Berolle

Canton of Vaud · District: Morges · Around 300 to 305 inhabitants (301 on 31 December 2022; 304 at the end of 2023; 303 in 2024, according to official population statistics).

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

Origin of the name Berolle

The toponymy of Berolle is rooted in a text from 1235, where the place is designated in the Latinised form « Birula ». Several graphic variants then follow over the course of the Middle Ages: Berola and Birola from 1278, then Byrolaz, and finally Birolaz in 1453. This evolution towards an ending in -olaz, common in the toponymy of French-speaking Switzerland, shows the slow stabilisation of the name into its current form. The hypothesis most often put forward derives Berolle from a diminutive of the Old French « berrie », which designated a plain or a flat expanse. This explanation nonetheless remains to be confirmed: the reference article usually consulted for the etymology of the name could not be consulted directly during this research (access refused at the time of consultation), and the point would deserve to be checked against a specialised work on Vaud toponymy. The inhabitants of Berolle are called Berollans and Berollandes (the variants Berolans and Berolanes are also found, more rarely, on some sites). They also bear an older nickname, from the local patois: they were called « les Sangsues » (the leeches), lè Seinsûva in Vaud patois. The precise origin of this nickname is not known; it belongs to the long tradition of village nicknames found in almost every commune of the canton.

Founding of Berolle

Occupation of the territory of Berolle predates its first written mention by far. Traces of a Roman settlement and graves dating from the Burgundian period have been found within the commune, indicating human presence from at least late Antiquity. The exact extent of these remains, their precise location and the circumstances of their discovery are not detailed in the sources accessible for this research; this point would deserve to be examined further at the Vaud cantonal archaeology service. The village as we know it today took shape in the Middle Ages. Berolle then formed its own small lordship, distinct from that of Mont-le-Grand but, like it, later attached to the same administrative unit, the bailiwick of Morges; the sources consulted do not allow a relationship of dependence to be established between the two lordships, which appear to have been two parallel entities rather than one subordinate to the other. Berolle also owed a tithe to Romainmôtier priory, one of the most influential religious houses of the medieval Pays de Vaud. It was probably within this seigneurial and religious framework that the hamlet became organised into a village around its square, following the compact layout (known as haufendorf, or clustered village) still recognisable today. A parish is attested there from 1397. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud in 1536, Berolle was attached to the Bernese bailiwick of Morges, created in 1539, where it appears among the lordships of the bailiwick until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798. In the 17th century, Berolle became an independent lordship and passed through the hands of several successive owners. The last of these bears a name that is surprising for such a small village: Jacques Necker, the famous Geneva financier who became Louis XVI's Minister of Finance and Baron of Coppet. The exact date on which Necker, or his family, acquired the seigneurial rights over Berolle could not be established in the course of this research; this point would deserve further investigation, for example at the relevant historical archive services, to clarify the context of this holding, which in any case ended with the abolition of feudal rights in 1798.

History of Berolle

Late Antiquity / Burgundian period. Traces of a Roman settlement and graves from the Burgundian period found within the commune, a sign of human occupation well before the village's first written mention. The details (location, precise dating, excavations) remain to be documented.

Middle Ages. Berolle forms its own lordship, distinct from the neighbouring lordship of Mont-le-Grand (the sources consulted show no relationship of dependence between the two), and owes a tithe to Romainmôtier priory.

1235. Earliest known written mention of the village, in the Latinised form « Birula ».

1278-1453. The village's name evolves in the texts: Berola, Birola, Byrolaz, then Birolaz in 1453.

1397. A parish is attested at Berolle.

1536. Conquest of the Pays de Vaud by Bern, which ends Savoyard rule over the region.

1539. Creation of the Bernese bailiwick of Morges, on which Berolle depends until 1798, alongside other lordships such as Aubonne (until 1701), Montricher, Vullierens and Étoy.

17th century. Berolle becomes an independent lordship and passes through the hands of several successive owners.

before 1798. Jacques Necker, a Geneva financier and Baron of Coppet, becomes the last known lord of Berolle. The precise date of this acquisition remains to be established.

1798. Fall of Bernese rule and abolition of feudal rights. The Pays de Vaud becomes the Canton of Léman under the Helvetic Republic; Berolle is attached to the new district of Aubonne, in the circle of Ballens.

1803. The Act of Mediation turns Léman into the Canton of Vaud, which joins the Swiss Confederation as a full canton.

1834. Reconstruction of the church of Berolle; the current building dates from this reconstruction. Since the Reformation, the parish has been attached to that of Bière.

1919. Adoption of the communal coat of arms, composed after an old forest mark of the commune: gules, a silver heart charged with two uprooted green fir trees.

1970. Low point of the village's population, with 128 inhabitants recorded, in the context of the rural exodus then affecting many villages at the foot of the Vaud Jura.

1982. Work is mentioned on the church building, without its exact nature (maintenance, renovation) being specified in the sources consulted.

1988. The village has 180 inhabitants, a figure marking the start of a demographic recovery linked to residential development.

1 September 2006. Entry into force of the new Vaud law on districts, which dissolves the district of Aubonne, to which Berolle had belonged since 1798.

1 January 2008. Effective administrative reorganisation of the Vaud districts: Berolle joins the new district of Morges, where it still lies today.

2016. Takeover and complete renovation of Berolle's communal inn by Aline and Andrew Antenen.

2018. The tartare of Berolle's communal inn is named « World Tartare Champion ».

2022-2024. The village's population stabilises at around 300 to 305 inhabitants, after several decades of growth linked to residential development that has profoundly transformed a village once dominated by agriculture (seven farms remain today, against a far higher number in the past).

Population of Berolle

244

1850

255

1900

128

1970

180

1988

305

2018

301

2022

304

2023

303

2024

Historic sites in Berolle

Church of Berolle. A parish is attested at Berolle from as early as 1397. The current church results from a reconstruction of 1834; after the Reformation, the parish was attached to that of the neighbouring commune of Bière. Work is mentioned in 1982, without its precise nature being documented in the sources consulted. Plain and without particular architectural pretension, according to the sources, it remains the village's visual landmark, as in most reformed villages at the foot of the Vaud Jura.

Communal inn of Berolle. Located at the entrance to the Marchairuz and Mollendruz passes, with a view of Mont Blanc and the Alpine range, this village inn has a long tradition of hospitality. Taken over and fully renovated in 2016 by Aline and Andrew Antenen, it has built a gastronomic reputation well beyond the village: its tartare was named « World Tartare Champion » in 2018, and the establishment has received several distinctions (Guide Bleu, Fait Maison label, Swiss Wine Gourmet), while retaining the spirit of a village café.

The village core and its hamlets. Berolle presents itself as a clustered village (haufendorf), gathered around its central square, a settlement form typical of the foot of the Vaud Jura. The commune also includes the localities of Grattalau and Les Molliettes, small hamlets whose own history could not be documented in the course of this research.

Remains in Berolle

Traces of Roman settlement and Burgundian graves. Remains of a Roman establishment and burials dating from the Burgundian period have been identified within the commune. These finds are mentioned only very briefly in the sources available for this research, without precise location, description of artefacts or fine dating. Direct consultation of a reference historical dictionary (access refused at the time of this research) or of the Vaud cantonal archaeological database would be needed to properly document this point.

Old forest mark. The communal coat of arms adopted in 1919 reproduces the design of an old forest mark once used by the commune, a sign that formerly served to identify trees or the boundaries of communal forests. It is not known whether a physical example of this mark has survived to this day; for now, it survives only in its heraldic form, on the communal coat of arms.

Sources

Other villages near Berolle

Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.

Suggest a change