Orny
Origin of the name Orny
The place is mentioned in 1011 in the form «in Orne». Another source gives the forms «Orniaco», «Ornei», «Ornie» and «Ornier» before «Orny» (to be cross-checked). The etymology is not explained by the sources consulted.
Founding of Orny
The site was occupied long before the first written mentions: a protohistoric level and numerous Roman remains (road, 2nd-century milestone, settlement with a mosaic, Gallo-Roman cremation cemetery) have been identified there. The village appears in written records in 1011. In the Middle Ages Orny was a fief of the Grandson family and belonged to the great barony of La Sarraz; its lords gave the church, then a parish church, to the abbey of the Lac de Joux before 1177. After passing to the Gingins in 1542 and the break-up of the barony in 1626, the lordship of Orny became the appanage of a cadet branch of the house of Gingins. The municipality includes the village and the locality of Entreroches.
History of Orny
Protohistory. Occupation attested by a protohistoric level, beneath a later cemetery.
Roman period. Road, 2nd-century milestone, tiles, settlement with a mosaic and Gallo-Roman cremation cemetery.
1011. First written mention, in the form «in Orne».
1177. The church of Notre-Dame is attested; the lords of La Sarraz had given it to the abbey of the Lac de Joux.
1228. The church is a parish church by this date at the latest.
1453. Orny has 45 hearths.
late 15th century. The church is given a bell tower with a stone spire, borrowed from the architecture of the Rhône valley and the Chablais.
1536-1798. Orny belongs to the bailiwick of Romainmôtier; after the Reformation the parish becomes an annex of La Sarraz.
1542. The fief passes to the Gingins.
1626. Break-up of the barony of La Sarraz; the lordship of Orny becomes the appanage of a cadet branch of the Gingins.
1645. Pompaples is detached from the lordship of Orny.
18th century. Victor de Gingins (1690-1758) has the present castle built.
1795. Construction of a building housing a schoolroom, a wine press and a bread oven.
1798-2006. Orny belongs to the district of Cossonay.
1871. The castle is bequeathed to the cantonal institution for the sick, the incurable and infirm elderly; it becomes the EMS Cottier-Boys care home, named after the donor.
1926. Adoption of the coat of arms, taking up that of the barons of La Sarraz with the church tower.
2002. Restoration of the bread oven of 1795.
2005. Agriculture still provides 38% of jobs.
2008. With the new territorial organisation of Vaud, Orny joins the district of Morges.
Population of Orny
| 1453 | 45 hearths (households) |
| 1764 | 180 |
| 1798 | 214 |
| 1850 | 301 |
| 1900 | 302 |
| 1950 | 306 |
| 2000 | 334 |
| 2025 | 525 |
Historic sites in Orny
Church of Notre-Dame. Attested in 1177 and a parish church by 1228 at the latest, the church received towards the end of the 15th century a bell tower with a pyramidal stone spire, inspired by the architecture of the Rhône valley and the Chablais. It preserves a Gothic chapel predating the Reformation and wall paintings that are among the oldest in the canton of Vaud.
Orny castle. Built in the 18th century for Victor de Gingins (1690-1758), the castle was bequeathed in 1871 to the cantonal institution for the sick, the incurable and infirm elderly and now houses the EMS Cottier-Boys care home.
Building of 1795 and bread oven. This municipal building combined a schoolroom, a wine press and a bread oven, restored in 2002.
Village listed in the ISOS. The whole village of Orny is listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance (ISOS) (to be cross-checked).
Remains in Orny
Roman remains. The area has yielded numerous Roman remains: a road alignment, a 2nd-century milestone, tiles, a settlement decorated with a mosaic, and a Gallo-Roman cremation cemetery set on a protohistoric level.
Legends of Orny
The «Rupiants». The inhabitants of Orny are nicknamed «les Rupiants». According to tradition, they earned this nickname at a gargantuan feast paid for, long ago, by the sale of a piece of forest in the Risoux.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Orny »
- Feuille des avis officiels du canton de Vaud, « Alphabet des communes vaudoises : Orny »
- Wikipedia (en), « Orny, Switzerland »
- Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
- Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
Other villages near Orny
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