Villars-Tiercelin

Canton of Vaud · District: Gros-de-Vaud · 343 inhabitants recorded in 2000, the last detailed statistical figure available before integration into the municipality of Jorat-Menthue in 2011

Part of the municipality of Jorat-Menthue

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Villars-Tiercelin

The village's name combines the element «vilare» (or «vilar»), derived from the Latin «villare» and designating a large rural estate or a hamlet, with the Germanic personal name «Tiercelinus» (or «Tiecelini»), attested in several Vaud charters of the 11th and 12th centuries. The name would thus mean «the estate of Tiercelin». The sources consulted do not exactly agree on the date of the first written mention: according to the history published by the municipality, the place appears under the forms «Villartezelin» or «Vilartiercelin» in acts of the cartulary of the Lausanne cathedral chapter from the 11th century, whereas according to the Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, the mention «Vilar Ticelin» dates from around 1215. This discrepancy in dating would deserve to be cross-checked directly with the original cartulary.

Founding of Villars-Tiercelin

Villars-Tiercelin has no identified individual founder: it formed as a rural estate bearing the name of a Germanic figure (Tiercelinus), within the sphere of the châtellenie of Dommartin, itself linked to the Lausanne cathedral chapter, which held the tithe over the village in the Middle Ages. In 1233, a knight of the Goumoëns family, called «Guillaume le Roux», granted the inhabitants a right of use in the forests of the Jorat, a gesture characteristic of the seigneurial development of the region's wooded land at that time. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud in 1536, the village was incorporated into the mandement of Dommartin, dependent on the Bernese bailiwick of Lausanne, under which Berne held jurisdiction, the fief and the tithe, a situation that lasted until 1798.

History of Villars-Tiercelin

11th century (to be cross-checked). According to the history published by the municipality, the village is mentioned under the forms «Villartezelin» or «Vilartiercelin» in acts of the cartulary of the Lausanne cathedral chapter.

around 1215 (to be cross-checked). According to the Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, the village is mentioned under the form «Vilar Ticelin». This date does not coincide with the one put forward by the communal history (see above), which would deserve to be cross-checked.

1225. According to the communal history, a first church already existed in the village by this date.

1233. The knight de Goumoëns, called «Guillaume le Roux», grants the inhabitants a right of use in the forests of the Jorat.

17th-18th centuries. The Vaud cantonal archives preserve files attesting to disputes between Villars-Tiercelin and the municipality of Dommartin over territorial boundaries (1601-1800), as well as conflicts linked to the Moulin de la Naz and du Villars (1601-1800). A boundary settlement with the municipality of Peney is also documented for the period 1651-1700.

1536. The village church, already existing since 1225 according to the communal history, is destroyed and then rebuilt; the same year, following the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud, the village is attached to the Bernese mandement of Dommartin (bailiwick of Lausanne).

1536-1798. The village belongs to the mandement of Dommartin, under Bernese jurisdiction, fief and tithe.

1764. The village has 151 inhabitants.

1789. Villars-Tiercelin and Peney-le-Jorat separate from the parish of Dommartin, on condition of building a church in Villars-Tiercelin and a parsonage in Peney-le-Jorat.

1791. Berne cedes to the municipality the income from a tithe as well as 120 florins, owing to the municipality's poverty.

1793-1795. A new temple is built in the centre of the village by the masons Pierre-François and Pierre-David Viret, in response to the repeated requests of the inhabitants; it follows the model of the Dommartin temple and would itself serve as a model for that of Maracon. One isolated source consulted gives a different construction date (1775) for this same building; this information would deserve to be cross-checked.

1794. Villars-Tiercelin joins the newly created pastoral suffragan parish at Peney-le-Jorat.

1798. The village has 171 inhabitants. Following the independence of the canton of Vaud, Villars-Tiercelin joins the Vaud district of Échallens.

1850. The village reaches 271 inhabitants, its known demographic peak.

1900. The population falls back to 248 inhabitants.

1950. The population stands at 216 inhabitants.

1965. Agriculture still accounts for 75% of the village's jobs.

1970. The population reaches its known low point in the 20th century, with 152 inhabitants.

1980. The village is incorporated into the Lausanne agglomeration, which favours increased residential development.

2000. The village has 343 inhabitants. The local parish joins the larger parish of Haute-Menthue.

2005. The agricultural sector now accounts for only 40% of the municipality's primary sector, a sign of agriculture's decline in the face of residentialisation.

2006. The district of Échallens is dissolved on 31 August; Villars-Tiercelin joins the new district of Gros-de-Vaud. One source consulted places this administrative transfer a little later, in 2007-2008; this discrepancy would deserve to be cross-checked.

2011. On 1 July, Villars-Tiercelin merges with Montaubion-Chardonney, Peney-le-Jorat, Sottens and Villars-Mendraz to form the new municipality of Jorat-Menthue.

Population of Villars-Tiercelin

151

1764

171

1798

271

1850

248

1900

216

1950

152

1970

343

2000

Historic sites in Villars-Tiercelin

Temple (Reformed church) of Villars-Tiercelin. Built in 1793-1795 by the masons Pierre-François and Pierre-David Viret, in the centre of the village, following the separation from the parish of Dommartin in 1789. It follows the model of the Dommartin temple and itself inspired that of Maracon. It succeeds an older church mentioned as early as 1225, destroyed and then rebuilt in 1536, before itself being abandoned.

La Cassine Farm. Agricultural building listed as a cultural property of regional importance in the built heritage inventory of the municipality of Jorat-Menthue.

Former Mill of la Naz and du Villars. A mill of this name was the subject, between 1601 and 1800, of conflicts documented in the communal and cantonal archives. The sources consulted give no further details about its precise location or its full history, which would deserve to be looked into further.

Sources

Other villages near Villars-Tiercelin

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