Rossens

Origin of the name Rossens

The first dated written mention of the village's name goes back to 1176, in the Latinized form «Rossens». The name then went through several spelling variants over the centuries: «Rossan» in 1722, then «Rossans» in 1745, before the spelling «Rossens» was definitively fixed in 1823. No etymological explanation of the name (word origin, original meaning) could be confirmed by the reliable sources consulted: rather than put forward an unverified hypothesis, this information is left open.

Founding of Rossens

Rossens was not founded by a religious order or an identifiable figure according to the available sources: it appears as early as the 12th century as a seigneury attached to the castellany of Villarzel, which was directly subject to the bishop of Lausanne. In 1335, an agreement between the bishop and the local lords of the time, Gérard de Dizy and Agnès de Billens, granted the bishop broad prerogatives over the place, including high justice, the right of judicial appeal (the appellations) and corvée labour. The seigneury of Rossens then changed noble hands several times until the end of the Ancien Régime, with no source mentioning a distinct founding act: the village appears to have developed as an agricultural and seigneurial dependency rather than as a planned creation.

History of Rossens

1176. First dated written mention of the village, in the form «Rossens».

1335. An agreement between the bishop of Lausanne and the local lords Gérard de Dizy and Agnès de Billens grants the bishop high justice, the appellations and corvée labour over the seigneury of Rossens, dependent on the castellany of Villarzel.

1444. The bishop of Lausanne grants forest usage rights to the villages of Rossens, Sédeilles, Villarzel and Villars-Bramard.

1536. Rossens comes, along with the whole Pays de Vaud, under Bernese authority following the Bernese conquest; the village is then attached to the bailiwick of Moudon.

1591. The seigneury of Rossens passes to the Moratel family.

1622. Rossens is attached to the newly established parish of Villarzel.

1630. The seigneury passes to the Zehender family.

around 1740-1741. The village is at this time very modest: censuses of the period indicate that it had only four taxable households.

1742. The seigneury passes to the Herbort family.

1764. The village has 28 inhabitants.

1796. The Miéville family becomes owner of a house called the «château» in Rossens.

1797. Frédéric de Miéville and his brother acquire the seigneury of Rossens, which they keep during the Napoleonic wars.

1798-1803. With the fall of the Bernese Ancien Régime, Rossens is attached to the district of Moudon.

1803. Rossens joins the new district of Payerne, of which it will remain part until 2006.

1823. The spelling «Rossens» is definitively fixed.

1850. The village reaches 67 inhabitants.

1900. The village reaches its known demographic peak with 77 inhabitants.

1950. The population has fallen back to 59 inhabitants.

2000. Rossens has 46 inhabitants and joins, at the parish level, the parish of Granges. The village remains at this time very rural, with about 92% of jobs linked to the agricultural sector in 2005.

1 July 2006. Rossens loses its status as an independent municipality: it merges with Villarzel and Sédeilles to form the new municipality of Villarzel.

Population of Rossens

Population of Rossens

1741	4 households (tax census, not a count of inhabitants)
1764	28
1850	67
1900	77
1950	59
2000	46

Historic sites in Rossens

The «château» of Rossens. It is a bourgeois house so designated in the old sources, and not a fortified stronghold. Owned by the Miéville family from 1796, it was kept by Frédéric de Miéville and his brother during the Napoleonic wars. It should not be confused with the fortified château of the neighbouring chief town of Villarzel, which had its own 13th-century tower.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Rossens (VD) »
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Villarzel »
• Wikipédia, « Rossens (Vaud) »
• Wikipédia, « Villarzel »
• Wikipedia (EN), « Rossens, Vaud »
• Commune de Villarzel, « Histoire de Rossens »
• Commune de Villarzel, « Balade historique »
• Association culturelle Villarzel800

Other villages near Rossens

• Villarzel (VD)
• Sédeilles (VD)
• Cerniaz (VD)
• Villars-Bramard (VD)
• Marnand (VD)