Moudon

Moudon
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Vaud (VD)
District :	Broye-Vully
BFS no. :	5678
Postal code :	1510
UN / LOCODE :	CH MOU
Coordinates :	550 895  /  168861 coordinates: 46 ° 40 '9 "  N , 6 ° 47' 49"  O ; CH1903:  five hundred and fifty thousand eight hundred and ninety-five  /  168861
Height :	510  m above sea level M.
Height range :	492–856 m above sea level M.
Area :	15.65  km²
Residents:	6135 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	392 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.moudon.ch
Old town of Moudon on the Broye
Location of the municipality

Moudon is a municipality in the Broye-Vully district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland . In Roman times the place was called Minnodunum . The former German name Milden is no longer used today. The municipality with a historic old town is located in the middle Broyetal.

geography

Aerial photo (1946)

Moudon is at 510  m above sea level. M. , 19.5 km southwest of the district capital Payerne ( linear distance ). The historic city extends in the middle Broyetal, on both sides of the Broye , in the area of ​​the mouth of the river Mérine, surrounded by the heights of the Molasse hill country in the eastern Vaud Central Plateau .

The area of ​​the municipal area of ​​15.7 km² includes a section of the central Broye valley and the adjacent hill country. The eastern part of the area is occupied by the Broyetal, which is oriented from southwest to northeast and in the Moudon area has a flat valley floor 500 to 1000 m wide. To the east of the valley, the communal soil comprises the wooded steep slope (Chalet à Canon), which is subdivided by various small erosion valleys . To the north, the area extends to the Riau Gresin stream and the Bussy-sur-Moudon plateau. In the western part the area of ​​the municipality extends over the adjacent ridge into the headwaters of the Cerjaule with the extensive forests of Forêt Derrière and Bois de la Cerjaule. Also the ridge of Planche Signal ( 833  m above sea level ) and the forest hill Les Bourlayes, on which 850  m above sea level. M. the highest point reached by Moudon belong to the urban area. The southwestern part is taken up by the Mérine valley, which is cut up to 200 m into the molasse hills and flanked by steep forest slopes. To the south the parish extends along the Broye to the mouth of the Bressonne . In 1997, 15% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 35% for forests and woodlands, 48% for agriculture and a little more than 2% was unproductive land.

Moudon includes extensive commercial and industrial zones in the Broyetal, the settlements Bressonnaz ( 537  m above sea level ) at the confluence of the Bressonne in the Broye and Grange-Verney ( 567  m above sea level ) on a terrace on the western slope of the Broye , the hamlet of Le Plan ( 509  m above sea level ) at the outlet of the Voraire stream from its erosion valley into the Broyetal and numerous individual farms. Neighboring municipalities of Moudon are Bussy-sur-Moudon , Lucens , Curtilles , Chavannes-sur-Moudon , Vulliens , Syens , Rossenges , Hermenches , Jorat-Menthue and Montanaire .

population

Population development
year	Residents
1850	2443
1900	2683
1910	2702
1930	2478
1950	2476
1960	2806
1970	3773
1980	3805
1990	4336
2000	4371

With 6135 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Moudon is one of the medium-sized municipalities in the canton of Vaud. 79.5% of the residents are French-speaking, 4.5% Portuguese-speaking and 3.9% speak Albanian (as of 2000). The population of Moudon has remained relatively constant for a long time. A significant increase in population was not registered until after 1950, with the highest growth rates being recorded during the 1960s. After that, there was a temporary stagnation before the population increased again significantly in the course of the 1980s. The population has remained stable since then.

economy

Moudon train station

Until the second half of the 19th century, Moudon was a predominantly agricultural town and focused on processing agricultural products from the surrounding area. With the construction of the railway from Murten to Palézieux , industrialization took place gradually . With the establishment of a cheese shop in 1899, Moudon became a center of the cheese trade. The rapid economic boom did not take place until the middle of the 20th century with the founding of various important companies, namely Fonderies Gisling SA (1951; foundry), Fabrique de boîtes de montres SA (1956; watch case) and Cartonneries et papeteries de Moudon SA (1956).

In the last few decades Moudon has developed more and more into a service center. In 2001, 3% of the workforce was still employed in the primary sector, while the industrial sector accounted for 33% and the service sector for 64% of the workforce.

Thanks to the relatively large surrounding area, agriculture with arable farming and cattle breeding as well as forestry are still of little importance in the income structure of the population. Since the 1950s, larger commercial and industrial zones have developed along the railway line and especially south of the city. Important companies today are the Gisling SA foundry as well as various companies in the mechanical engineering, mechanics, packaging, electroplating, gemstone grinding and construction and transport industries. A total of around 180 small and medium-sized companies have settled in Moudon.

Moudon is a regional center of the Vaud Central Plateau northeast of the Jorat high plateau with a relatively large but sparsely populated catchment area. It is the location of the district administration, owns banks and insurance companies, a regional hospital and numerous other service companies. To the southwest of the city is a military hospital that serves as a barracks in times of peace. The hospital schools 41 of the Swiss Armed Forces are located here, where, among other things, the hospital soldiers and troop doctors (Med Of) of the Swiss Armed Forces are trained.

The larger residential areas of Moudon extend east and south of the old town. Numerous single-family houses have been built on the sun-exposed southern slope north of the city in recent decades.

education

As a regional center, Moudon has primary and secondary schools. The Ecole cantonale d'agriculture is located near Grange-Verney. There is also a cantonal dairy school (founded in 1889), an institute for deaf and dumb children and the institute protestant de jeunes filles.

College

traffic

The community is very well developed in terms of traffic. It is located on main road 1 from Lausanne via Payerne to Bern . Transit traffic, which at times reached high frequencies, especially before the opening of the motorways from Bern to western Switzerland, is carried on an expressway along the railway line outside the actual residential areas. There are also main roads from Moudon to Yverdon-les-Bains and via Oron-la-Ville to Vevey .

On August 25, 1876, the railway line from Payerne via Moudon to Palézieux was put into operation. Moudon is also the end of the line 62 of the Transports publics de la région lausannoise . Bus routes from Moudon to Ursy , Romont , Lucens , Echallens , Thierrens and Yverdon-les-Bains ensure fine distribution in public transport .

history

Upper town with Broye Tower

The beginnings of Moudon probably go back to the Celts , who founded a refuge here , which they called Minnodunos . This place name refers to a hill dedicated to the deity Minnos. During Roman times , Moudon was a stage on the important military route from Aventicum (Avenches) through the Broyetal and along the east bank of Lake Geneva via Octodurum (Martigny) to the pass of the Great Saint Bernard Pass . Moudon is mentioned in several Roman street directories as Vicus Minnodunum ; the former Celtic name was therefore Latinized. However, only very few traces are known archaeologically from Roman times, for example a foundation stone to the community from the second half of the 2nd century AD by Quintus Aelius Aunus.

The first written mention of the modern era took place in 1156 under the name Castrum Milduni . Numerous other names appeared later, namely Meldon (1160), Meldunum and Mildunum (1167), Meldun (1177), Melduns (1228) as well as Modon , Moldon and Myldunum . The German name Milden developed from the earlier place names, but has since been forgotten.

Little is known about the founding time of the medieval town of Moudon. The area around Moudon came in 1011 from the then King of Hochburgund to the Bishop of Lausanne . The fortified settlement was probably founded by the Counts of Geneva around 1130 on the site of today's Bourg on the promontory between the Broye and its side brook Mérine. Other sources speak of a Zähringian re-establishment around 1190. Moudon, however, came under the influence of the Savoy in the first quarter of the 13th century . The town became an important base for the Savoy in Vaud. Around 1260, under Peter of Savoy , it became the residence of the Savoy bailiff in Vaud. This quickly increased the importance of Moudon. The urban area expanded and was surrounded with new walls. In 1285 Moudon was granted city rights. Especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, the city experienced a heyday as an administrative center and conference venue for the Vaudois estates.

Château de Carrouge

With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Moudon came under Bernese rule. The Reformation was introduced. The city became the center of the Moudon Bailiwick. This included approximately the area of ​​today's Moudon district, but also the southern parts of the Payerne district , the part of the Oron district in the Bressonne catchment area and the two communities of Daillens and Bettens as exclaves .

The first Vogt of Moudon, Hans Frisching, had his seat in the city of Moudon. Wolfgang von Erlach , his successor, moved his headquarters to Lucens Castle in 1542 , which he considered to be much easier to defend than the Bailiwick's seat in Moudon. All other bailiffs of the Bernese Bailiwick of Moudon then resided in Lucens, which is why Moudon lost its rank as the administrative center of the middle Broyetal.

After the collapse of the Ancien Régime , Moudon belonged to the canton of Léman from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic , which then became part of the canton of Vaud when the mediation constitution came into force . In 1798 the city became the capital of the district of the same name and thus regained its position as the administrative center of Lucens. With the improved transport connections through the construction of the railway (1876), Moudon gradually developed into an industrial location.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Moudon

Moudon has a well-preserved historical cityscape. The medieval old town is divided into two parts: the original upper town, called Le Bourg , on the hill between Broye and Mérine, and the lower town on the Broye, built in the course of the 13th century, at the eastern foot of the hill. Only the Broye Tower remains of the former city fortifications, a mighty tower structure (12th century) between the lower and upper towns, possibly built by the Zähringers. The city walls and the former residential palace no longer exist.

At the southeast corner of the lower town stands the reformed Saint-Etienne church, construction of which began in the 13th century. It is an important three-aisled building of the western Swiss early and high Gothic ; the north chapel date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Inside, wall and glass paintings from the 13th to 17th centuries have been preserved; In addition, a stone pulpit from 1695 and richly carved choir stalls (around 1500) belong to the interior. The bell tower was originally part of the city fortifications and was not given its pointed helmet until much later.

Armory

In the lower town there is also the armory (1774–75), which previously served as a grain hall, and the former Hôpital de Malte from 1556 on the right side of the Broye. The Hôtel de Ville (town hall) with its arcades was built from 1835 to 1842. La Grenette is another former grain hall that was built in 1861. Numerous bourgeois and patrician houses from the 16th to 18th centuries have been preserved, including the Maison du Chasseur and the Maison de Cerjat (1698).

The upper town also has other important buildings in addition to the Broye Tower. Due to the construction of representative buildings in the 15th to 18th centuries, the former high medieval character of the upper town has changed significantly. The late Gothic building of the Maison des Etats du Pays de Vaud has its origins at the end of the 15th century. The large canopy of the Maison d'Arnay is remarkable, the core of which goes back to the Middle Ages; however, the building was largely rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Château de Rochefort, an imposing building from 1595 with a stair tower, is now the Musée du Vieux-Moudon, which shows a collection on commercial and rural life in the city. Another building from the 17th century houses the works of the painter Eugène Burnand , who was born in Moudon (Musée Eugène Burnand). The Château de Carrouge and its adjacent buildings were rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. In his garden there is a watchtower from the Middle Ages. At the western exit of the upper town there is still a late Gothic group of houses from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Outside the city is the Château de Billens, a mansion from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Château Rochefort

Saint-Etienne church

Personalities

Sons and daughters

• Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros (1748–1810), painter, watercolourist, etcher, gouache painter and engraver
• Daniel Peter (1836–1919), chocolatier and entrepreneur, is considered to be the inventor of milk chocolate
• Eugène Burnand (1850-1921), painter
• Fernand Dumas (1892–1956), architect
• Philippe Jaccottet (* 1925), French poet, essayist and translator
• Eric Chapuis (* 1942), racing car driver
• Éric Voruz (* 1945), politician ( SP ) and member of the National Council

Personalities who worked on site

• François Rodolphe de Weiss (1751-1818), politician, writer and officer, was governor of Moudon

Town twinning

In 1986, Moudon entered into a town partnership with the French municipality of Mazan in the Vaucluse department.

literature

• Monique Fontannaz: Les monuments d'art e d'histoire du Canton de Vaud, Tome VI: La ville de Moudon. (Art Monuments of Switzerland Volume 107). Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2006, ISBN 978-3-906131-82-5 .
• Monique Fontannaz: La ville de Moudon et ses musées. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 707, Series 71). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2002, ISBN 978-3-85782-707-5 .

Web links

Commons : Moudon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Milden in the Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae (Matthäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

• Official website of the city of Moudon (French)
• Monique Fontannaz: Moudon (municipality). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial views of Moudon
• Les châteaux de Moudon (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Gaëtan Cassina and Monique Fontannaz: L'église Saint-Etienne de Moudon. (Swiss Art Guide, Volume 644). Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1998, ISBN 3-85782-644-4 .