Bourg-en-Lavaux


Bourg-en-Lavaux is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron.
The municipalities of Cully, Epesses, Grandvaux, Riex and Villette merged on 1 July 2011 into the new municipality of Bourg-en-Lavaux.

History

The first written mention of Cully took place in 967 under the name Cusliacum. Epesses is first mentioned in 1453 as Espesses. Grandvaux is first mentioned in 1250 as de Gravaz. In 1445 it was mentioned as Grandvaulx. Riex is first mentioned in 1184 as Ruez.

Cully

The earliest traces of human activity in Cully comes from the Neolithic, when Lake Geneva was near the modern port of Moratel. During the Roman Empire, the route from Lausanne to Great Saint Bernard ran through the area. From this time, some walls and coins have been found preserved.
The first written mention of the place took place in 967 under the name Cusliacum. Later appeared the names Cusliaco,Custiacum,Cullie,Cully and Culyer. The origin of the name is not clearly understood. It is possibly derived from the Roman family name Coclius.
The first document involving Cully, saw it given to the King of Besançon. However, because Cully at the same time was under Villett parishe, which belonged to the bishop of Lausanne, there were constant disputes which led in 1246 to it being given back to the bishop of Lausanne. In the 14th Century the inhabitants the acquired the right to hold a weekly market and fortify the village.
With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Cully came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Lausanne. After the collapse of the Ancien régime, the village belonged from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic to the Canton of Léman. In 1798 Cully Lavaux became the capital of the district, as it was in the central part of the district. It was not until 1824, that Cully attained the status of an independent political community. A project to merge the independent municipalities Cully, Epesses, Riex, Grandvaux, and Villette failed in a vote on 27 February 2005 due to the resistance of the population of Grandvaux but was finally complete on 1 July 2011.

Epesses

Traces of a Roman road and coins finds indicate an early settlement in the municipality. The name Epesses comes from the Latin word spissa probably in reference to the spruce.
With the conquest by Bern of Vaud in 1536, the village came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Lausanne. After the collapse of the ancien régime, between 1798 and 1803 it was part of the Canton of Léman during the Helvetic Republic and then fell under the Canton of Vaud. In 1798 it was assigned to the district of Lavaux.
It was not until 1824, when the community was split from Villette, that Epesses attained the status of an independent political municipality. A project to merge the independent municipalities Cully, Epesses, Riex, Grandvaux, and Villette failed in a vote on 27 February 2005 due to the resistance of the population of Grandvaux, yet it was finally completed on 1 July 2011. Since then Cully is part of the community of Bourg-en-Lavaux.

Geography

Bourg-en-Lavaux has an area,, of. Of this area, or 58.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 18.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 20.6% is settled, or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% is unproductive land.

Historic Population

The historical population is given in the following chart:

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id:EP value:green legend:Epesses
id:GR value:blue legend:Grandvaux
id:RI value:red legend:Riex
id:VI value:yellow legend:Villette
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bar:1860 from: 0 till:1202 text:"1,202" color:CU
bar:1870 from: 0 till:969 text:"969" color:CU
bar:1880 from: 0 till:927 text:"927" color:CU
bar:1890 from: 0 till:985 text:"985" color:CU
bar:1900 from: 0 till:1101 text:"1,101" color:CU
bar:1910 from: 0 till:1068 text:"1,068" color:CU
bar:1920 from: 0 till:963 text:"963" color:CU
bar:1930 from: 0 till:1149 text:"1,149" color:CU
bar:1940 from: 0 till:1102 text:"1,102" color:CU
bar:1950 from: 0 till:1296 text:"1,296" color:CU
bar:1960 from: 0 till:1375 text:"1,375" color:CU
bar:1970 from: 0 till:1535 text:"1,535" color:CU
bar:1980 from: 0 till:1801 text:"1,801" color:CU
bar:1990 from: 0 till:1843 text:"1,843" color:CU
bar:2000 from: 0 till:1798 text:"1,798" color:CU
bar:1850 from: 880 till:1262 text:"382" color:EP
bar:1860 from: 1202 till:1632 text:"430" color:EP
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bar:1880 from: 927 till:1310 text:"383" color:EP
bar:1890 from: 985 till:1364 text:"379" color:EP
bar:1900 from: 1101 till:1520 text:"419" color:EP
bar:1910 from: 1068 till:1459 text:"391" color:EP
bar:1920 from: 963 till:1338 text:"375" color:EP
bar:1930 from: 1149 till:1540 text:"391" color:EP
bar:1940 from: 1102 till:1480 text:"378" color:EP
bar:1950 from: 1296 till:1699 text:"403" color:EP
bar:1960 from: 1375 till:1756 text:"381" color:EP
bar:1970 from: 1535 till:1913 text:"378" color:EP
bar:1980 from: 1801 till:2140 text:"339" color:EP
bar:1990 from: 1843 till:2170 text:"327" color:EP
bar:2000 from: 1798 till:2106 text:"308" color:EP
bar:1850 from: 1262 till:1885 text:"623" color:GR
bar:1860 from: 1632 till:2254 text:"622" color:GR
bar:1870 from: 1355 till:1973 text:"618" color:GR
bar:1880 from: 1310 till:1956 text:"646" color:GR
bar:1890 from: 1364 till:1984 text:"620" color:GR
bar:1900 from: 1520 till:2197 text:"677" color:GR
bar:1910 from: 1459 till:2069 text:"610" color:GR
bar:1920 from: 1338 till:1922 text:"584" color:GR
bar:1930 from: 1540 till:2147 text:"607" color:GR
bar:1940 from: 1480 till:2114 text:"634" color:GR
bar:1950 from: 1699 till:2498 text:"799" color:GR
bar:1960 from: 1756 till:2564 text:"808" color:GR
bar:1970 from: 1913 till:2986 text:"1,073" color:GR
bar:1980 from: 2140 till:3412 text:"1,272" color:GR
bar:1990 from: 2170 till:3938 text:"1,768" color:GR
bar:2000 from: 2106 till:4043 text:"1,937" color:GR
bar:1850 from: 1885 till:2253 text:"368" color:RI
bar:1860 from: 2254 till:2607 text:"353" color:RI
bar:1870 from: 1973 till:2370 text:"397" color:RI
bar:1880 from: 1956 till:2309 text:"353" color:RI
bar:1890 from: 1984 till:2349 text:"365" color:RI
bar:1900 from: 2197 till:2546 text:"349" color:RI
bar:1910 from: 2069 till:2356 text:"287" color:RI
bar:1920 from: 1922 till:2195 text:"273" color:RI
bar:1930 from: 2147 till:2457 text:"310" color:RI
bar:1940 from: 2114 till:2390 text:"276" color:RI
bar:1950 from: 2498 till:2789 text:"291" color:RI
bar:1960 from: 2564 till:2855 text:"291" color:RI
bar:1970 from: 2986 till:3275 text:"289" color:RI
bar:1980 from: 3412 till:3705 text:"293" color:RI
bar:1990 from: 3938 till:4220 text:"282" color:RI
bar:2000 from: 4043 till:4343 text:"300" color:RI
bar:1850 from: 2253 till:2541 text:"288" color:VI
bar:1860 from: 2607 till:2938 text:"331" color:VI
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bar:1930 from: 2457 till:2826 text:"369" color:VI
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bar:1960 from: 2855 till:3217 text:"362" color:VI
bar:1970 from: 3275 till:3727 text:"452" color:VI
bar:1980 from: 3705 till:4175 text:"470" color:VI
bar:1990 from: 4220 till:4691 text:"471" color:VI
bar:2000 from: 4343 till:4907 text:"564" color:VI

Transportation

The municipality has four railway stations:,, and on the Simplon line and on the Lausanne–Bern line.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Maison Maillardo and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire villages of Grandvaux, Riex and Aran are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
The Maison Maillardo is notable for its 16th Century late-gothic windows.