Vufflens-le-Château
Origin of the name Vufflens-le-Château
First mentioned in 1096 in the form «Volflens»; the castle is mentioned in 1108 («Wuolflens» according to another source). In Vaud patois the name is «Vufyê-l'Tsatê». The etymology is not explained by the sources consulted.
Founding of Vufflens-le-Château
No founding charter is known. The land of Vufflens was an allod (land free of any overlord) held by the noble family of Vufflens, which owned a first castle there, mentioned in 1108. Around 1190 Guillaume Raymond de Vufflens ceded the land to the Bishop of Lausanne, who granted it back to him as a fief. The village grew at the foot of this castle, the centre of a lordship that in 1435 extended over several neighbouring places.
History of Vufflens-le-Château
1096. First mention, in the form «Volflens».
1108. Mention of a first castle.
around 1190. Guillaume Raymond de Vufflens cedes his land, until then an allod, to the Bishop of Lausanne, who grants it back to him as a fief.
1235. The lordship and the castle are granted in fief to Humbert de Cossonay.
13th century. Around the middle of the century the lordship passes to the de Duin family.
around 1385. The lordship passes to the de Colombier family; Henri de Colombier obtains it through his marriage to an heiress of the de Duin family (around 1390 according to other sources).
1416. The village has 32 hearths.
1420-1430. Henri de Colombier, councillor and confidant of Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, entirely rebuilds the castle in brick in a Piedmontese style (other sources give around 1390 or 1385-1411; to be cross-checked).
1435. The lordship includes, wholly or partly, Ballens, Bussy, Chigny, Lully, Vaux, Villars-sous-Yens and Yens.
1530. The castle is burned by the Bernese.
1536. At the Reformation the parish church of Saint-Aubin is briefly attached to Morges.
1539. Vufflens belongs to the Bernese bailiwick of Morges until 1798; it is governed by a governor and the assembly of burghers.
1544. Vufflens becomes a parish again, with Chigny and Denens. After the death of Philibert de Colombier the lordship passes through many hands.
1619. A census counts 138 inhabitants.
1641. The lordship is acquired by the de Senarclens family; the castle later passes by marriage to the Saussure family.
1842. Construction of the school by the Lausanne architects Henri Perregaux and Achille de La Harpe.
1895. Opening of a halt on the Bière-Apples-Morges railway line.
1960s. Until then Vufflens remains a farming and wine-growing village, then grows thanks to two residential zones.
2007. The municipality joins the Lausanne-Morges agglomeration project.
2008. The new Vaud districts come into force; Vufflens-le-Château remains in the district of Morges.
Population of Vufflens-le-Château
| 1416 | 32 hearths (households) |
| 1453 | 40 hearths (households) |
| 1558 | 33 hearths (households) |
| 1619 | 138 |
| 1764 | 145 |
| 1850 | 247 |
| 1900 | 242 |
| 1950 | 219 |
| 2000 | 631 |
| 2025 | 887 |
Historic sites in Vufflens-le-Château
Vufflens Castle. Brick fortress of Piedmontese inspiration, built in the early 15th century by Henri de Colombier on the site of an older castle. It consists of two parts linked by ramparts: to the west a keep almost 60 metres high flanked by four square towers, and a square residential castle adorned with four turrets. Burned by the Bernese in 1530, it passed to the Senarclens and then to the Saussure family, who still own it. Privately owned, it is listed as a Swiss cultural property of national significance.
Church of Saint-Aubin. Parish church of the village, again from 1544 the centre of a parish that also includes Chigny and Denens.
School of 1842. School building erected in 1842 by the Lausanne architects Henri Perregaux and Achille de La Harpe.
Remains in Vufflens-le-Château
The first castle. Nothing visible remains of the castle mentioned in 1108, or of the 13th-century castle: Henri de Colombier had them razed to build the present fortress (to be cross-checked).
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vufflens-le-Château »
- Wikipédia, « Château de Vufflens »
- Wikipédia, « Vufflens-le-Château »
- Swisscastles, « Le château de Vufflens »
- Journal de Morges, Denis Pittet, « La légende du Château de Vufflens », 9 septembre 2022
- Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Vufflens-le-Château
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