Malapalud

Canton of Vaud · District: Gros-de-Vaud · About 90 inhabitants at the time of the 2009 merger (last known commune figure: 92 inhabitants in 2008); Malapalud is today a hamlet within the commune of Assens.

Part of the municipality of Assens

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

Origin of the name Malapalud

"Malapalud" is first attested in 1429 (known through a certified copy of 1776), already in this form. The name breaks down into two Latin elements well identified in the place-name studies of French-speaking Switzerland: "mala", the feminine of the Latin adjective "malus" ("bad"), and "palus, paludis" ("marsh, swamp"), which gave the Old French forms "palu" and "palud". The literal meaning is therefore "bad marsh" or "impassable swamp", probably referring to wet land that was hard to farm on the Gros-de-Vaud plateau, watered by the Talent. This pattern, combining the adjective "mala" with a geographical term to describe an inhospitable place, is common in the medieval place names of French-speaking Switzerland. This is the etymology given by the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland; no competing etymology was found in the sources consulted.

Founding of Malapalud

As with most hamlets of the Gros-de-Vaud, no founding charter has survived and Malapalud has no identifiable founder: the place probably formed gradually, between the High Middle Ages and the 15th century, as a farming hamlet attached to the lordship of Bottens. The Cistercian abbey of Montheron owned land there, pointing to agricultural development partly linked to regional monastic holdings, but no source allows us to state that the abbey directly created the village (to be cross-checked). The first written attestation of the place name dates only from 1429.

History of Malapalud

Middle Ages. The place belongs to the lordship of Bottens. The Cistercian abbey of Montheron owns land there.

1429. First known written mention of "Malapalud", preserved in a certified copy of 1776 (the 1429 original is not directly accessible in the sources consulted; to be cross-checked).

1475-1476. After the Burgundian Wars, the region comes under the joint rule of Bern and Fribourg; Malapalud becomes part of the common bailiwick of Orbe-Échallens, which lasts until 1798.

1536. Bern imposes the Protestant Reformation in the Pays de Vaud. As part of the common bailiwick of Orbe-Échallens, jointly administered with Catholic Fribourg, Malapalud remains Catholic, as a dependency of the parish of Assens.

1798. Fall of the Ancien Régime and creation of the Helvetic Republic. Malapalud joins the new district of Échallens (1798-2006).

1947. Founding of a village dairy, which shapes the local farming economy for several decades.

2000. The territory still has seven farms; the village keeps its rural character, away from the main roads and the railway.

31 August 2006. Dissolution of the district of Échallens; Malapalud joins the new district of Gros-de-Vaud.

1 January 2009. Malapalud merges with the commune of Assens and loses its status as an independent commune (last commune census: 92 inhabitants in 2008).

2012. Liquidation of the dairy founded in 1947.

2014. Closure of the village sawmill and timber business.

1 July 2021. The commune of Assens (formed by the 2009 merger with Malapalud) in turn merges with Bioley-Orjulaz to form the present-day commune of Assens, which since then comprises the former villages of Assens, Bioley-Orjulaz and Malapalud.

Population of Malapalud

11 hearths (households, not individually counted inhabitants)

1764

1803

1850

1900

1950

1980

2000

2004

2008

Historic sites in Malapalud

The rural hamlet of Malapalud. Located on the left bank of the Talent, between Assens and Échallens, away from the main traffic routes and the railway, Malapalud kept its character as a farming hamlet of the Gros-de-Vaud until the 2009 merger, with its traditional farmhouses and clustered rural buildings.

The former dairy. A village dairy was founded in 1947 and operated for several decades before being liquidated in 2012; it bears witness to the local farming economy, centred on dairy farming, which still had seven active farms in 2000.

The former sawmill. A sawmill and timber business complemented the village economy until their closure in 2014, marking the end of the last craft activities specific to the former commune.

The parish church of Assens. Malapalud never had its own church: the village was attached as a dependency to the parish of Assens, sharing its religious life, which remained Catholic after the Reformation of 1536 despite Bernese (Protestant) rule over the region.

Remains in Malapalud

No archaeological remains recorded in the sources consulted. The available sources do not, to date, report any archaeological remains (prehistoric, Gallo-Roman or medieval buildings) on the territory of Malapalud. The oldest known trace of the place remains its first written mention in 1429. The absence of any mention does not prove the absence of remains in the ground, but reflects the current state of accessible documentation (to be cross-checked with more specialised cantonal archaeological inventories).

Sources

Other villages near Malapalud

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