L'Isle

Canton of Vaud · District: Morges · 1'106 inhabitants as of 31 December 2025 (permanent resident population).

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

Origin of the name L'Isle

The name of the village comes from the Latin insula, island: at this spot the Venoge, which rises within the municipality, splits into several branches in a flat, marshy area, isolating small tongues of land surrounded by water. The recorded early forms are «Chablie» in 1216, «Insula de Chablie» in 1299, the first written appearance of the word «Isle», and «Lylaz» in 1324. «Chablie» refers to the quarter of Chaby, or Chabiez, on the left bank of the Venoge, where the old parish church of Saint-Pierre stood. Some sources place the origin of the settlement as early as the 11th century, but this is a hypothesis rather than a fact established by a written record. The inhabitants are called Islois and Isloises.

Founding of L'Isle

The founding of the village, as it is generally recounted, dates back to 1291: the lord of Cossonay is said to have bought from a certain Guy de Chabiez the land known as Festaz in order to establish a new settlement there, on the left bank of the Venoge, opposite the older hamlet and parish of Chabiez. This operation forms part of the broader movement of founding boroughs and «new towns» that the lords of the Pays de Vaud carried out in the 13th and 14th centuries to group the rural population together and develop their seigneurial revenues, markets and bourgeoisie rights in particular. The medieval village then developed into several distinct quarters organized around the branches of the river: la Ville, le Château and Chaby (or Chabiez) on the left bank, l'Avalanche on the right bank. The lordship of L'Isle is established in 1291 or 1292 by the Cossonay family; it then passes to the House of Savoy (1414), to the Glérens and then the Dortans (1472 and 1498) and to the Chandieu (1614). In 1431, the village obtained its own franchises and became the seat of an independent lordship. Like the whole of the Pays de Vaud, L'Isle came under Bernese administration during the conquest of 1536 and was then incorporated into the bailiwick of Morges (1536-1798), then into the district of Cossonay from 1798 to 2006. The municipality also includes the hamlets of Villars-Bozon, La Coudre and Les Mousses. Agriculture predominates; L'Isle has had industries making fire pumps, textiles, military equipment and watch parts, and today has a cheese dairy, gravel pits and an organic fish farm.

History of L'Isle

11th century (hypothesis). Possible origin of the settlement, around the former parish of Chabiez; this dating remains a hypothesis put forward by some sources rather than a fact confirmed by a written record of that time.

1216. First known written mention of the place, in the form «Chablie», which then designated the hamlet and parish of Chabiez, on the left bank of the Venoge.

1291-1292. The Cossonay family establish the lordship of L'Isle; the lord of Cossonay buys from Guy de Chabiez the land of Festaz to found a new settlement there; this is the date traditionally taken for the founding of the village of L'Isle proper.

1299. First written appearance of the compound name «Insula de Chablie», which will give the village its present name.

1324. The place is mentioned in the form «Lylaz».

1414. The lordship passes to the House of Savoy.

1431. The village obtains its own franchises and becomes the seat of an independent lordship.

1472-1498. The lordship passes to the Glérens (1472), then to the Dortans (1498).

1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud: L'Isle comes under Bernese administration and is incorporated into the bailiwick of Morges.

1614. The lordship passes to the de Chandieu family.

17th century. The old church of Saint-Pierre, in the Chaby quarter, is abandoned.

1693-1696. Charles de Chandieu, a Vaud officer in the service of Louis XIV, has the château rebuilt on the site of an older seigneurial residence. The works are completed in 1696 and the family moves in the following year.

around 1710. Creation of a French-style garden around the château: ponds, terraces and tree-lined avenues fed by the waters of the Venoge.

1732-1734. Construction of the present temple, which replaces the old parish church of Saint-Pierre de Chabiez, partly Romanesque and by then dilapidated.

1798. L'Isle is attached to the district of Cossonay, to which it belongs until 2006.

1810. The château is sold to François-Louis Roulet, of Neuchâtel.

19th century. The château then passes, through marriage, to the Cornaz family, of Montet-Cudrefin.

1876 or 1877. The municipality of L'Isle buys back the château for 170 000 francs in order to house the communal administration and the school classes there. The sources consulted do not agree exactly on the year: some indicate 1876, another specifies 20 January 1877.

1896. Opening of the L'Isle-Apples-Morges railway, which connects the village to the regional rail network.

1941. The château is listed as a historic monument and recognized as a cultural property of national importance.

1951-1954, 1964-1967 and 1987. Successive restoration campaigns of the château.

1999-2009. The population of the municipality grows by about 12% in ten years, driven mainly by the arrival of new residents.

31 August 2006. The former district of Cossonay, of which L'Isle was part, is dissolved. From 1 September 2006, the village becomes part of the new district of Morges, as part of the territorial reorganization of the districts of the canton of Vaud.

2026. L'Isle remains an independent municipality of the district of Morges; no merger with a neighbouring municipality has been identified as underway or announced to date.

Population of L'Isle

691

1798

686

1803

862

1850

865

1900

738

1950

666

1970

858

2000

975

2009

1'064

2020

1'093

2022

1'087

2023

1'106

2025

Historic sites in L'Isle

L'Isle Castle. The château is the best-known monument in the village, often nicknamed the little Versailles of Vaud. It was rebuilt between 1693 and 1696 for Charles de Chandieu, a Vaud officer in the service of Louis XIV, on the site of an older seigneurial residence. The sources consulted for this research consistently attribute the building's plans to Louis XIV's architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, famous notably for Versailles; the execution on site is said to have been entrusted to architects from Neuchâtel, first Jonas Favre then his successor Antoine Favre. None of the sources consulted mentions an architect named Jean Le Vau: this could be a confusion with Louis Le Vau, one of the architects of Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles of the previous generation, with no documented link to this Vaud building project. This point is flagged explicitly rather than repeating an attribution that could not be verified. The château is considered the first regional example of French classicism in Suisse romande. A French-style garden with ponds, terraces and tree-lined avenues fed by the Venoge was laid out around 1710. The residence then passed through several families: it was sold in 1810 to François-Louis Roulet, of Neuchâtel, then passed by marriage to the Cornaz family, of Montet-Cudrefin. The municipality of L'Isle bought it back for 170 000 francs to house the communal administration and school classes there; the sources do not agree exactly on the year of the buy-back, between 1876 and January 1877. Listed as a historic monument in 1941 and recognized as a cultural property of national importance, the château has undergone several restoration campaigns (1951-1954, 1964-1967, 1987). It today houses the 7th- and 8th-grade classes, the Communal Council chamber, the administration offices, and serves as a venue for cultural events; a period drawing room and dining room, the only originally furnished rooms, are opened during events. Every year, on the first weekend of September, a flea market brings together about a hundred exhibitors and around 15 000 visitors in the château park.

Temple of L'Isle. Built between 1732 and 1734, the present temple replaces the old parish church of Saint-Pierre de Chabiez, partly Romanesque, which had become dilapidated and abandoned. It faces the château, on the other side of the pond fed by the Venoge. It was built by Guillaume and Jean-Pierre Delagrange, in the Avalanche quarter.

The four quarters of the medieval borough. The medieval village developed around the different branches of the Venoge, into four distinct quarters: la Ville, le Château and Chaby (or Chabiez), on the left bank, and l'Avalanche, on the right bank. This organization into several hubs separated by water is directly linked to the origin of the village's name.

L'Isle railway station. The L'Isle-Apples-Morges railway, opened in 1896, helped end the village's isolation at the end of the 19th century. The station still exists today.

Remains in L'Isle

Archaeological remains. At La Coudre, remains of bronze casting predating the La Tène period have been found; Roman burials have been uncovered near the château and Burgundian burials at the place called En Potailaz.

Gothic portal of the former church of Saint-Pierre de Chabiez. When the old parish church of Saint-Pierre de Chabiez, partly Romanesque, was abandoned in favour of the new temple built between 1732 and 1734, an element of its late Gothic-style portal was preserved and reintegrated into the present building. It is today the most directly identifiable remnant of the old church that gave its name to the hamlet of Chabiez, mentioned as early as 1216.

Foundations of the former seigneurial residence. The present château, rebuilt between 1693 and 1696, was built on the site of a seigneurial residence predating the de Chandieu family. The sources consulted mention remains of this earlier construction without further specifying its nature or exact dating; this archaeological point remains to be documented more precisely.

Sources

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near L'Isle

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