Poliez-le-Grand
Origin of the name Poliez-le-Grand
The name of the village is attested in the Latinised form Poleto around 1160-1179, then in the form Pollie lo Grant in 1225. According to the municipality's history, it was also recorded as Poulye lez grand and then Pully-le-Grand in the 12th century, before the current form Poliez-le-Grand was definitively adopted in 1708 (to be cross-checked). A Roman origin is suggested under the form Polliacum, which is said to have once designated a single territory encompassing both Poliez-le-Grand and the neighbouring but distinct village of Poliez-Pittet, before their separation into two entities; this hypothesis, however, rests on Gallo-Roman remains discovered in the territory of Poliez-Pittet and not in that of Poliez-le-Grand itself, which remains to be cross-checked for the part properly attributable to Poliez-le-Grand.
Founding of Poliez-le-Grand
Poliez-le-Grand has no single founder or precise foundation date. In the Middle Ages, the territory was divided among several lords, including the de Goumoëns and de Vulliens families, as well as the priory of Lutry and the abbey of Montheron, which held land there. A parish is attested from 1141, attached to the abbey of Montbenoît (diocese of Besançon), which shows that the village already existed as an organised community by that date.
History of Poliez-le-Grand
1141. A parish is attested at Poliez-le-Grand, attached to the abbey of Montbenoît, in the diocese of Besançon.
around 1160-1179. First attested mention of the village in the Latinised form Poleto.
1225. The village is mentioned in the form Pollie lo Grant.
Middle Ages. The territory is divided among several lords (the de Goumoëns and de Vulliens families), the priory of Lutry and the abbey of Montheron, who hold land there.
after 1475. Following the Burgundian War, the village comes under the joint rule of Berne and Fribourg.
1481-1798. Poliez-le-Grand belongs to the joint bailiwick of Orbe-Échallens, administered by two bailiffs and a Council of Twelve.
from 1531. The village experiences the tensions of the Reformation and finds itself torn between the Bernese and Fribourg authorities.
12 August 1619. Catholic worship is abolished in Poliez-le-Grand, the village definitively moving over to the Reformation.
1699. The village's parsonage is rebuilt.
1708. The current form of the name, Poliez-le-Grand, becomes definitively fixed (to be cross-checked).
1711. The parish church, dedicated to the Virgin, is restored.
1798-2006. The village is part of the district of Échallens, before the cantonal district reform in the canton of Vaud that creates the district of Gros-de-Vaud.
1923-2004. A dairy cooperative operates in the village, alongside construction, demolition and transport businesses.
1929. The municipality adopts its coat of arms, gules three wavy bends argent, symbolising the local watercourses: the Talent, the Coruz and the Botterel.
2000. More than three-quarters of the working population are commuters working mainly in the Lausanne conurbation.
1 July 2011. Poliez-le-Grand merges with Dommartin, Naz and Sugnens to form the new municipality of Montilliez.
Population of Poliez-le-Grand
| 1453 | 20 hearths |
| 1764 | 49 hearths |
| 1803 | 382 |
| 1850 | 470 |
| 1900 | 349 |
| 1950 | 329 |
| 2000 | 528 |
| 2009 | 692 |
Historic sites in Poliez-le-Grand
Church of the Virgin. The village has had a parish church dependent on the abbey of Montbenoît since the 12th century. Dedicated to the Virgin, it was restored in 1711, while the neighbouring parsonage was rebuilt in 1699. Catholic worship was abolished there on 12 August 1619 after the upheavals of the Reformation; today the village's Protestants belong to the parish of Haute-Menthue and the Catholics to that of Bottens.
Communal dairy. A dairy cooperative operated in the village from 1923 to 2004, evidence of the traditional agricultural economy that long characterised Poliez-le-Grand, alongside construction, demolition and transport businesses.
Remains in Poliez-le-Grand
Hypothesis of a shared Roman territory (Polliacum). No archaeological remains have so far been reported directly within the territory of Poliez-le-Grand. The hypothesis of a shared Roman origin with the neighbouring but distinct village of Poliez-Pittet, under the name Polliacum, rests on Gallo-Roman remains discovered within the territory of Poliez-Pittet itself, and not within that of Poliez-le-Grand; this link remains to be cross-checked and should not suggest that Roman remains have been unearthed at Poliez-le-Grand itself.
Sources
- Poliez-le-Grand, Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (DHS)
- Histoire de la commune, Commune de Montilliez
- Poliez-le-Grand, Wikipédia (français)
- Poliez-le-Grand, Wikipedia (English)
Other villages near Poliez-le-Grand
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