Vuitebœuf

Canton of Vaud · District: Jura-Nord vaudois · 616 inhabitants (31.12.2025, municipality)

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

Origin of the name Vuitebœuf

First mentions «Vuaitibo» in 1024 (or «Vaitibo» in 1028, to be cross-checked), then «Voytiban» in 1336, «Vuitebo» in 1403, «Vitebœuf» in 1668 and «Vittembœuf» in 1694. The first element is thought to correspond to the Germanic «wahta» (guard, watch); the second is said not to mean the ox but to go back to the Germanic «bosk» (bush, wood): the name would mean «guard post of the wood». Popular tradition reinterpreted it as «guette-bœuf» (etymology to be cross-checked). In Vaud patois the village is called «Vouètebô» or «Veïtebu».

Founding of Vuitebœuf

Vuitebœuf lies at the foot of the Vaud Jura, on the road from Yverdon to Sainte-Croix, where the climb towards the Col des Étroits and Franche-Comté begins. No source consulted names a founder. In the Middle Ages the centre of the municipality is the village of Peney, from 1228 the head of a large parish reaching up to Sainte-Croix, while Vuitebœuf is only a hamlet. Vuitebœuf owes its growth to its position on a through route: a toll there belongs to the lordships of Grandson and Sainte-Croix, a bridge crosses the Arnon and the «Côte de Vuitebœuf», a salt road, climbs towards the Jura. The Arnon drives mills. Over the centuries the centre of gravity of the municipality shifts from Peney, a farming settlement, to Vuitebœuf, where craft and industrial activities settle; in 1904 a new church built in Vuitebœuf replaces the church of Peney.

History of Vuitebœuf

Roman period. The site lies at a crossroads of routes linking Urba (Orbe), Eburodunum (Yverdon) and Pontarlier (to be cross-checked).

1024. First mention: «in villa que nominatur Vuaitibo» (the form «Vaitibo» is also given for 1028).

1228. Vuitebœuf is mentioned as part of the parish of Peney, whose church of Saint-Pierre is the centre of a large parish reaching up to Sainte-Croix.

15th century. A bridge over the Arnon is recorded.

1474-1477. Burgundian Wars: the castle of Les Tours, west of the village, is destroyed.

1536. Bernese conquest of Vaud: the Vuitebœuf toll, which belonged to the lordships of Grandson and Sainte-Croix, is divided between the bailiwick of Yverdon (right bank of the Arnon) and that of Grandson (left bank).

1540. Together with Peney, Vuitebœuf is attached to the parish of Baulmes.

17th century. The Arnon drives mills.

1711. The «Côte de Vuitebœuf», a salt road linking Franche-Comté to Vaud, is rebuilt; major works also take place in 1745-1747 and 1760, and a block dated 1752 bears witness to a repair.

1798. In March, supporters of Bern fight at Vuitebœuf against French and Vaud troops. Vuitebœuf belongs to the district of Grandson (1798-1802), then to the district of Orbe (1803-2006).

1843. Opening of the present road to Sainte-Croix, with its many hairpin bends, built under the direction of the cantonal engineer Adrien Pichard (works dated 1838 in another source, to be cross-checked).

1893. Vuitebœuf gets a station on the Yverdon-Sainte-Croix railway.

late 19th century. Until around 1960 the music box industry provides extra income alongside farming.

1904. A new church in eclectic style, the work of the Lausanne architect Charles-François Bonjour, is built on a height overlooking Vuitebœuf; the old church of Saint-Pierre in Peney is demolished in 1907, except for its bell tower.

1925. Adoption of the coat of arms: the Arnon, three mill wheels and the church of Peney.

1972. A power plant comes into service.

2006. Dissolution of the Orbe district: Vuitebœuf joins the Jura-Nord vaudois district.

Population of Vuitebœuf

247

1764

300

1798

453

1850

387

1900

304

1950

228

1980

417

2000

616

2025

Historic sites in Vuitebœuf

Vuitebœuf Reformed church. Church in eclectic style built in 1904 by the Lausanne architect Charles-François Bonjour, on an open height overlooking the village, to replace the church of Peney. Its construction, which entailed the demolition of the old church, aroused strong opposition between Peney and Vuitebœuf. It keeps a bell of 1407, casts of which are on display, and stained-glass windows of 1905 by Édouard Diekmann.

Peney. Hamlet about one kilometre south-east of Vuitebœuf, from 1228 the head of a large parish that extended as far as Sainte-Croix. Its inhabitants are called the Peneyrons.

Covatannaz gorges. Gorges accessible from the municipality, on the old passage to Sainte-Croix.

Remains in Vuitebœuf

The Côte de Vuitebœuf. Old salt road linking Franche-Comté to Vaud via Sainte-Croix, which under the Ancien Régime belonged to Their Excellencies of Bern. Cut into the rock, the road bears deep ruts intended to guide the carts; when worn, they were recut parallel to the earlier ones, so that up to 30 can be counted on one section. Some stretches are paved with large blocks, also marked with ruts. Long thought to be Roman, it was in fact laid out in the 17th and 18th centuries, with major works in 1711 or 1712, in 1745-1747 and in 1760.

Ruins of the castle of Les Tours. Medieval castle in the forest west of Vuitebœuf, made up of two mounds linked by a passage, destroyed during the Burgundian Wars. The historian Victor Bourgeois identified it with the castle of Peney, which belonged to the lords of Grandson (to be cross-checked).

Tower of Peney. Romanesque bell tower of the old church of Saint-Pierre in Peney, the only element preserved when the church was demolished in 1907; the arcades of its upper storey are Romanesque.

Legends of Vuitebœuf

The «Vuètevatses». The inhabitants, the Vuitebolards, are nicknamed the Vuètevatses, «those who watch the cows» in Vaud patois, echoing the popular reading of the village name as «guette-bœuf».

The «Roman road». According to popular tradition, the Côte de Vuitebœuf is a Roman road; historical research has shown that it is a salt road laid out in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Sources

Localities of the municipality with a page

Peney

Other villages near Vuitebœuf

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