Vallorbe

Origin of the name Vallorbe

First written mentions in 1139, in a bull of Pope Innocent II addressed to the prior of Romainmôtier, in the form «de valle urbanensi» («obedientiam de valle urbanensi cum capella»), then in 1148 «de valle urbe». «Valorbes» is then found at the beginning of the 13th century and «Vallorbes» from the late 15th century until around 1900; the final «s» disappeared from official use from October 1884. The name means «valley of the Orbe», after the river that flows through the locality. The origin of the name of the Orbe itself (Latin «orba», «dark river», alluding to its partly underground course) is a common explanation (to be cross-checked).

Founding of Vallorbe

No permanent settlement is proven before the 12th century, although older isolated objects have been found (Neolithic axe, Celtic axe, Roman coin). Lying away from the road over the Col de Jougne, the valley remained uninhabited until the Middle Ages. It belonged to the Cluniac monastery of Romainmôtier, from which the first settlers came; its clearing by the monks is dated to around 1100 (to be cross-checked). In 1139 an obedience of Romainmôtier with a chapel, seat of a small priory, is mentioned at Vallorbe; in 1148 the bishop of Lausanne hands over the church of Saint-Pancrace to Romainmôtier. Too poor for its prior to reside there, the priory was incorporated into the mother house in 1322. The first inhabitants settled around the fountain of Saint-Pancrace, named after the patron saint of the church. The village was thus born of the monastic colonisation of the upper Orbe valley, then developed thanks to the water power of the river, which very early attracted mills, sawmills and forges.

History of Vallorbe

1139. First mention («de valle urbanensi») in a bull of Pope Innocent II confirming to the prior of Romainmôtier the obedience of the Orbe valley with its chapel.

1148. The bishop of Lausanne hands over the church of Saint-Pancrace to Romainmôtier; the chapel is henceforth described as a church.

13th century. Vallorbe passes into the orbit of the Counts of Savoy while remaining under the direct authority of the priory of Romainmôtier, represented locally by a mayor and a mestral.

around 1285. At the instigation of the abbot of Romainmôtier, a sawmill and a first ironworks (La Dernier) are built near the source of the Orbe: the beginning of metalworking in Vallorbe.

1322. The priory of Vallorbe, too poor for its prior to reside there, is incorporated into the mother house of Romainmôtier.

first half of the 14th century. The population, numbering about 500 people, is decimated by the plague.

1403. The prior of Romainmôtier Jean de Seyssel exempts the inhabitants from the «taille à miséricorde», replaced by a fixed due of twenty pounds.

1475. During the Burgundian Wars, the village is plundered by Confederate troops. Only 20 families remain in the village.

late 15th century. Birth of the Grandes Forges quarter (1495 according to the museum, 1499 according to other sources); in 1499 the village has a sawmill, a tannery, two mills, two ironworks and a trip-hammer forge.

1528. Construction of the first of three new blast furnaces; the last one is shut down around 1697, after which iron comes from Franche-Comté. Between 1600 and 1800 more than fifty small forges settle around the large works, making tools, then nails and files.

1536. Bernese conquest of the Pays de Vaud; Vallorbe adopts the Reformation and its parish is retained.

1543. Vallorbe is placed under the Bernese bailiwick of Romainmôtier and becomes the seat of the castellany.

1636-1638. Vallorbe takes in refugees from Franche-Comté.

1710. The village has 108 nailsmiths.

1712. Rebuilding of the temple, the former priory church of Saint-Pancrace; the parsonage dates from 1753.

1713. A Council of Twelve and a Council of Twenty-Four replace the assembly that had governed the community until then.

1798-1803. In 1798 several inhabitants join the pro-Bernese Légion fidèle; 76% of the working population then live from industry and crafts, 20% from agriculture. Under the Helvetic Republic Vallorbe belongs to the canton of Léman, then to the canton of Vaud; it is part of the district of Orbe from 1798 to 2006 and becomes the chief town of a circle in 1803.

1870. Opening of the Vallorbe-Daillens line (built from 1867, with the Day viaduct) and of the first station on 1 October.

1871. Internment of soldiers of Bourbaki's army.

1875. Opening of the international Pontarlier-Vallorbe line on 1 September.

1883. In April a fire destroys 98 houses and leaves about 700 people homeless; the Grandes Forges quarter is spared.

1886. Opening of the line from Le Day to Le Pont, linking Vallorbe to the Vallée de Joux.

1889. Commissioning of a power station at the Saut-du-Day.

1899. Founding of the Usines métallurgiques de Vallorbe, where file making is concentrated (branch in Saint Petersburg from 1902 to 1918).

1915. Inauguration of the Mont-d'Or tunnel (Frasne-Vallorbe line) and of the new international station, on the Paris-Simplon axis. More than 1'000 workers, mostly Italians, were employed in building the tunnel, and many settled in Vallorbe.

1937-1941. Construction of the Pré-Giroud artillery fort, intended to block the Jougne pass and access to the Mont-d'Or tunnel.

1940-1945. In May 1940 the French army blows up the Mont-d'Or tunnel; in June 1940 hundreds of French refugees are taken in; the tunnel reopens on 24 January 1945. On 26 April 1945 Marshal Pétain is handed over to the French authorities at the Vallorbe border post.

1956-1972. Industrial decline: closure of the forges of Le Creux (1956), L'Éterpaz (1959), the Grandes Forges (1967) and the electrochemical plant at Le Day (1972).

1974. Opening to the public of the Orbe caves (Vallorbe caves).

1980-1990. Opening of the Iron Museum (1980) in the Grandes Forges, then of the Railway Museum (1990); the Pré-Giroud fort is opened to the public in 1988.

1984. Launch of the Paris-Lausanne TGV service via Vallorbe, on 22 January.

1989. Vallorbe is connected to the A9b motorway.

2002. Opening of the Juraparc.

Population of Vallorbe

Population of Vallorbe

first half of the 14th century	500 people approximately, before the plague
1397	55 to 60 heads of household
1434-1437	28 heads of household
after 1475	20 families
1499	16 heads of household
1550	22 hearths (households)
1703	925
1764	900
1850	1'491
1870	1'982
1900	3'279
1920	4'621
1941	3'592
1950	3'896
1960	3'990
1970	4'028
1980	3'375
1990	3'271
2000	3'247
2010	3'312
2020	3'863
2025	4'434

Historic sites in Vallorbe

Source of the Orbe and Vallorbe caves. The Orbe re-emerges at Vallorbe after an underground course from the lakes of the Vallée de Joux, a link demonstrated by scientific work between 1865 and 1893. After a first dive in a diving suit in 1893, Geneva divers resumed exploration in 1961; in 1964 Christian Giurumello discovered the former open-air course of the Orbe. The caves were opened to the public in 1974; the mineral exhibition of the «Trésor des fées» was added in 1992. The network exceeded 30 kilometres of explored passages in 2017.

Grandes Forges and Iron and Railway Museum. The metallurgical heart of Vallorbe since the late 15th century, the Grandes Forges quarter, spared by the fire of 1883, operated until 1967. Since 1980 it has housed the Iron Museum, where paddle wheels still drive the machinery of the old forges, complemented in 1990 by the Railway Museum, devoted in particular to the Simplon line.

International station. Inaugurated in 1915 with the Mont-d'Or tunnel, the vast border station made Vallorbe a major Franco-Swiss crossing point, served by the Simplon-Orient-Express until 1977 and then by the TGV from 1984. It is listed as a cultural property of national importance.

Pré-Giroud fort. Artillery fort built from 1937 to 1941 to block the Jougne pass, prevent use of the Mont-d'Or tunnel and support the defence of the border. Occupied throughout the mobilisation of 1939-1945, in 1988 it became the first Swiss fortification open to the public.

Saint-Pancrace temple. Former priory church, mentioned as a church from 1148, rebuilt in 1712; the neighbouring parsonage dates from 1753.

Day viaduct. Railway structure built in 1867-1869 for the Vallorbe-Daillens line, re-vaulted in 1923-1925.

Casino. Opened in 1908 and renovated in 2012, the casino, with its music and theatre hall, contributes together with the station, the Day viaduct and the dam to the urban character of Vallorbe.

Remains in Vallorbe

Old forges and ironworks. The forges of Vallorbe were active from the 13th to the 20th century: La Dernier ironworks around 1285, Le Vivier ironworks from 1488, blast furnaces from 1528, then nail works and file factories in the 19th century. The Grandes Forges, preserved with their water wheels, are their main witness.

Grotte aux Fées. Cave near Vallorbe where remains of cave bears were found, the first site in the Vaud Jura to have yielded them.

Legends of Vallorbe

The Grotte aux Fées and Donat the blacksmith. According to a tale published in 1938, Donat, a young 25-year-old blacksmith who mocked the fairies, entered the great cave at midnight. A fairy welcomed him and promised him a pearl and a diamond every day, on condition that he never entered a forbidden cave. Driven by curiosity, he disobeyed and discovered that the fairy had goose feet hidden under her long dress. Driven out, he returned to the village where his treasures turned into dead leaves; mocked by all, he left the country, and since then the caves of Vallorbe have no longer been inhabited by fairies.

The «Tire-Lune». The people of Vallorbe bear the nickname «Tire-Lune». Tradition offers several explanations: a tipsy hunter is said to have shot at the reflection of the moon in the Orbe; a simpleton is said to have aimed at the moon thinking he would hit a shooting star; or else marksmen of the municipality are said to have wanted to test the range of their carbines.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vallorbe »
• Commune de Vallorbe, « Naissance du village »
• Inventaire fédéral ISOS, « Vallorbe »
• Wikipédia, « Vallorbe »
• Wikipedia (de), « Vallorbe »
• Wikipedia (en), « Vallorbe »
• Wikipédia, « Grottes de Vallorbe »
• museums.ch, « Musée du fer et du chemin de fer »
• Association Fort de Litroz, « Le fort d'artillerie de Vallorbe / Pré-Giroud »
• « La légende de la Grotte aux Fées de Vallorbe », FAVJ du 12 mai 1938 (histoirevalleedejoux.ch)
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Vallorbe

• Ballaigues (VD)
• Vaulion (VD)
• Lignerolle (VD)
• Premier (VD)
• Juriens (VD)