Colombier
Origin of the name Colombier
The name Colombier comes from the Latin columbarium, which designates a dovecote, a building intended for raising pigeons. The locality first appears in a text in 937 in the form Columbaris. The forms Colonberio (987), Columberium (1005) and Columbie (1228) follow, before the spelling gradually settled into Colombier. The villagers were nicknamed in Vaud patois « lè Rondze-Bouène », that is, those who gnaw at boundary markers and destroy boundaries: a nickname whose precise origin is not established with certainty by the sources consulted and would deserve further cross-checking.
Founding of Colombier
No precise founding act is known for Colombier. The place formerly belonged to the lands of the kingdom of Burgundy, then during the Middle Ages was part of the land of Vullierens, itself attached to the barony of Cossonay. A first seigneurial family had settled there, but it was already extinct by the early 13th century. A new lineage, originally from Villars-le-Terroir, then took the name of the place: it is attested at Colombier with Girard de Colombier in 1281 and held the seigneury from the 13th to the 16th century. This de Colombier family became one of the most influential noble houses of the Pays de Vaud at the end of the Middle Ages, notably thanks to Humbert de Colombier, bailiff of Vaud for Savoy, and then his son Henri, lord of Colombier, of Vullierens and of Vufflens-le-Château, a close advisor to Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy (elected pope under the name Felix V in 1439). It was another member of the family, Jean-Donat de Colombier, who had the present château rebuilt around 1500. The village thus developed around this seigneurial château and the parish church of Saint-Martin, mentioned as early as 1228.
History of Colombier
937. First known written mention of the place, in the Latin form Columbaris.
1228. First mention of the parish church of Saint-Martin, then under the authority of the archbishop of Besançon.
1281. Girard de Colombier is attested: the de Colombier family, originally from Villars-le-Terroir, establishes itself at the place and holds the seigneury there until the 16th century.
1323. The parish church of Colombier becomes the property of the abbey of Romainmôtier, which retains it until 1536.
around 1420. Henri de Colombier, lord of Colombier, of Vullierens and of Vufflens-le-Château and a close advisor to Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, has the château of Vufflens built.
around 1500. Jean-Donat de Colombier has the present château built, with its polygonal stair tower and its flamboyant Gothic portal, on a different site from the first château, of which nothing remains.
1516. Jean-Donat de Colombier has the southern chapel of the church of Saint-Martin founded.
1536. The canton of Berne conquers the Pays de Vaud and imposes the Reformation there: Colombier loses its parish status and is attached to Vullierens.
1536-1798. Under Bernese rule, Colombier is part of the bailiwick of Morges and is administered by a council of ten members.
1544. Extinction of the de Colombier family; the seigneury then passes to the d'Allinges, then to Nicolas de Joffrey, lord of Dully, then to the Crinsoz, lords of Cottens.
1696. Installation of the panelled barrel ceiling of the church of Saint-Martin.
1727-1845. Colombier forms a joint parish suffragancy with Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges.
1737. Enlargement of the windows of the church of Saint-Martin.
1764. The village has 241 inhabitants.
1765. The seigneury of Colombier, then owned by the Crinsoz, is sold to the city of Lausanne.
1798. The village has 309 inhabitants, at the time of the end of the Ancien Régime and the creation of the Helvetic Republic.
1801-1803. Construction of the communal house, a neoclassical building with a small bell tower and clock.
1803. Colombier becomes the chief town of a circle.
1845-1863. Colombier is once again attached to the parish of Vullierens.
1850. The village has 363 inhabitants.
1863. Colombier officially becomes a parish again.
1870. The village has 409 inhabitants.
1896. The parish of Colombier, re-established in 1863, finally has a pastor in post.
1900. The village has 375 inhabitants.
1924. Installation of the stained-glass windows of the church of Saint-Martin, the work of the glass painter Charles Clément.
1950. The village has 285 inhabitants.
1970. The village reaches its 20th-century demographic low, with 251 inhabitants.
2000. The village has 456 inhabitants; agriculture and winegrowing then provide about a third of local jobs.
2010. On 31 December, the last census before the merger, Colombier has 522 inhabitants.
2011. On 1 July, Colombier merges with Échichens, Monnaz and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges to form the new municipality of Échichens, ending its existence as an independent municipality.
Population of Colombier
| 1764 | 241 |
| 1798 | 309 |
| 1850 | 363 |
| 1870 | 409 |
| 1900 | 375 |
| 1950 | 285 |
| 1970 | 251 |
| 2000 | 456 |
| 2010 | 522 |
Historic sites in Colombier
Reformed church of Saint-Martin. Mentioned as early as 1228, it retains a rectangular nave with a narrow, ribbed-vaulted choir. Its panelled barrel ceiling dates from 1696, its windows were enlarged in 1737, and its bell tower may have been raised, perhaps in 1599, information that would deserve further cross-checking. Its southern chapel was founded in 1516 by Jean-Donat de Colombier, and its present stained-glass windows date from 1924, the work of Charles Clément.
Château de Colombier. Large residence erected toward the very end of the 15th century by Jean-Donat de Colombier, on a different site from the first château, of which nothing survives. It is equipped with a remarkable polygonal ashlar stair tower and a carved portal in the flamboyant Gothic style. The interior notably retains a painted portrait of Amadeus VIII of Savoy and a stucco fireplace from the late Middle Ages. The building was later remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Small château. A well-to-do house topped with a mansard roof, bearing the arms of the de Colombier family as well as an IHS monogram.
Communal house. Nearly cubic neoclassical building, constructed between 1801 and 1803, with a saddleback roof and central bell turret fitted with a clock.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Colombier (VD) »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article « Colombier, de (VD) » (famille noble)
- Wikipédia FR, « Colombier (Vaud) »
- Wikipedia DE, « Colombier VD »
- Commune d'Échichens, page « La fusion »
- Commune d'Échichens, page « Les 4 villages »
- Canton de Vaud, décision du Conseil d'État ratifiant la fusion de Colombier, Echichens, Monnaz et Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges
- Swisscastles.ch, « Le château de Colombier » (Vaud)
- Papers etc., « Le château de Colombier sur Morges »
- Henry Suter, Noms de lieux de Suisse romande, Savoie et environs, entrée « Colombier »
Other villages near Colombier
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change