Pompaples
Origin of the name Pompaples
The place is mentioned in 1049 in the form «Pons Papuli», then «Pompaploz» in the 14th century and «Pompapuli» at the end of the 15th century. The etymology remains uncertain: the name is linked either to Papulus, a 6th-century bishop, or to the nearby poplars (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Pompaples
The sources consulted do not describe the founding of the village. Mentioned from 1049, Pompaples was in the Middle Ages a fief of the Grandson family, then of the Gingins from 1542, and belonged to the barony of La Sarraz until its break-up in 1626. Separated from the estate of Orny in 1645, the lordship of Pompaples became the appanage of a cadet branch of the house of Gingins. The place owes much of its development to water: in 1542 the building of a new Bornu mill, with a forge and a trip hammer, made Pompaples the «middle of the world».
History of Pompaples
1049. First written mention, in the form «Pons Papuli».
Middle Ages. Pompaples is a fief of the Grandson family and belongs to the barony of La Sarraz.
14th century. The name appears in the form «Pompaploz».
1536-1798. Under Bernese rule, Pompaples belongs to the bailiwick of Romainmôtier.
1542. The fief passes to the Gingins; a new Bornu mill with a forge and a trip hammer is built, making Pompaples the «middle of the world».
1550. The village has 14 hearths.
1626. Break-up of the barony of La Sarraz.
1645. The lordship of Pompaples is separated from the estate of Orny and becomes the appanage of a cadet branch of the Gingins.
1658. Founding of the Abbaye des Maréchaux, a military society of the village.
1697-1798. The lordship falls to officers in foreign service, for whom it provides a small landed income.
1743. Founding of the Abbaye verte, a second military society of the village.
1791. The two societies adopt a common flag, which later inspires the municipal coat of arms.
1798-2006. Pompaples belongs to the district of Cossonay.
1923. Adoption of the coat of arms: golden pincers and hammer on a green and red field.
1935-1948. The theologian Lydia von Auw is chaplain at the Saint-Loup hospital.
2006. The Saint-Loup hospital is the largest employer in the former district of Cossonay.
2008. With the new territorial organisation of Vaud, Pompaples joins the district of Morges.
Population of Pompaples
| 1550 | 14 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 180 |
| 1798 | 152 |
| 1850 | 309 |
| 1900 | 349 |
| 1950 | 550 |
| 2000 | 761 |
| 2025 | 917 |
Historic sites in Pompaples
The middle of the world and the Bornu mill. Near the Bornu mill, about 300 metres from the village, a small pond forms a watershed: on one side the waters reach the North Sea via the Nozon, the Orbe and the Rhine; on the other, the Mediterranean via the Venoge, Lake Geneva and the Rhône. The new mill built in 1542, with a forge and a trip hammer, earned the place its nickname of «middle of the world».
Saint-Loup hospital. Established by pastor Germond, the Saint-Loup hospital, together with the deaconess institution, has deeply shaped the life of the municipality; it is now part of the Établissements hospitaliers du Nord vaudois and in 2006 was the largest employer in the former district of Cossonay.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Pompaples »
- Commune de Pompaples, « Présentation »
- Texte et image, « Le Milieu du monde (Pompaples) »
- Wikipédia, « Pompaples »
- Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Pompaples
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