Mies

Origin of the name Mies

First attested name in 1345: « Miez ». It has been suggested that the name comes from the village's position « halfway » between Geneva and Nyon, or between Versoix and Coppet, but this explanation is not established (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Mies

The site has been occupied since the Late Neolithic, with a lakeside settlement at Les Crénées, on the lakeshore; an Early Medieval necropolis has also been identified. The village, a street village on the road from Geneva to Saint-Cergue, has no known founder. Its history has been intertwined with that of the lordship of Coppet since 1345. An independent confraternity, attested from 1395, reveals an early community of inhabitants that sought in the 15th century to free itself from serfdom.

History of Mies

Late Neolithic. Lakeside settlement at Les Crénées.

Early Middle Ages. Necropolis.

1345. First mention in the form « Miez »; the village is linked to the lordship of Coppet.

1395. An independent confraternity is attested.

15th century. The community of inhabitants seeks to free itself from serfdom.

1518. A chapel is built, belonging to the parish of Commugny and soon deconsecrated.

1536-1798. Mies belongs to the Bernese bailiwick of Nyon.

1633. The village has 16 hearths (households).

1736. School shared with Tannay.

1858. The Lausanne-Geneva railway line opens.

1887. A railway halt opens.

1905. A shipyard opens.

1912. The school building is built by the architect Maurice Braillard.

after 1945. Transition from farming (market gardening, wine-growing) to a residential municipality.

2000. More than half of the working population works in Geneva.

Population of Mies

Population of Mies

1633	16 hearths (households)
1803	143
1850	162
1900	223
1950	491
1980	908
2000	1'499
2025	2'194

Historic sites in Mies

Mies school. Mies has shared its school with Tannay since 1736; the school building was built in 1912 by the architect Maurice Braillard.

Gouille Marion and Les Crénées nature reserves. Two nature reserves on the municipal territory; the Les Crénées site is also home to a Neolithic lakeside settlement.

Remains in Mies

Les Crénées lakeside settlement. Remains of a Late Neolithic lakeshore settlement.

Pierre à Pény. Erratic boulder bearing cup marks (small hollows carved by humans).

Early Medieval necropolis. Burials attesting to occupation of the site before the first written mention in 1345.

Chapel of 1518. Chapel belonging to the parish of Commugny, deconsecrated soon after it was built.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Mies »
• Wikipedia (anglais), « Mies, Switzerland »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Mies

• Tannay (VD)
• Commugny (VD)
• Coppet (VD)
• Chavannes-des-Bois (VD)
• Founex (VD)