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Villages / Vaud / Échallens

Échallens

Town Canton of Vaud · District: Gros-de-Vaud · 6'816 inhabitants (31.12.2025)
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Échallens

First mentions: «capella de Charlens» in 1141, «Escharlent» in 1177, «Eschallens» in 1228, «Eschalleins» in 1279, then «Echallens» in 1315. The name is thought to come from the Germanic personal name «Scarilo» followed by the suffix «-ingos» («among the people of»), adopted in the Gallo-Roman area from the 6th century (to be cross-checked). Old German name: «Tscherlitz»; in Vaudois patois: «Ètsalyin».

Founding of Échallens

The lordship of Échallens was formed in the 11th century on the western slope of the Jorat, through grants by the king of Burgundy Rudolph III and the emperor Henry IV to the bishop of Lausanne. Échallens at first had only a chapel. In the 13th century, the lords of Montfaucon-Montbéliard built a castle there (attributed to Amédée III and mentioned in 1273), on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the Talent. A small town developed around the fortress. In the 14th century, Girard de Montfaucon enlarged it and joined it to the castle with a wall and ditches (around 1350). In 1351-1352, Girard de Montfaucon and Jacquette de Grandson granted it the franchises of Moudon: the town became a free commune, its inhabitants were exempted from the taille and mortmain, and it obtained two annual fairs and a weekly market. Échallens thus has the status of a medieval town.

History of Échallens

Bronze Age. A Bronze Age foundry is attested by remains discovered in 1857 in the castle courtyard; La Tène and early medieval cemeteries have been located at the sites of En Argilliez, Condémines and Chatelard.

11th century. Formation of the lordship of Échallens through grants by Rudolph III, last king of Burgundy, and the emperor Henry IV to the bishop of Lausanne.

1141. First mention, «capella de Charlens», in a letter of protection from Pope Innocent II in favour of the abbey of Montbenoît; the chapel is then a daughter church of Goumoens-la-Ville. Échallens becomes a parish before 1228.

13th century. Construction of the castle by the lords of Montfaucon-Montbéliard (attributed to Amédée III); it is mentioned in a charter of 1273. From the 1270s, Amédée III acquires the rights over Échallens at the expense of the lords of Goumoens and Cheseaux.

1291. A castellan and tax collectors are attested, again in 1313; a toll is established before 1346.

1317. Jean de Montfaucon acknowledges holding Échallens from the Count of Savoy.

1348-1349. The plague strikes the locality.

around 1350. Girard de Montfaucon enlarges the town and joins it to the castle with a wall and ditches.

1351-1352. Charter of franchises: Girard de Montfaucon and Jacquette de Grandson grant the town the franchises of Moudon. Échallens becomes a town (free commune); its inhabitants are exempted from the taille and mortmain, and two fairs and a weekly market are authorised. The town then receives walls and a municipal organisation.

1410. The lordship passes to the House of Chalon, of Burgundian origin.

1451. Damaged in 1445, the castle is repaired, or even entirely rebuilt, by Louis de Chalon (large residential wing, second round tower).

1464. First mention of syndics.

1475-1476. Burgundian Wars: the castle is besieged and burned. The Confederates seize the lordship and in 1476 place it under the common administration of Bern, Fribourg and the other cantons; together with Orbe, it forms a common bailiwick.

1484. Échallens becomes the centre of the bailiwick of Orbe-Échallens, administered jointly by Bern and Fribourg until 1798; the rights of the other cantons are said to have been bought out at that time by the Treaty of Beromünster (to be cross-checked).

1536-1798. After the Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud, Échallens remains a common bailiwick of Bern (Reformed) and Fribourg (Catholic), an exceptional situation that allows the two confessions to coexist. The two confessions share the old church of Saint-Jean l'Évangéliste (simultaneum).

1676. Recorded existence of the Reformed Confraternity of Échallens, responsible for religious and school instruction.

1719. Construction of the north wing of the castle, at shared expense.

1726-1727. Construction of a new church used by both confessions (simultaneum church).

1738. Creation of a Council of twenty-four members. Under the Ancien Régime the town is administered by two governors and a Council of twelve members; these councils have as many Catholics as Protestants.

1781. Construction of the town hall, financed by the burghers.

1798. Vaudois Revolution: departure of the last Fribourg bailiff; Échallens becomes the chief town of the new district of Échallens.

1816. The municipality buys the castle to house its services. The castle then houses the court, the prisons, the schools and, from 1842 to 1852, the deaconesses.

1864-1865. Construction of the neo-Romanesque Reformed church (architect Louis Joël).

1874. Arrival of the Lausanne-Échallens railway, extended to Bercher in 1889; the two companies merge in 1913 to form the Lausanne-Échallens-Bercher (LEB).

1882-1883. Construction of the neo-Gothic Catholic church (architect Émile Vuilloud) on the site of the simultaneum church.

1892. Creation of a doubly mixed secondary school, housed in the castle; it becomes a science college in 1911.

1989. Inauguration of the Maison du Blé et du Pain, born from the memory of the first Wheat and Bread Festival of 1978.

2006. Abolition of the district of Échallens (31 August); the municipality joins the district of Gros-de-Vaud, of which it becomes the chief town (to be cross-checked).

Population of Échallens

Population of Échallens
141635 hearths (households)
145332 hearths (households)
176481 hearths (households), including 34 Catholic
1850957
19001'096
19501'324
19701'643
19802'163
19903'418
20004'281
20105'189
20205'729
20256'816 (31 December)

Historic sites in Échallens

Échallens Castle. Fortress of the Montfaucon mentioned in 1273, with three towers; damaged in 1445, repaired or rebuilt in 1451 by Louis de Chalon, burned by the Swiss in 1475, then partly rebuilt in the mid-16th century as the residence of the bailiffs of Bern and Fribourg; a residential wing (north wing) was added in 1719. Owned by the municipality since 1816, it has housed the court, the prisons, the schools and the secondary college (1892); it now houses, among other things, the tourist office.

Town hall. Built in 1781 at the burghers' expense to replace a dilapidated building; its pediment was adorned in 1798 with revolutionary emblems (Tell's hat and fasces).

Reformed church. Neo-Romanesque church built in 1864-1865 by the architect Louis Joël.

Catholic church. Neo-Gothic church by the architect Émile Vuilloud (1882-1883), enlarged in 1956, built on the site of the simultaneum church of 1727.

Maison du Blé et du Pain. Museum devoted to cereals and bread, inaugurated in 1989.

Maison Mestrezat. Residence built around 1755, cultural property of regional significance.

Remains in Échallens

Round tower and moat of the castle. Of the medieval castle there remains a round tower typical of the 13th century. The fortress was protected by the ravine of the Talent to the north and west and, on the town side, by a dry moat that could be flooded, crossed by a drawbridge.

Archaeological remains. Remains of a Bronze Age foundry discovered in 1857 in the castle courtyard; La Tène and early medieval cemeteries at the sites of En Argilliez, Condémines and Chatelard. A Roman road linking Lausanne to Yverdon is thought to have crossed the site, but its remains were destroyed at the end of the 19th century.

Sources

Other villages near Échallens

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