Vers-l'Église

Origin of the name Vers-l'Église

The village owes its name to the chapel of Saint-Théodule, around which it grew. In the 17th century it is mentioned in the form « Chapelle ».

Founding of Vers-l'Église

Vers-l'Église is the main village of the municipality of Ormont-Dessus. No source consulted names a founder. The village grew around a place of worship recorded in 1396, replaced in the mid-15th century by the chapel of Saint-Théodule, a daughter church of the church of Cergnat. Located at 1'110 m on the left bank of the Grande-Eau, sheltered from avalanches, it was the religious, political, judicial and economic centre of the municipality and under the Ancien Régime formed the Seyte-du-Milieu. It has only a dozen buildings, among them the parsonage, the municipal inn and the municipal hall.

History of Vers-l'Église

1396. A place of worship is recorded at Vers-l'Église, mentioned in a will.

1456. Probable construction of the present building, blessed by the Bishop of Sion Henri Asperlin, on the site of a chapel of Saint-Théodule.

1480. The chapel of Saint-Théodule, a daughter church of the church of Cergnat, becomes a rectorate.

1494. Construction of the bell tower, a massive tower.

around 1530. The church passes to the Reformation under Bernese pressure and becomes the parish church.

1564. Date of the oldest of the three bells in the tower (the other two date from 1756 and 1760).

1581. The interior of the church is enlarged with galleries, with others added in 1709 and 1830.

1584. A fair is recorded at Vers-l'Église.

17th century. The locality is mentioned in the form « Chapelle ».

1709. The nave receives a panelled barrel ceiling and rectangular windows.

1748. Date of the church pulpit.

1785. Construction of the parsonage.

1833. Construction of the municipal inn.

1868. Repair of the church by François Jaquerod.

1873-1874. Construction of the municipal hall.

1960. Restoration of the church.

1968. An organ is installed in the church.

2008. The Musée des Ormonts moves into the former municipal hall.

Historic sites in Vers-l'Église

Church of Vers-l'Église (former chapel of Saint-Théodule). Church probably built in the mid-15th century, with a porch tower of 1494, a five-sided choir, a nave covered by a panelled barrel ceiling, galleries, a pulpit of 1748 and bells of 1564, 1756 and 1760; repaired in 1868 by François Jaquerod and restored in 1960. It is listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property.

Municipal hall and Musée des Ormonts. Built in 1873-1874, the former municipal hall has housed the Musée des Ormonts since 2008.

Parsonage and municipal inn. The parsonage (1785) and the municipal inn (1833) are among the dozen buildings that make up the village.

Legends of Vers-l'Église

The three stakes. According to tradition, when a church was to be built in the upper part of the Ormonts valley, a stake was planted in three places to find the spot least exposed to avalanches. Two of these markers disappeared; the third held firm, and that is where the church was built.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vers-l'Eglise »
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ormont-Dessus »
• Inventaire suisse des biens culturels (PBC), fiche KGS 10601, « Eglise réformée (Vers-l'Église) »
• Alpes vaudoises, « Le temple de Vers-l'Église »
• Wikipédia, « Ormont-Dessus »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Vers-l'Église

• Ormont-Dessus (VD)
• Les Diablerets (VD)
• La Forclaz (VD)
• La Comballaz (VD)
• Ormont-Dessous (VD)