Oron-la-Ville

Canton of Vaud · District: Lavaux-Oron · About 1'458 inhabitants in 2011, just before the 2012 merger that gave rise to the municipality of Oron.

Part of the municipality of Oron

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

Origin of the name Oron-la-Ville

The site appears as early as Roman times as a staging post on the road linking Vevey to Avenches, mentioned around 280 under the forms Uromago and Viromagus in the Antonine Itinerary and on the Peutinger Table. The medieval name Auronum, at the origin of the current form, is attested in 1018 when King Rudolph III of Burgundy restored part of the land of Oron to the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune; the old German name of the locality was Orung. A donation to that same abbey, known only through a later copy whose original is said to date from 515, would push the first mention of the land of Oron back even further, but this dating remains to be cross-checked for lack of a preserved original document. The Celtic etymology sometimes put forward (uro, «bull», and magos, «field» then «market») is confirmed by only one source and must likewise be cross-checked.

Founding of Oron-la-Ville

Oron-la-Ville owes its existence to no single founding act nor to any identifiable individual: the locality was born in stages, first as a relay station on the Roman road Vevey-Avenches, then as the centre of an agricultural «land» given to the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. In the Middle Ages, the abbey delegated local authority to vidomnes, the lords of Oron, who had a château built to establish their lordship (to be cross-checked: one source places the initial construction at the end of the 12th century, another in the 13th century with a major reconstruction at the end of the 15th century). The lordship came under the suzerainty of the House of Savoy in the 13th century and again, according to a mention from 1381 to be cross-checked, before the extinction of the Oron line in 1388, which passed the fief to the county of Gruyère and then, in 1555-1556, to Berne.

History of Oron-la-Ville

around 280. The site is mentioned as a Roman staging post under the names Uromago and Viromagus, on the road linking Vevey to Avenches, in the Antonine Itinerary and on the Peutinger Table.

515 (to be cross-checked). A donation to the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, known only through a later copy, is said to already mention the land of Oron; the original is not preserved and the dating remains to be confirmed.

1018. King Rudolph III of Burgundy restores part of the land of Oron, then named Auronum, to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.

1141. Oron is mentioned as a parish.

end of the 12th century. The lords of Oron, vidomnes of the abbey of Saint-Maurice, have the château built that will become the centre of their lordship (to be cross-checked: another source dates the initial construction to the 13th century).

1228. The parish of Oron depends on that of Châtillens.

13th century. The lordship of Oron reaches its apogee under the lords of Oron, who hold it as a fief from the House of Savoy (to be cross-checked regarding the exact chronology: a separate mention places a Savoy fief in 1381).

1310. The lordship of Oron encompasses Oron-la-Ville and the surrounding lands.

1317. The d'Illens family cedes various rights over the lordship to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.

1330. Half of the château of the lords of Oron is held as a fief from the abbey of Saint-Maurice, which holds part of the lordship.

1388. The line of the lords of Oron dies out; the lordship passes to the county of Gruyère.

1537. The jurisdictional conflicts between the abbey of Saint-Maurice and the local authorities die down.

1555-1556. Berne acquires the lordship of Oron, which had by then passed from hand to hand since the extinction of the counts of Gruyère.

1557-1798. Oron becomes the seat of a third-class Bernese bailiwick, established in the château; 43 bailiffs succeed one another there until 1798.

1671-1675. The abbey of Saint-Maurice relinquishes its last rights over Oron in favour of Berne, as part of an exchange known as the «Exchange of Oron».

1678. A Reformed church with an ovoid floor plan, the work of Abraham Dünz the Elder, replaces the old Saint-Maurice chapel, whose nave belonged to the lords of Oron and whose choir belonged to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.

1733. The town hall is built; a monthly market is attested the same year (to be cross-checked, isolated piece of information).

1798. The population of the region takes part in the Bourla-Papey; the last Bernese bailiff leaves the château as the Ancien Régime collapses.

1798-1803. The region goes through the Helvetic period, attached to the canton of Léman.

1801. The château, having been sold, is temporarily turned into a prison before being taken over by the Roberti family (1801-1870).

1803. Oron-la-Ville is separated from Oron-le-Châtel and becomes the capital of the new district of Oron, in the canton of Vaud.

1823. A school is built in Oron-la-Ville (to be cross-checked, isolated piece of information).

1870-1934. The château is acquired by the family of Adolphe Gaiffe, who assembles there an important library of 18th-century French literature (about 17'000 to 18'000 volumes depending on the source, figure to be cross-checked).

1934-1936. The château is bought back by the Association pour la conservation du château d'Oron (ACCO) and listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance.

1980s. Oron-la-Ville, until then essentially rural, turns into a residential locality and sees numerous small businesses set up.

2006. The district of Oron is abolished and replaced by the district of Lavaux-Oron.

2012. Oron-la-Ville merges with Bussigny-sur-Oron, Châtillens, Chesalles-sur-Oron, Écoteaux, Oron-le-Châtel, Palézieux, Les Tavernes, Les Thioleyres and Vuibroye to form the new municipality of Oron, of which it becomes the capital (total population of the new municipality around 5'077 inhabitants in 2013, to be cross-checked).

2022 (to be cross-checked). The municipality of Essertes is said to be joining the municipality of Oron in turn, according to an isolated source still to be confirmed.

Population of Oron-la-Ville

163

1764

201

1798

210

1803

325

1850

568

1900

747

1950

1'224

2000

1'391

2010

1'458

2011

Historic sites in Oron-la-Ville

Oron Castle. Built, according to the sources, at the end of the 12th century by the lords of Oron (another source places the initial construction in the 13th century, with a major reconstruction at the end of the 15th century; point to be cross-checked), the château has overlooked the region for over nine hundred years. The centre of the lordship of Oron and then the seat of the Bernese bailiwick from 1557 to 1798 (43 bailiffs succeeded one another there), it then passed to the Roberti and later Gaiffe families, the latter assembling there a library of 18th-century French literature comprising several thousand old volumes, some of them unique copies in the world. Bought back in 1934-1936 by the Association pour la conservation du château d'Oron, it is listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance and today houses historical apartments, collections and a library open to the public on the occasion of exhibitions, concerts and visits. Important note: the château lies administratively within the territory of the former neighbouring municipality of Oron-le-Châtel, not that of Oron-la-Ville; it nevertheless remains historically and symbolically inseparable from Oron-la-Ville, the regional capital that bears its name.

Oron-la-Ville Reformed church. Built in 1678 to plans by Abraham Dünz the Elder, this Reformed church with an ovoid floor plan replaces a medieval chapel dedicated to Saint Maurice, whose nave belonged to the lords of Oron and whose choir belonged to the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. The building, fitted with a carved pulpit of the period, is listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance.

Town Hall. Built in 1733, the town hall of Oron-la-Ville reflects the administrative role of the locality, confirmed a few decades later by its status as capital of the district of Oron from 1803.

Remains in Oron-la-Ville

Remains of the Roman station of Uromago. The locality occupies the site of a Roman staging post on the road linking Vevey to Avenches, mentioned around 280 in the Antonine Itinerary and on the Peutinger Table. The archaeological finds associated with this Roman occupation are said to be limited to column drums and a few coins, according to an isolated source still to be cross-checked.

Saint-Maurice chapel (incorporated remain). The old medieval Saint-Maurice chapel, whose nave belonged to the lords of Oron and whose choir belonged to the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, was entirely replaced by the present church in 1678; no visible remain of it survives today apart from the historical record of its location.

Sources

Other villages near Oron-la-Ville

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