Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
Origin of the name Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
First known mention in 1138 in the form « de Sancto Sufforiano ». The name comes from the church dedicated to Saint Symphorian, which gave its name to the village. According to another source, the ancient settlement was called « Glerula » (from the Latin « glarea », gravel), which became « Glérolles » in the Middle Ages (to be cross-checked).
Founding of Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
The site has been occupied since Roman times: a secular Gallo-Roman building of the 1st century AD was converted in the 5th century into a Christian mausoleum, rebuilt after a rockfall, then transformed in the 7th century into a church dedicated to Saint Symphorian, around which the village grew. The place came early under the bishopric of Lausanne. The founding of the church by Bishop Marius is a legend. Saint-Saphorin was long the centre of a large parish and municipality that also included Chexbres, Rivaz and Puidoux, which separated from it at the beginning of the 19th century.
History of Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
1st century. Secular Gallo-Roman building on the site of the present church.
47. Milestone of Emperor Claudius, evidence of the Roman road.
5th century. The Roman building is converted into a Christian mausoleum, then rebuilt after a rockfall.
563. The original village is said to have been destroyed by the Tauredunum rockfall (to be cross-checked).
7th century. Transformation into a church dedicated to Saint Symphorian (Carolingian capitals).
8th century. The church is a parish church.
1138. First known mention (« de Sancto Sufforiano »); the same year, Les Faverges are given to the Cistercian abbey of Hauterive.
around 1150. The Bishop of Lausanne has a keep built at Glérolles to guard a narrow stretch of the Lausanne-Vevey road (to be cross-checked).
14th century. The Bishop of Lausanne acquires Glérolles castle.
1424. Plaid général of Saint-Saphorin of 4 May 1424.
1455. Founding of a hospital.
1491. Communal tile works at Puidoux, in operation until the early 19th century.
1520. Construction of the present church, adorned with a stained-glass window bearing the portrait of Bishop Sébastien de Montfalcon.
1536-1798. Saint-Saphorin belongs to the Bernese bailiwick of Lausanne; the municipality is run by two councils of 18 and 36 members.
1734. Chexbres becomes a separate parish.
1798. Assigned to the district of Lavaux, until 2006.
1808. Chexbres becomes a municipality; Puidoux and Rivaz follow in 1810.
1840-1845. Construction of the cantonal road.
1860-1861. Construction of the railway line; road and railway destroy the medieval character of the lower village.
1869. The estates of Les Faverges (Hauterive abbey) and Ogoz (Humilimont) pass to the Collège Saint-Michel, then to the State of Fribourg in 1963.
2000. The parish of Saint-Saphorin once again covers the four municipalities of Saint-Saphorin, Chexbres, Rivaz and Puidoux.
2007. « Lavaux, vignoble en terrasses » is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
2008. The new territorial division comes into force: Saint-Saphorin is part of the district of Lavaux-Oron.
2017. The village joins the association « Les plus beaux villages de Suisse » (to be cross-checked).
Population of Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
| 1764 | 211 |
| 1850 | 357 |
| 1880 | 404 |
| 1900 | 410 |
| 1950 | 315 |
| 1970 | 245 |
| 2000 | 348 |
| 2025 | 393 |
Historic sites in Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
Saint-Symphorien church. Present church built in 1520 on the remains of older churches and of a Gallo-Roman building, adorned with a stained-glass window bearing the portrait of Bishop Sébastien de Montfalcon, the last Bishop of Lausanne before the Reformation. Rebuilt in Flamboyant Gothic style in the early 16th century, it is listed as a monument of national importance.
Glérolles castle. Castle on the lakeshore, within the municipality. The Bishop of Lausanne is said to have built a keep here around 1150 (to be cross-checked); the bishop acquired the castle in the 14th century. Nicknamed the « Chillon de Lavaux », it was converted into a residence in the 19th and 20th centuries (to be cross-checked).
Les Faverges and Ogoz. Wine estates overlooking the village: Les Faverges, given in 1138 to the Cistercian abbey of Hauterive, and Ogoz, owned by Humilimont, passed to the Collège Saint-Michel in 1869, then to the State of Fribourg in 1963.
Wine-growing village. Wine-growing remains the main activity of Saint-Saphorin, in the heart of the Lavaux vineyards inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007. The lower village lost its medieval character with the cantonal road (1840-1845) and the railway (1860-1861).
Remains in Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
Gallo-Roman remains under the church. Beneath the church lie the remains of a Gallo-Roman building of the 1st century AD, which became a Christian mausoleum in the 5th century and then a church in the 7th century, with Carolingian capitals.
Gallo-Roman temple, altar and milestone. The ancient heritage includes a Gallo-Roman temple (fanum), an altar to Fortuna and a milestone of Emperor Claudius dated AD 47.
Legends of Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
Bishop Marius, founder of the church. A tradition attributes the founding of the church of Saint-Saphorin to Bishop Marius; it is a legend.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux) »
- Wikipédia, « Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux) »
- Wikipedia (anglais), « Glérolles Castle »
- Lavaux Patrimoine mondial, « Les principaux monuments »
- Montreux Riviera, « St-Saphorin Church »
- UNESCO, Centre du patrimoine mondial, « Lavaux, vignoble en terrasses »
- 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 Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux)
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