Les Clées

Origin of the name Les Clées

The name is attested in 1134 in the form «Clees». Its origin is not explained in the sources consulted.

Founding of Les Clées

Les Clées developed at the foot of a castle built on a rocky spur overlooking the Orbe, which controlled the road over the Jougne pass, a major Jura crossing between Pontarlier and Lausanne, by means of a toll. The castle already existed in 1134, since Pope Innocent II then forbade, in vain, its rebuilding because of its bad reputation. In the Middle Ages, Les Clées was a town, granted franchises by the Count of Savoy around 1272; it owed its prosperity to the traffic over the Jougne pass. The town was the centre of a seigneury comprising eight other villages, to which the Vallée de Joux was attached from the 15th century until 1566. Its founder is not known from the sources consulted.

History of Les Clées

1134. First mention, in the form «Clees»; Pope Innocent II forbids, in vain, the rebuilding of the castle because of its bad reputation.

around 1150. The castle is rebuilt despite the papal ban (to be cross-checked).

1232. The Duke of Burgundy Hugh IV enfeoffs the seigneury to the Count of Geneva William II.

1237. Hugh IV renounces his overlordship in favour of Jean de Chalon, who is unable to hold on there.

1260. Defeated by Peter of Savoy, the Count of Geneva cedes Les Clées to him.

around 1272. The Count of Savoy grants franchises to the town of Les Clées.

1272. Count Philip I of Savoy and the prior of Romainmôtier conclude an agreement entrusting the protection of the convent and its land to the castle of Les Clées.

1326. Louis of Savoy grants the weighhouse of Les Clées for weighing the bales of wool in transit to Italy (to be cross-checked).

14th century. A chapel, a daughter church of Lignerolle, is attested.

15th century-1566. The Vallée de Joux is attached to the seigneury of Les Clées.

22 October 1475. During the Burgundian Wars, the Confederates take and destroy the town and the castle; the garrison of the castellan Pierre de Cossonay is massacred. The decline becomes irreversible.

late 15th-early 18th century. An ironworks and a refining forge are in operation.

1536. Bernese conquest: Les Clées belongs to the bailiwick of Yverdon; the castellany has three courts of justice, one of them at Les Clées.

1738-1740. Rebuilding of the chapel, an annex of Lignerolle since the Reformation.

1764. The town, now insignificant, has only a council of six members; construction of the bridge near the castle (to be cross-checked).

1798. The municipality is attached to the district of Orbe; the ruined castle becomes national property.

1831. The castle is bought by an Englishman, Walter Halliday, who makes the keep habitable (to be cross-checked).

1990. The opening of the Lausanne-Vallorbe motorway cuts the municipality in two.

2003. The castle is recognised as a cultural property of national significance (to be cross-checked).

Population of Les Clées

Population of Les Clées

1764	149
1798	158
1850	222
1900	228
1950	148
1970	115
2000	154
2025	195

Historic sites in Les Clées

Château des Clées. Fortress on a rocky spur above the Orbe, which controlled the road over the Jougne pass by means of a toll. Destroyed by the Confederates on 22 October 1475 and left in ruins, only its keep was restored in the 19th century. Cultural property of national significance.

Bridge over the Orbe. Bridge near the castle, at an old crossing point in the Orbe gorges, dated 1764 (to be cross-checked).

Temple. Former chapel attested in the 14th century, a daughter church and then an annex of Lignerolle, rebuilt from 1738 to 1740.

Orbe gorges. Deeply cut natural site, rich in potholes hollowed out of the rock, crossed by hiking trails.

Remains in Les Clées

Ruins of the town and castle. Of the small medieval town and its castle destroyed in 1475, only the keep, restored in the 19th century, and ruins remain; the castle with its ruins and the village are a site of national importance in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites (ISOS).

Legends of Les Clées

The «Bourdons». The inhabitants are nicknamed the «Bourdons» (bumblebees), because of the situation of the municipality, nestled in a hollow like a bumblebees' nest (to be cross-checked).

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Clées, Les »
• Château des Clées, « History »
• Wikipédia, « Les Clées »
• Wikipédia, « Château des Clées »
• Wikipedia (en), « Les Clées »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Localities of the municipality with a page

• La Russille

Other villages near Les Clées

• La Russille (VD)
• Lignerolle (VD)
• Bretonnières (VD)
• L'Abergement (VD)
• Agiez (VD)