Premier

Origin of the name Premier

First established mention in 1403 in the form «Prumyer»; the form «Prumier» also appears in the documents. Another source gives a mention as early as 1316 in the form «Premyer» (to be cross-checked). According to the municipality, the name comes from the patois «premi», meaning plum tree, hence the plum tree in the coat of arms (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Premier

Premier lies on the slope of the Jura, halfway between Romainmôtier and Vaulion, between the valleys of the Orbe and the Nozon. Attested from the 14th century, the place had belonged since the Middle Ages to the lordship of the convent of Romainmôtier. Local tradition holds that the village itself was founded in the mid-16th century by a few families, the Candaux, Cochet, Poget, Roy, Boulaz and Magnenat, who settled about two kilometres above the abbey; this late date fits poorly with the 14th-century mentions and with the 15 hearths recorded in 1396 (to be cross-checked). Between Premier and Romainmôtier there then stood the old village of Lanfrey, on the road to Vaulion, abandoned in the 15th century. Located on the road from Orbe to the Vallée de Joux, Premier served as a staging post for carters; it lived from farming, on land that was sometimes poor and stony, and from crafts (blacksmiths, weavers, shoemakers, carpenters).

History of Premier

14th century. The hamlet of Lanfrey exists between Premier and Romainmôtier, on the road to Vaulion.

1316. The community reaches an agreement with the parish priest; one source places the first mention of the place here, in the form «Premyer» (to be cross-checked). Premier belongs to the lordship of Romainmôtier.

1396. Premier has 15 hearths.

1403. Mention of the place in the form «Prumyer».

1405. Only one inhabitant remains in Lanfrey, Aymonod de Lanfrey; the hamlet disappears in the course of the 15th century.

1536. Bernese conquest of Vaud: Premier is incorporated into the castellany and bailiwick of Romainmôtier.

mid-16th century. According to local tradition, the Candaux, Cochet, Poget, Roy, Boulaz and Magnenat families found the village (to be cross-checked).

18th century. Under Bernese rule, the village is run by a Council of inhabitants chaired by the governor and supplies soldiers to Their Excellencies of Bern.

1798. Under the Helvetic Republic, Premier belongs to the canton of Léman (until 1803) and is assigned to the district of Orbe; it is part of the canton of Vaud from 1803.

1804. During the demarcation of municipalities after the Vaud revolution, a boundary dispute sets Premier against Vallorbe.

1815. 22 soldiers from Premier go to Geneva to defend the city.

1827. The municipality already regulates the use of water, a scarce resource in the village.

19th century. Premier is a busy staging post for carters between Orbe and the Vallée de Joux, with two inns, a forge, a dairy, a communal oven and many craftsmen.

1894. A fire destroys twelve large buildings (1884 according to another source, to be cross-checked).

1898. A fire destroys a group of 26 houses full of harvested crops, almost half the village; the rebuilding, supported by regional solidarity, gives the village its school, its tower and its cheese dairy.

1900. The bell «Confiance» is installed in the tower, bearing the inscription «Dieu est un secours qui ne manque jamais dans la détresse».

1959. A first land improvement cooperative is set up.

1967. Premier is the centre of the «guerre des vaches», in which breeders of Montbéliard cattle oppose the federal administration.

1979. A second land improvement cooperative is set up.

2006. Dissolution of the district of Orbe: Premier joins the district of Jura-Nord vaudois.

Population of Premier

Population of Premier

1396	15 hearths (households)
1529	10 hearths (households)
1550	21 hearths (households)
1764	205 (52 hearths)
1803	232
1850	292
1900	178
1950	144
1970	138
2000	208
2018	214
2020	218
2025	233

Historic sites in Premier

School, tower and cheese dairy. Municipal buildings rebuilt quickly after the fire of 1898, which remain emblematic of the village; since 1900 the tower has housed the bell «Confiance».

Main street. Houses standing close together along the main street, keeping the look of a traditional rural Vaud village, on the old carters' road between Orbe and the Vallée de Joux.

Chalet des Auges. Chalet on the heights above the village, now a refreshment stop, with a view over the Orbe plain, the Jura and the Alps. The municipal territory rises to 1'170 m on the Grati.

Remains in Premier

Vanished village of Lanfrey. Former village between Premier and Romainmôtier, on the road to Vaulion, attested in the 14th century; in 1405 it had only one inhabitant left, Aymonod de Lanfrey, and it disappeared in the course of the 15th century.

Legends of Premier

The treasure of Lanfrey. According to tradition, a treasure was buried on the site of the old village of Lanfrey. Around 1842, digs were undertaken to find it; it is said that a pot of gold and a chest were uncovered, before mysteriously sinking into the ground.

The «Ricllia-laitia». The people of Premier are nicknamed in patois «lè Ricllia-laitia» (the whey-shitters). The nickname is said to come from the fact that the whey produced in the chalet of the communal mountain pasture was shared among the burghers, who had considered laying pipes to bring it down to the village.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Premier »
• Commune de Premier, « Présentation »
• Commune de Premier, « Buvette des Auges »
• Wikipédia, « Premier (Vaud) »
• Wikipedia (de), « Premier VD »
• Wikipedia (en), « Premier, Switzerland »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Premier

• Romainmôtier (VD)
• Envy (VD)
• Juriens (VD)
• Bretonnières (VD)
• Croy (VD)