Montpreveyres

Origin of the name Montpreveyres

Name origin: first written mentions in 1154 « Monteproverio », in 1167 and 1228 « Mons Presbiteri » and in 1177 « Montpreuero ». The name means « priest's mount »: it combines « mont » (mount) with the Franco-Provençal word preveiro (priest), from ecclesiastical Latin presbyterum.

Founding of Montpreveyres

In the 12th century the cathedral chapter of Lausanne ceded the territory of Montpreveyres to the canons of the Grand-Saint-Bernard. Before 1160 they founded a small priory there, which served as a road relay. The village grew up around this priory, which became a parish in 1228. After the Bernese conquest the fortified priory was demolished and replaced by a rectory. Montpreveyres lies on the eastern slope of the Haut-Jorat, between Le Chalet-à-Gobet and Corcelles-le-Jorat, on the road to Bern.

History of Montpreveyres

1154. First written mention, in the form « Monteproverio ».

12th century. The cathedral chapter of Lausanne cedes the territory to the canons of the Grand-Saint-Bernard.

before 1160. The canons of the Grand-Saint-Bernard found a priory serving as a road relay.

1228. Montpreveyres is a parish.

1433. The village has 8 hearths.

1483. Casting of a bell still in the church (to be cross-checked).

1536. Bernese conquest and Reformation; Montpreveyres becomes one of the seven castellanies of the bailiwick of Moudon.

1576. The mason Claude Bornoz builds the rectory in place of the fortified priory.

1639. The plague kills half of the population.

1757-1758. The present church replaces the church of Saint-Laurent; it is built a little outside the village, above the Bressonne valley.

1766. The rectory is remodelled by the architect Abraham Burnand, after a first alteration in 1726.

1798. Montpreveyres joins the canton of Léman and the district of Oron.

1828. The parish includes Corcelles-le-Jorat and, until 1837, Les Cullayes.

1901-1962. The Lausanne-Moudon railway line serves the village; it is replaced by a bus line.

1980. Opening of an industrial photographic processing laboratory.

2006. The takeover of the laboratory leads to the loss of 90% of the municipality's jobs.

1 January 2008. The district of Oron is abolished; Montpreveyres joins the new district of Lavaux-Oron (territorial division law in force since 1 September 2006).

Population of Montpreveyres

Population of Montpreveyres

1433	8 hearths (households)
1600	16 hearths (households)
1798	257
1850	256
1900	270
1950	243
1960	198
2000	373
2025	670

Historic sites in Montpreveyres

Church (former church of Saint-Laurent). The present church replaced the church of Saint-Laurent in 1757-1758; it measures 13.40 m by 8.30 m. Its facade was modernised in 1818. It has stained glass by Charles Kunz (1895) and Jean Prahin (1993).

Rectory. Built in 1576 by the mason Claude Bornoz in place of the demolished fortified priory, it was altered in 1726 and again in 1766 by the architect Abraham Burnand. A lime tree of 1788 and a beech of 1818 stand beside it.

Borne des trois Jorats. Boundary stone marking since 1536 the limit between three Jorats; the original stone was replaced in 1928 (to be cross-checked).

Remains in Montpreveyres

Memory of the Grand-Saint-Bernard priory. The church of the medieval priory has disappeared. The fortified priory was demolished and replaced in 1576 by the rectory, which stands on the site of the former conventual building.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Montpreveyres »
• Wikipédia, « Montpreveyres »
• Wikipedia (allemand), « Montpreveyres »
• Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
• geo.admin.ch, Répertoire des localités (swisstopo)

Other villages near Montpreveyres

• Les Cullayes (VD)
• Mézières (VD)
• Corcelles-le-Jorat (VD)
• Mollie-Margot (VD)
• Ferlens (VD)