Prahins
Origin of the name Prahins
The name Prahins first appears in a written document dated 1186, in the old form "Prehes". A local source places this first mention in 1187, in a communication from the bishop of Lausanne, Rogerius, who cites as a witness a certain "Cono de Prehens": this small discrepancy of date and spelling between the sources could not be settled with certainty and would deserve further cross-checking. The precise origin of the place name (root and meaning) is not reliably documented in the sources consulted.
Founding of Prahins
Prahins was not founded by a single act nor by an identifiable lord or religious order: the place formed gradually, toward the end of the Middle Ages, out of seven distinct fiefs that had belonged to various Vaud and Fribourg families, spread across the village and several neighbouring hamlets. It was only in the 18th century that these scattered lands were brought together into a single seigneury, through successive acquisitions by the Loys de Villardin family. By 1782, Prahins thus formed only a single seigneury. The inhabitants then bought their freedom from the lords in 1796, for the sum of 4587 batzen and 10 sols, information that comes from a single source and would remain to be cross-checked.
History of Prahins
1186. First attested written mention of the place, in the old form "Prehes".
Late Middle Ages. The territory of Prahins consists of seven distinct fiefs, belonging to Vaud and Fribourg families.
1536-1798. Under the Ancien Régime, Prahins belongs to the bailiwick of Yverdon.
18th century. The Loys de Villardin family gradually brings the seven fiefs together into a single seigneury through successive acquisitions.
1782. Prahins now forms only a single seigneury.
1796. The inhabitants buy their freedom from the lords for 4587 batzen and 10 sols (information to be cross-checked).
1798-2006. Prahins is part of the district of Yverdon.
1884. Founding of a dairy cooperative (creamery) in the village.
1890. Construction of the village school.
1900. Construction of the church, the work of the architect Charles Bonjour in the Heimatstil style, and construction of a restaurant.
1904. Introduction of running water into the houses of the village.
1910. The village reaches its historic demographic maximum with 183 inhabitants.
1920. First land consolidation of the agricultural land.
1960. Second land consolidation.
1970. Lowest point of the village's demography in the 20th century, with 79 inhabitants.
1981. Construction of a bypass road around the village.
31 August 2006. Dissolution of the district of Yverdon; Prahins joins the new district of Jura-Nord vaudois.
2002. Closure of the village post office.
2005. Closure of the communal slaughterhouse and burying of the power grid underground.
1 January 2012. Merger of the municipality of Prahins with that of Donneloye, giving rise to the present-day municipality of Donneloye; Prahins loses its status as an independent municipality and becomes a village of this new entity.
Population of Prahins
| 1803 | 112 |
| 1850 | 146 |
| 1900 | 175 |
| 1910 | 183 |
| 1950 | 128 |
| 1970 | 79 |
| 2000 | 126 |
| 2010 | 125 |
| 2011 | 132 |
Historic sites in Prahins
The Prahins church (1900). Religious building constructed in 1900 by the architect Charles Bonjour in the Heimatstil style, characteristic of early-20th-century Swiss regionalist architecture.
The school. School building erected in 1890, a witness to the communal life of the village before the merger with Donneloye.
The Yvuez farm. Farm that retains a former riding arena, dating from the period when Prahins was regarded, according to a source from 1867, as one of the wealthiest villages in the region. This information comes from a single source and would deserve to be cross-checked.
The Prahins street-village. The built ensemble of the village, laid out as a street-village along the axis connecting the Yverdon-Moudon and Morges-Payerne roads, is listed in the Swiss federal inventory of built heritage sites of national importance to be protected.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (HLS/DHS) - Article "Prahins"
- Commune de Donneloye - Histoire de Prahins
- Wikipédia (anglais) - Prahins
- Wikipédia (français) - Prahins
- Canton de Vaud - Décret sur la fusion des communes de Donneloye et Prahins (5 avril 2011)
Other villages near Prahins
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