Châtillens
Origin of the name Châtillens
The place name Châtillens derives from a Latin personal name (Castilius or Castellius) combined with the Germanic toponymic suffix -ingos, adopted in the former Gallo-Roman territory from the 6th century onward; it would thus mean roughly «among those of Castilius's clan». The attested early forms are Castillens and Castellens around 1150, then Castellins in 1152, and finally Chatillens in 1290, close to the current form. A mention in the form Castellens as early as 1141, or even a deed from 1137, are also reported according to some sources; the exact date of the very first attestation remains to be verified.
Founding of Châtillens
Châtillens developed as an agricultural hamlet gathered around its parish church, on a territory handed over as early as 1137 by the abbey of Saint-Maurice to the abbey of Haut-Crêt, which became its lord (the details of the division between the two abbeys remain to be verified). The village therefore has no single identified founder: it belonged to the seigneury of the abbey of Haut-Crêt until the latter's secularization in 1536, then came under Bernese administration, incorporated into the bailiwick of Oron from 1557. Châtillens became an independent municipality in 1814, before merging on 1 January 2012 with Bussigny-sur-Oron, Chesalles-sur-Oron, Écoteaux, Oron-la-Ville, Oron-le-Châtel, Palézieux, Les Tavernes, Les Thioleyres and Vuibroye to form the new municipality of Oron.
History of Châtillens
1137 (to be verified). The territory of Châtillens is handed over by the abbey of Saint-Maurice to the abbey of Haut-Crêt, which becomes its lord; the details of the division between the two abbeys remain to be verified.
around 1150. First attested mention of the place in the forms Castillens and Castellens; a variant Castellens as early as 1141 is also reported by some sources, to be verified.
1152. The place is mentioned in the form Castellins.
1290. The name appears in the form Chatillens, close to its current form.
12th-15th century. The parish church, attested from the 12th century and rebuilt in Gothic style in the 15th century, becomes a place of pilgrimage centred on a venerated image of Saint Pancras.
1361. A judicial incident is recorded: an unsupervised pig is said to have attacked and killed a young child; the animal was sentenced to death and hanged on the gallows in Lausanne. This event, reported in similar terms by several encyclopedic entries, remains to be verified against original Vaud judicial archives.
1536. Secularization of the abbey of Haut-Crêt, which ends the ecclesiastical seigneury over Châtillens.
1538 (to be verified). The tradition of the pilgrimage to Saint Pancras and of emergency baptisms for infants who died unbaptized ends with the advent of the Reformation.
1557. Châtillens comes under Bernese administration, incorporated into the bailiwick of Oron.
1680 (to be verified). The village has about ten households according to an old count.
1764. The population stands at 87 inhabitants.
1795 (to be verified). Construction of a bourgeois residence called «Le Château», associated according to one source with a certain Louis Jan; its exact role remains to be verified.
1814. Châtillens becomes an independent municipality.
18th century - 1946 (to be verified). Intermittent exploitation of a lignite seam on the municipal territory; the precise start and end dates of this exploitation vary by source and remain to be verified.
30 November 1901. Four witnesses observe the fall of a meteorite in the Bois de la Chevrettaz; the recovered fragment is kept at the cantonal geology museum in Lausanne.
1913. Installation in the church of stained-glass windows made by the painter Louis Rivier.
1940-1947 (to be verified). Operation of a coal mine at the site of La Possession, presented as the last operating coal mine in Vaud, employing up to 250 people; the exact chronological limits (1940-1947 or 1941-1946 depending on the source) remain to be verified.
1948 (to be verified). Discovery, in the church, of a Romanesque capital, probably evidence of a building predating the current Gothic structure.
2000. The municipality has 365 inhabitants.
2010. The population reaches 492 inhabitants, up 9.6% over the decade 1999-2009.
1 January 2012. Châtillens merges with Bussigny-sur-Oron, Chesalles-sur-Oron, Écoteaux, Oron-la-Ville, Oron-le-Châtel, Palézieux, Les Tavernes, Les Thioleyres and Vuibroye to form the new municipality of Oron.
Population of Châtillens
| 1764 | 87 |
| 2000 | 365 |
| 2010 | 492 |
Historic sites in Châtillens
Parish church of Châtillens. Gothic building from the 15th century succeeding a church attested from the 12th century. Until the Reformation it was a renowned place of pilgrimage, centred on a venerated image of Saint Pancras. It retains stained-glass windows by the painter Louis Rivier installed in 1913 and a Romanesque capital discovered in 1948 (to be verified), evidence of an earlier building.
Le Château (1795). Bourgeois residence built in 1795, associated according to one source with a certain Louis Jan; the precise circumstances of its construction and its use remain to be verified.
La Possession. Site of the former mine, where a lignite seam and then coal were exploited into the 1940s, presented as the last operating coal mine in Vaud, employing up to 250 people.
Remains in Châtillens
Romanesque capital of the church. A Romanesque capital was uncovered in 1948 in the parish church, probably evidence of a religious building predating the current Gothic structure; this discovery remains to be verified in the detail of its archaeological context.
Remains of the La Possession mining operation. The galleries and installations of the former lignite and later coal mine of La Possession, intermittently in operation from the 18th century to 1946/1947 (to be verified), constitute a remnant of the village's industrial history.
Meteorite from the Bois de la Chevrettaz. Fragment of the meteorite that fell on 30 November 1901, observed by four witnesses and now kept at the cantonal geology museum in Lausanne.
Legends of Châtillens
Saint Pancras and children who died unbaptized. A tradition held that Saint Pancras, venerated in the parish church and the object of a pilgrimage in the 15th century, could briefly bring back to life infants who had died without baptism, long enough to administer that sacrament to them. This belief and the practice that stemmed from it ceased with the advent of the Reformation, around 1538 (to be verified).
Sources
- Wikipédia FR - Châtillens
- Wikipedia EN - Châtillens
- Commune d'Oron - page Villages
- Commune d'Oron - page Châtillens
- Florence Cattin et al., Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses, 1998 (cité via Wikipédia)
- Eugène Mottaz, Dictionnaire historique, géographique et statistique du canton de Vaud, réimpr. 1921 (cité via Wikipédia)
- Olivier Dessemontet, Louis F. Nicollier, Armorial des communes vaudoises, 1990 (cité via Wikipédia)
- Maurice Lugeon, « La météorite du bois de la Chevrettaz près Châtillens », Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles, 1904
Other villages near Châtillens
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