Servion

Origin of the name Servion

Name origin: first written mention in 1147 in the forms « Salvion » and « Salviun »; later come « Sarviacum » (1155), « Sarvion » (1236) and « Sarvyon » (1291). The name is said to come from the Gallo-Roman personal name Salvius (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Servion

The sources consulted do not say when or by whom the village was founded. In the 12th century it was the seat of a noble family of the same name: a Paganus de Salviun is described as a knight (miles) in 1147. The Cistercian abbey of Haut-Crêt also held land there. In 1259 Pierre de Salvion handed over the advocacy of his lands to Peter II of Savoy, and the village remained under direct Savoyard control until the Bernese conquest. Servion lies in the eastern Jorat, on the left bank of the Broye. Until 1820 Ferlens formed a single municipality with Servion; since 2012 the municipality has included Les Cullayes (these two places have their own page on this site).

History of Servion

1147. First written mention (« Salvion », « Salviun »): a Paganus de Salviun is described as a knight.

1259. Pierre de Salvion hands over the advocacy of his lands to Peter II of Savoy; the village comes under direct Savoyard control.

1453. First mention of the chapel of Saint-Maurice, a dependency of the parish of Mézières.

1536. Bernese conquest: Servion is attached to the bailiwick of Moudon.

1557-1798. Servion is part of the Bernese bailiwick of Oron.

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

1820. Ferlens separates from Servion and becomes a municipality in its own right.

19th century. Alteration of the chapel of Saint-Maurice and addition of the bell tower.

1938. Unsuccessful oil drilling.

1967. First Revue de Servion.

1974. The Bulliard brothers take over a bankrupt site and create the Zoo de Servion.

1980. Opening of the Café-théâtre Barnabé.

2000. Seven farms remain; now residential, the municipality has 80% commuters travelling to Lausanne.

2002. Opening of the Tropiquarium.

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

1 January 2012. Merger with Les Cullayes, approved by voters on 28 November 2010.

Population of Servion

Population of Servion

1803	281
1850	351
1900	333
1950	250
1960	198
2000	979
2025	2'241 (with Les Cullayes)

Historic sites in Servion

Chapel of Saint-Maurice. Mentioned in 1453 and altered in the 19th century, when a bell tower was added, it is a dependency of the parish of Mézières.

Zoo de Servion and Tropiquarium. Created in 1974 by the Bulliard brothers on a bankrupt site, the zoo has the tiger as its emblem; the Tropiquarium opened in 2002.

Café-théâtre Barnabé. Opened in 1980, it hosts every year the Revue de Servion, staged since 1967.

Legends of Servion

The « Donkeys » of Servion. Since the early 20th century the inhabitants have borne the nickname « Ânes » (donkeys) or « Bourriques »: tradition explains it by the donkeys that carried to Lausanne the molasse extracted from the local quarries, worked since the Middle Ages.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Servion »
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ferlens (VD) »
• Commune de Servion, « Questions à choix multiples sur les thématiques locales »
• Wikipédia, « Servion »
• Wikipedia (allemand), « Servion »
• Wikipédia, « Districts du canton de Vaud »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »
• geo.admin.ch, Répertoire des localités (swisstopo)

Localities of the municipality with a page

• Les Cullayes

Other villages near Servion

• Essertes (VD)
• Ferlens (VD)
• Vuibroye (VD)
• Mézières (VD)
• Les Cullayes (VD)