Etoy

Canton of Vaud · District: Morges · About 2'900 inhabitants (2'913 as of 31 December 2023, 2'931 a year earlier according to another compilation; the two figures are consistent to within a few dozen inhabitants, which is normal for a municipality of this size).

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

Origin of the name Etoy

The name Etoy is attested in writing as early as 1145, in the form Stuie, in a deed involving a certain Ulrich de Stuie acting on behalf of the local priory, which already existed at that date. Various spellings followed over the centuries: Estui (1167), Stoy (1177, in the bull where the pope recognizes the “Cella de Stoi”), Estue (1215), Estuve (1228), Estuy (1269), Estuez (1349), Stuez (1379), then Estuey (1430), before the spelling gradually stabilized as Etoy. The accepted hypothesis for the etymology derives the name from the Old French estui, which designates a place where something is stored or kept; however, it is not known what exactly was stored there, or whether the word referred to a building, a function, or a more general use. The accented spelling Étoy is sometimes found in more recent texts or in everyday usage, but the official name of the municipality, as it appears in administrative registers and official documents, remains Etoy without an accent. In the Vaudois patois, the village is called Etiai or Ètyè. Its inhabitants are called the Etierruz, a demonym that coexists with a more colorful collective nickname, the Écureuils (“Squirrels”, “lè z'Etiâiru” in patois). The precise origin of this animal nickname could not be established with certainty in the sources consulted; it is in any case sufficiently rooted in local memory to have inspired, in 1920, part of the municipal coat of arms, which combines a sable squirrel with the gold keys inherited from the village's religious past.

Founding of Etoy

Etoy does not owe its existence to a dated founding act or to the will of a single lord. The name of the place appears for the first time in texts in 1145 in connection with a priory already in place, which suggests that the settlement had formed even earlier, around this small religious establishment and the agricultural estate surrounding it, on the low-lying land by Lake Léman. The origins of this priory remain debated: some attribute it to the lords of Aubonne, others rather to the family of the knights of Hauteville, one of whose members, Pierre d'Hauteville, confirmed in 1206 “all the donations made by his ancestors to this house of Etoy,” which in any case testifies to an old and lasting link between this family and the establishment. In 1177, Pope Alexander III formally recognized the “Cella de Stoi” as a possession of the congregation of the Grand-Saint-Bernard, that is, of the regular canons attached to the hospice of the pass; as late as the 16th century, the priory was still administered directly by the provost of Mont-Joux, the former name of this alpine pass. It is from this affiliation that the gold keys on an azure field in the municipal coat of arms come, taken from those of Bourg-Saint-Pierre, seat of the provostship of the Grand-Saint-Bernard. The village thus developed, throughout the Middle Ages, as a rural and religious dependency oriented toward the lake rather than as a classic seigneurial creation built around a castle. It was only with the Reformation and the Bernese conquest of 1536 that the priory was secularized; a château was then built on its site, whose present, much-altered silhouette dates mainly from the 18th century. An even older hypothesis, put forward by some works but which could not be corroborated independently, holds that chaplains may already have served a parish here as early as the mid 9th century; this point remains to be verified rather than taken as established.

History of Etoy

9th century (hypothesis). According to a hypothesis found in some works, but which could not be confirmed independently, chaplains may already have served a parish at Etoy as early as the mid 9th century. To be treated with caution in the absence of solid corroboration.

1145. First known written mention of the place, in the form Stuie, in a deed involving Ulrich de Stuie on behalf of an already existing priory.

1167. The name appears in the form Estui.

1177. Pope Alexander III recognizes the “Cella de Stoi” as a possession of the congregation of the Grand-Saint-Bernard.

1206. Pierre d'Hauteville confirms the donations made by his ancestors to the house of Etoy, one of the clues used to discuss the origins of the priory.

1215. The village is mentioned in the form Estue.

1228. New attested spelling: Estuve.

1269. The name is spelled Estuy.

1349. Spelling Estuez.

1379. Spelling Stuez.

1430. Spelling Estuey, the last notable variant before the spelling gradually stabilized as Etoy.

1536. The Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud leads to the secularization of the priory. A château is built on its former site.

1701. Under Bernese administration, Etoy is attached to the bailiwick of Aubonne.

1798-1803. During the Helvetic Republic, Etoy initially belongs to the district of Aubonne, in the canton of Léman.

1803. When the Act of Mediation came into force, Etoy was reorganized and attached to the district of Morges, where it would remain durably, and not to the district of Aubonne as one might think at first glance: the earlier period under Aubonne, a few years before, had only been transitional.

1850. The municipality has 474 inhabitants.

14 April 1858. The Morges-Coppet railway line, a section of the Lausanne-Geneva line, is put into service and gives Etoy a station.

1872. Auguste Buchet founds L'Espérance in Etoy, a medico-educational institution intended for the care of people with disabilities.

1900. The municipality has 663 inhabitants.

1920. The municipal coat of arms, combining the gold keys from the religious past and the squirrel from the local nickname, is officially adopted.

1980. The municipality has 891 inhabitants.

1984. The population crosses the threshold of 1'000 inhabitants.

1998. The population crosses the threshold of 2'000 inhabitants, a sign of rapid residential growth over about fifteen years.

31 August 2006. Reform of the Vaud districts: the former district of Morges, to which Etoy had belonged since 1803, merges with the former districts of Aubonne, Cossonay and Rolle to form the new, larger district of Morges.

2009. The company Chiquita Brands International establishes one of its two world headquarters in Etoy.

2022. The municipality has 2'931 inhabitants according to a statistical compilation.

2023. The municipality has 2'913 inhabitants, a slight fluctuation compared to the previous year rather than a break in trend.

Population of Etoy

474

1850

663

1900

891

1980

1'000

1984

2'000

1998

2'931

2022

2'913

2023

Historic sites in Etoy

Etoy Castle. Built in the 16th century on the site of the former priory of the Grand-Saint-Bernard, secularized after the Bernese conquest, the castle was remodeled several times and owes most of its present silhouette to the 18th century. It notably housed, for more than fifty years, the family of the Geneva writer Guy de Pourtalès. It remains today a place of cultural life, hosting concerts and events, and still holds traces of its religious origin in its overall layout.

Saint Nicholas Church. The current building largely retains elements dating back to the 13th century, with later alterations linked in particular to the Reformation. Its triumphal arch, from the 12th century, predates the rest of the building visible today. The massive bell tower corresponds to a former defensive tower converted into a bell tower; it carries a bell dated 1630.

Romanèche hamlet. This hamlet retains a characteristic built appearance, with rural houses used for farming and winegrowing, some dating back to the 17th-19th centuries. The whole village of Etoy, including Romanèche, is listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of National Importance.

L'Espérance. Founded in 1872 by Auguste Buchet, this medico-educational institution for the care of people with disabilities occupies a large site north of the village. Together with the castle and the church, it is one of the most notable historical landmarks of the municipality, although with a social rather than strictly heritage purpose.

Etoy railway station. Put into service on 14 April 1858 with the opening of the Morges-Coppet section of the Lausanne-Geneva line, the Etoy railway station contributed, as in many municipalities along Lake Léman, to the residential and economic growth of the village during the 20th century.

Remains in Etoy

Remains of the medieval priory. The priory, founded at the latest in the 12th century and attached to the congregation of the Grand-Saint-Bernard, no longer exists as such since its secularization in 1536: the present castle was built on its site and probably incorporated part of its structures. No documented archaeological excavation on this specific site was found in the sources consulted; what remains of the original religious building is therefore more of an indirect trace, in the layout and organization of the castle, than a visible remnant clearly identified as such.

12th-century triumphal arch. Preserved in Saint Nicholas Church despite later alterations to the building, this Romanesque triumphal arch is the oldest architectural element identified with certainty on the village's territory.

Former tile works and quay. A former tile works operated at Etoy, which was among the earliest tile-making centers in the canton of Vaud; an avenue of chestnut trees is said to still mark its route today, down to a quay on the lake. This detail comes from a single source consulted and could not be corroborated independently; it is mentioned here with this reservation rather than as a fully established fact.

Sources

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