Saint-Sulpice
Origin of the name Saint-Sulpice
First written mention in 1228 in the form « Sanctus Surpiscius ». The village takes its name from its church, dedicated to Saint Sulpicius and built in the 11th-12th centuries. The inhabitants are nicknamed the « Serpelious », a nickname probably linked to the pruning knives used for the grape harvest (to be cross-checked); the local newspaper, founded in 1975, is called « Le Serpeliou ».
Founding of Saint-Sulpice
The area was inhabited long before the present village: Neolithic and Bronze Age pile-dwelling sites on the lakeshore, Bronze Age and La Tène burials, then the extensive cemeteries of En Pétoleyres (La Tène and early Middle Ages). The medieval village formed around the church of Saint-Sulpice. Around 1085 the nobles of Bex gave their lands to the Benedictine abbey of Molesme (Burgundy); between 1105 and 1111 Gérold de Faucigny, Bishop of Lausanne, approved the foundation of a small priory and confirmed the donations, including the church and the tithe. No founder of the village itself is named in the sources consulted. Long a modest farming and wine-growing municipality, Saint-Sulpice became a residential municipality thanks to the proximity of Lausanne, the A1 motorway and the university campus.
History of Saint-Sulpice
Neolithic and Bronze Age. Three pile-dwelling sites near Dorigny, the landing stage and the mouth of the Venoge; Bronze Age and La Tène burials at En Champagny and towards l'Ochettaz.
450-280 BC. La Tène cemetery of En Pétoleyres (87 graves uncovered from 1912 to 1914 by Julien Gruaz).
5th-7th centuries. Early medieval cemetery of En Pétoleyres, including Burgundian graves (more than 200 burials excavated from 1910 to 1912).
11th-12th centuries. Construction of the Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Sulpicius, which gives the village its name.
around 1085. The nobles of Bex give their lands to the Benedictine abbey of Molesme.
1105-1111. Gérold de Faucigny, Bishop of Lausanne, approves the foundation of a small priory and confirms the donations, including the church and the tithe.
1228. First written mention of the name: « Sanctus Surpiscius ».
14th century. Decorative and figurative wall paintings in the church (second quarter of the century).
1402. 58 hearths; the Venoge mill is mentioned.
1430. The prior obtains permission to free his serfs.
1456. The priory is henceforth run by commendatory priors.
1536. Bernese conquest: the priory is secularised, its property passes to the City of Lausanne and the conventual buildings become a farming estate, the « seigneurie de Saint-Sulpice ». The municipality belongs to the bailiwick of Lausanne until 1798.
around 1632. The paper mill near the Venoge is abandoned.
1740. Start of the earliest surviving municipal registers.
1748. The church nave, used as a barn and poorly maintained, is demolished.
1798. Saint-Sulpice is attached to the district of Morges.
1813. Opening of a cloth factory, in operation until the 1930s; the present town hall is built in 1818.
1898-1903. Restoration of the church, which regains its Romanesque appearance (a society for its conservation and restoration was founded in 1888).
1958. The welding company Castolin settles at En Champagny; the A1 motorway (1964) and the university campus then fuel strong growth.
2008. The new Vaud districts come into force: Saint-Sulpice belongs to the Ouest lausannois district.
Population of Saint-Sulpice
| 1402 | 58 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 135 |
| 1850 | 255 |
| 1900 | 295 |
| 1950 | 792 |
| 2000 | 2'914 |
| 2025 | 5'193 |
Historic sites in Saint-Sulpice
Romanesque church of Saint-Sulpice. Former church of the Benedictine priory, dedicated to Saint Sulpicius and Saint Mary Magdalene, attached around 1100 to Molesme Abbey. It retains a chevet with three apses decorated with Lombard bands, a bell tower whose upper part was rebuilt in tufa in the second half of the 12th century, and 14th-century wall paintings. Its nave was demolished in 1748; the building was restored in 1898-1903 and again in 1973-1974.
Town hall. The present town hall dates from 1818; the first municipal registers go back to 1740.
Banks of the Venoge and the lake. The municipality is bounded to the west by the mouth of the Venoge, where a mill turned from 1402, and to the east by the Chamberonne; a CGN landing stage serves the village.
Remains in Saint-Sulpice
Cemeteries of En Pétoleyres. The site that made the municipality famous for archaeology: from 1910 to 1912 Julien Gruaz excavated more than 200 early medieval burials there (5th-7th centuries), including Burgundian graves; from 1912 to 1914 he uncovered 87 La Tène graves (450-280 BC). From 1928 to 1930 Frédéric Tauxe discovered Roman cremation burials.
Pile-dwelling sites. Three Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeshore settlements have been identified near Dorigny, the landing stage and the mouth of the Venoge.
Church wall paintings. Decorative and figurative paintings from the second quarter of the 14th century, completed in 1900 during the restoration of the church.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Sulpice (VD) »
- Guide d'art et d'histoire de la Suisse (SHAS), notice de l'église de l'ancien prieuré bénédictin, Inventaire PBC n° 6493
- Paroisse Ecublens-Saint-Sulpice (EERV), « Eglise de Saint-Sulpice »
- Wikipédia, « Saint-Sulpice (Vaud) »
- Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
- geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux
Other villages near Saint-Sulpice
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