Sugnens

Origin of the name Sugnens

The name Sugnens is attested as early as 1177, in a bull of Pope Alexander III that mentions the village as a possession of the cathedral chapter of Lausanne. The old forms Sugniens, Suniens and Sunens appear in the 12th and 13th centuries. The origin of the place name is thought to be Germanic, probably Burgundian; it is said to have been formed on a personal name such as Sunia or Sunnia followed by a suffix, but this precise etymological detail remains to be cross-checked.

Founding of Sugnens

Sugnens has no single identified founder. The village developed as a rural estate dependent on the cathedral chapter of Lausanne, which remained its owner until 1536 as part of the castellany of Dommartin. After the region came under Bernese administration, Sugnens was incorporated into the bailiwick of Lausanne, in the mandement of Dommartin, until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798.

History of Sugnens

1177. First attested mention of the village, under the name Sugnens, in a bull of Pope Alexander III confirming its possession by the cathedral chapter of Lausanne.

1228. First mention of the parish church of Sugnens.

until 1536. Sugnens remains the property of the cathedral chapter of Lausanne, within the castellany of Dommartin.

1536. Comes under Bernese administration following the conquest of the Pays de Vaud; Sugnens is incorporated into the bailiwick of Lausanne, in the mandement of Dommartin. The church becomes a chapel of ease of the parish of Dommartin after the Reformation.

1686. First attested alteration of the parish church.

1790. Discovery of an early medieval necropolis in the hamlet of Monteilly, information to be cross-checked for lack of further available details.

1791. New alteration of the church.

1798. End of Bernese rule; with the creation of the canton of Vaud, Sugnens is attached to the new district of Échallens.

1816. New alteration of the church.

1889. Arrival of the railway: the Compagnie du Central Vaudois opens the line from Échallens to Bercher, with a station at Sugnens.

1891. Founding of the agricultural cooperative society of Sugnens.

1912-1920. Major agricultural infrastructure works: land drainage (1912-1915) then land consolidation (1917-1920).

1913. The Échallens-to-Bercher railway line is integrated into the network of the Lausanne-Échallens-Bercher railway (LEB).

1941. Restoration of the parish church.

2006. On 31 August 2006, Sugnens leaves the district of Échallens to join the new district of Gros-de-Vaud.

1980s. Start of modest residential development, which contributes to the village's population growth in the following decades.

2011. On 1 July 2011, Sugnens merges with Dommartin, Naz and Poliez-le-Grand to form the new municipality of Montilliez, whose chief town is set at Poliez-le-Grand.

Population of Sugnens

Population of Sugnens

1416	18 hearths (households)
1764	97
1803	117
1850	201
1900	199
1950	206
1980	155
2000	233
2009	309 (to be cross-checked, last year before the merger)

Historic sites in Sugnens

Parish church of Sugnens. Attested from 1228, the church was altered in 1686, 1791 and then 1816, before being restored in 1941. Having become a chapel of ease of the parish of Dommartin after the Reformation, it remains the oldest historic building in the village.

Hamlet of Monteilly. Small hamlet belonging to Sugnens, known for the discovery, in 1790, of an early medieval necropolis (to be cross-checked, few details available on the extent of the discovery).

Hamlet of Pré Morex and outlying farms. The historic municipal territory of Sugnens included, besides the village, the hamlet of Pré Morex as well as several isolated farms and a communal cattle shed used for summer grazing.

Sugnens railway station. Opened in 1889 when the line from Échallens to Bercher was built, it was integrated from 1913 into the network of the Lausanne-Échallens-Bercher railway (LEB), still in operation today.

Remains in Sugnens

Early medieval necropolis of Monteilly. A necropolis dating from the early Middle Ages was uncovered in 1790 in the hamlet of Monteilly. The precise details of this discovery (number of graves, grave goods) remain to be cross-checked, for lack of a more complete description available in the sources consulted.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article "Sugnens"
• Wikipédia (français), "Sugnens"
• Wikipedia (anglais), "Sugnens"
• Wikipedia (anglais), "Montilliez"
• Commune de Montilliez, "Histoire de la commune"

Other villages near Sugnens

• Poliez-le-Grand (VD)
• Poliez-Pittet (VD)
• Dommartin (VD)
• Villars-le-Terroir (VD)
• Échallens (VD)