit are nicknamed the "Traîne-Sachets". The precise origin of this nickname, as is often the case with this type of local nickname, could not be established with certainty in the sources consulted.

Founding of Le Chenit

Contrary to a common belief, Le Chenit was not born from a merger of several localities in 1845. The research carried out for this entry, cross-checking several independent sources, all converge on a different story: Le Chenit was born in 1646, through separation from the commune of Le Lieu, not through the merger of distinct localities either that year or in 1845. This point has been verified against several independent sources that agree unambiguously. To understand this origin, one must go back to the settlement of the vallée de Joux itself. The valley, still largely wild in the early Middle Ages, is said by local tradition to have been visited by a cleric named Dom Poncet (or Pontius) as early as the 5th or 6th century; a reference source, however, explicitly describes this origin as an "unverified hypothesis", and in any case it concerns the site of the future Le Lieu rather than that of Le Chenit. Better established is the founding, between 1126 and 1134 depending on the source (1126 being the most generally accepted date, based on a charter of the bishop of Lausanne, Gérold de Faucigny), of an abbey of Premonstratensian canons on the lakeshore, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. It is this abbaye du lac de Joux, today located in the territory of the neighbouring commune of L'Abbaye rather than Le Chenit, that organised and accelerated the clearing of the valley from the 12th century onward, a long, arduous task given that the high-altitude terrain, with its harsh climate, was poorly suited to agriculture. Until the 16th century, the entire valley formed a single community, Le Lieu, attested as a commune in 1396. This single entity then split in two stages: L'Abbaye broke away in 1571, followed by Le Chenit in 1646, on the upper part of the valley. The details of this second separation are fairly well documented locally. Around 1590, according to a widespread local tradition that is confirmed neither by the entry in the Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse nor by the History page of the commune's official website, the community of Le Lieu is said to have authorised the installation of a mill on this territory, with the agreement of the owners of the Romainmôtier mill; the operation reportedly involved 32 heads of family, giving rise to the nickname "Trente-Deux du Chenit" ("The Thirty-Two of Le Chenit"), the nucleus of the future commune. This account would deserve cross-checking against a reference source before being presented as an established fact. Better documented is the fact that this emerging community built its own temple: the commune's official website places the construction of this first temple in 1612, while another source describes negotiations between 1600 and 1610 leading to a construction order issued in July 1610 by the bailiffs of Romainmôtier; these two pieces of information could not be fully reconciled and are reported here with that caveat. The independent commune of Le Chenit was officially created in 1646. There was, however, a genuine internal fragmentation movement within Le Chenit at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which should not be confused with the creation of the commune itself. Under the effect of local tensions whose precise nature the sources consulted do not detail, three "communal fractions", each with its own administrative council and specific tax and property powers, were recognised by successive decrees of the Grand Conseil vaudois: Le Sentier in 1900, which became the chief town, L'Orient in 1904, and Le Brassus in 1908. The village of Le Solliat, although significant, never obtained this fraction status and operates as a public-benefit association. This organisation into three fractions within a single commune has remained in force ever since. One last point deserves mention to avoid any confusion with this older history: an entirely different merger process, this one contemporary, has been under way since the early 2010s. On 22 September 2024, the citizens of Le Chenit, Le Lieu and L'Abbaye accepted, in a popular vote, the principle of merging the three communes of the valley into a single one, named "La Vallée de Joux". The Grand Conseil vaudois definitively approved this project on 25 November 2025, and its entry into force is planned for 1 January 2027, which will end the existence of the commune of Le Chenit as a separate entity, 381 years after its creation in 1646.

History of Le Chenit

5th-6th century (unverified tradition). According to local tradition, a cleric named Dom Poncet (Pontius) is said to have settled in the vallée de Joux at this time. This origin is explicitly described as an unverified hypothesis; it mainly concerns the site of the future Le Lieu, not directly the territory of Le Chenit.

1126-1134. Founding of the abbaye du lac de Joux by Premonstratensian canons, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene; the year 1126 is the most generally accepted, based on a charter of the bishop of Lausanne, Gérold de Faucigny. This abbey, today located in the territory of the commune of L'Abbaye, organised the clearing and settlement of the whole valley, including the future territory of Le Chenit.

1155. First written mention of the "lieu de Dom Poncet", which would give its name to the village and later to the commune of Le Lieu.

12th-13th century. Progressive colonisation and clearing of the whole valley driven by the abbey, in a high-altitude environment with a harsh climate.

1396. Le Lieu is attested as the single commune covering, at the time, the whole vallée de Joux, including the future territory of Le Chenit.

1489 or 1513 (diverging sources). First known written mention of the name "Chinit"/Chenit. Depending on the source, the year varies between 1489 and 1513, the date of a document by which the abbot of the lac de Joux authorises the inhabitants of Vaulion to cut wood in this area of the valley.

1536. The Protestant Reformation reaches the valley; Berne imposes the new faith, and the abbaye du lac de Joux, after roughly 450 years of existence, ceases its religious activities. Only the tour Aymon, a remnant of the abbey, still survives today, in the territory of the commune of L'Abbaye.

1571. L'Abbaye breaks away from the commune of Le Lieu and becomes an independent commune.

around 1590 (unconfirmed tradition). According to a local tradition, not confirmed by the Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse nor by the commune's official website, the community of Le Lieu is said to have authorised the installation of a mill on the future territory of Le Chenit, involving 32 heads of family, the origin of the nickname "Trente-Deux du Chenit".

1600-1612 (diverging sources). The emerging community of Le Chenit negotiates the construction of its own temple. One source mentions a construction order issued in July 1610 by the bailiffs of Romainmôtier; the commune's official website instead places the construction of the temple in 1612. The two pieces of information could not be fully reconciled.

1646. Le Chenit officially separates from Le Lieu and becomes a fully independent commune.

1660. Founding of the Abbaye des Fusiliers, a local shooting society whose memory appears on the commune's current coat of arms.

1688. Opening of the first school in Le Chenit.

18th century (first half). Birth of farmhouse watchmaking in the valley: inhabitants, trained notably in Genève, begin making watch parts during the long winters, as a complement to summer farming. This activity is rooted in older metallurgical know-how linked to regional ironworks and nail-making.

1798-1803. Fall of the Bernese Ancien Régime, episode of the République lémanique, followed by integration into the new canton of Vaud; Le Chenit now falls under the district of La Vallée, created in 1798.

1833. Antoine LeCoultre founds his watchmaking workshop in Le Sentier, the origin of the future Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture.

1850. Le Chenit has 2,766 inhabitants; the whole vallée de Joux (the three communes combined) then has around 4,783 inhabitants.

1875. Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet found their watchmaking manufacture in Le Brassus, the origin of Audemars Piguet.

1886. Inauguration of the railway line linking Le Pont to Vallorbe, the valley's first rail connection.

1899. Inauguration, on 15 August (commercial operation from 17 August), of the Le Pont-Le Brassus line, which serves notably Le Lieu and Le Sentier and completes the connection of the valley to the Swiss railway network.

1900. Le Sentier is recognised as an official fraction of the commune of Le Chenit by decree of the Grand Conseil (17 November) and becomes its chief town.

1904. L'Orient is in turn recognised as a communal fraction (9 May).

1908. Le Brassus obtains the same status of communal fraction (23 November).

1941-1944. During the Occupation, a network of smugglers, including the Swiss Anne-Marie Im-Hof Piguet and Fred Reymond as well as the French Victoria and Madeleine Cordier, secretly guided Jewish people through the Risoud forest towards Le Chenit, notably towards the Hôtel d'Italie and the Le Brassus railway station. The four smugglers would later be recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations".

1946 and following years. Resumption of growth and a major wave of construction in Le Sentier (apartment buildings, residential areas, factories, public facilities), driven by the post-war boom in watchmaking.

1970. Historic population peak of the commune, with 5,465 inhabitants, just before the watchmaking crisis of the 1970s emptied the valley of a significant part of its population.

1974. The village of Le Solliat, which does not have the status of communal fraction, nonetheless adopts its own flag.

1996. Opening of the Espace Horloger in Le Sentier, a museum dedicated to the history of regional watchmaking.

2000. After the watchmaking crisis, the population of Le Chenit had fallen back to 4,297 inhabitants.

2006. Dissolution of the district of La Vallée; Le Chenit joins the new district of Jura-Nord vaudois.

2007. Inauguration of the Galerie du patrimoine of the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture in Le Sentier.

2020. Opening, on 25 June, of the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, a building in the shape of a glass spiral designed by the architecture firm BIG.

22 September 2024. The citizens of Le Chenit, Le Lieu and L'Abbaye accept, in a popular vote, the principle of merging the three communes into a single one, "La Vallée de Joux".

25 November 2025. The Grand Conseil vaudois gives final approval to the merger decree of the three communes.

18 January 2026. In a consultative vote, the population of the future commune clearly rejects (1,617 no against 798 yes) the proposed coat-of-arms design, deemed too focused on watchmaking and lacking the warm colours of the former communal arms; a new design must be drawn up.

1 January 2027 (planned). Planned entry into force of the merger: Le Chenit, Le Lieu and L'Abbaye are to merge to form the new commune of La Vallée de Joux, ending the existence of the commune of Le Chenit after 381 years.

Population of Le Chenit

191

1590

309

1609

1'733

1764

2'766

1850

3'796

1900

4'604

1950

5'465

1970

4'297

2000

4'595

2020

4'603

2022

4'640

2023

Historic sites in Le Chenit

Le Sentier. Chief town of the commune since 1900, the valley's main watchmaking centre. Antoine LeCoultre founded there, in 1833, the workshop that became Jaeger-LeCoultre. The village houses the Espace Horloger, an interactive museum opened in 1996 and devoted to the history of regional watchmaking, as well as the Galerie du patrimoine of the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture, inaugurated in 2007. The village's current temple succeeds the one whose construction had already been negotiated in 1600-1610 by the founding community of Le Chenit; the exact date of the building's reconstruction could not be verified for this entry.

L'Orient. Village established on the right bank of the Orbe, recognised as a communal fraction in 1904. Long devoted to agriculture and livestock farming from the 17th century onward, it was transformed by the arrival of watchmaking manufactures, including Nouvelle Lémania (1884) and Valdar (1914), both acquired by the Swatch Group in 1999. It is today also a gateway to outdoor activities, including cross-country skiing and a night-lit ski slope.

Le Brassus. Third communal fraction of Le Chenit, recognised in 1908, the birthplace of Audemars Piguet, a manufacture founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet. Since 2020 the village has housed the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet, a building in the shape of a glass spiral designed by the Danish architecture firm BIG, tracing more than two centuries of local watchmaking history.

Le Solliat. An important village of the commune, towards the col du Marchairuz, which however never obtained the official status of communal fraction granted to Le Sentier, L'Orient and Le Brassus; it operates as a public-benefit association and adopted its own flag in 1974.

The Risoud forest (Grand Risoud). A vast forest massif straddling the French-Swiss border, renowned for its spruces, several centuries old, whose very dense, resonant wood is sought after for instrument making, notably for the soundboards of violins, guitars and pianos. Between 1941 and 1944, this forest also served as a secret passage route for Jewish people fleeing to Switzerland, an episode documented by the recognition of several local smugglers as "Righteous Among the Nations".

The historic Le Pont-Le Brassus railway line. Opened in stages, from Le Pont to Vallorbe in 1886 and then to Le Brassus on 15 August 1899, this line ended the valley's isolation and accompanied the rise of the watchmaking industry. It still serves Le Sentier and Le Brassus today, as part of the regional Travys network.

Remains in Le Chenit

On the absence of older remains. The research carried out for this entry did not make it possible to document with certainty, in the present-day territory of Le Chenit, any archaeological remains predating the Middle Ages (prehistoric habitation, Roman road or other). The oldest tangible traces found in the sources consulted date back to the 12th-century religious settlement and the progressive agricultural colonisation that followed. This point would deserve further verification with a cantonal archaeology service before final publication.

Historic boundary markers of the Risoud. Along the French-Swiss border, in the Risoud massif in the territory of Le Chenit, old boundary markers survive bearing, on one side, the fleur-de-lis of the kingdom of France and, on the other, the letters "LP" (Liberté et Patrie, the Vaud motto), alongside later markers dating from the Napoleonic era and adorned with the imperial eagle. These successive markings bear witness to several centuries of demarcation of this forest border.

The Poste des Mines. A former gendarmerie and customs post isolated in the Risoud forest, at 1,367 metres of altitude, very close to the border. It is associated with the network for rescuing Jewish people active between 1941 and 1944, with fugitives notably guided from the Combe des Cives towards Swiss crossing points in the direction of Le Brassus.

Tour Aymon (abbaye du lac de Joux). This remnant of the former abbaye du lac de Joux, founded between 1126 and 1134 and dissolved in 1536, is not located in the present-day territory of Le Chenit but in that of the neighbouring commune of L'Abbaye. It is mentioned here for context, as this abbey was the origin of the settlement of the entire valley, including the future Le Chenit.

Sources

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Le Chenit

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