Epesses
Epesses | |
|---|---|
 Le Dézaley vineyards | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Epesses  | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Vaud |
| District | Lavaux |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.60 km2 (0.62 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 404 m (1,325 ft) |
| Population (December 2003) | |
| • Total | 318 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (510/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 1098 |
| SFOS number | 5603 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-VD |
| Surrounded by | Cully, Forel (Lavaux), Meillerie (FR-74), Puidoux, Riex |
| Twin towns | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Website | www Profile (in French), SFSO statistics |
Epesses is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux on Lake Geneva. It is noted for its wine production.
History
Traces of a Roman road and coins finds indicate an early settlement in the municipality. The village was first mentioned in documents in 1166 under the name Espesses, and in 1228 the name appeared Spess. The name comes from the Latin word spissa (meaning dense, thick) probably in reference to the spruce.
With the conquest by Bern of Vaud in 1536, the village came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Lausanne. After the collapse of the ancien régime, between 1798 to 1803 it was part of the Canton of Léman during the Helvetic Republic and then fell under the Canton of Vaud. In 1798 it was assigned to the district of Lavaux.
It was not until 1824, when the community was split from Villette, that Epesses attained the status of an independent political municipality. A project to merge the independent municipalities Cully, Epesses, Riex, Grandvaux, and Villette failed in a vote on 27 February 2005 due to the resistance of the population of Grandvaux. The project is therefore not being pursued.
Geography
Epesses is located at 464 metres above sea level, 10 km east-southeast of the capital of the canton of Lausanne (as the crow flies). The village is located on a small flat surfaces on steep slopes amid the vineyards of Lavaux on the slopes of Mont de Gourze in a scenic location about 80 meters above the lake level of Lake Geneva.
The area is small, being 1.6 km ² and covers a section of the Lavaux at the northeastern shore of Lake Geneva for 700 meters. The municipal land extends northward from the shore of Geneva up the steep slope and down to the wooded heights to the east of Mont de Gourze. The slope is drained by the Enfer River into Lake Geneva. The highest point, Bois de Romont is 864 metres above sea level. M. In 1997, 10% of land was settlement, 29% forest and shrubs, and 60% allocated to agriculture and a little more than 1% is unproductive land.
Epesses consists of the village, the two hamlets Crêt-Dessus (459 m above sea level) and Crêt-Lingerie (432 m above sea level), located respectively on the Enfer, and a few detached farms. Epesses borders the municipalities of Cully, Riex, Forel and Puidoux.
Population
With 314 inhabitants (end of 2007) Epesses is one of the smallest municipalities in the canton of Vaud. Of the residents, 88.6% are French, 3.3% are German and 3.3% Portuguese. The population of Epesses in 1850 was 382, with 419 residents in 1900. Until 1960 (381 inhabitants), the population remained nearly constant. Since then, the population has declined by around 20%.
Economy
Most of the houses in the village center are occupied by tenants who cultivate the 52 hectares of vineyards in this municipality. The cultivation of grapes and wine production now forms the main livelihood. It produces dry white wines, mainly from the Chasselas grape variety, but also reds (Pinot Noir, Syrah, etc.) and specialties. Notable vineyeards exist at "Calamine" which is south of the village center by Lake Geneva and "Le Dézaley" in the east, already partly located in the communities of Puidoux and Rivaz.
Transport
Although the municipality is located outside of the more urban areas of the district, it still has well developed transport links with a link road from Cully to Chexbres. The nearest motorway junction is the A9 road which was opened in 1974 to connect Lausanne with Sion and crosses Chexbres, about 3 km from Epesses.
On 2 April 1861, a railway station was established on the Lausanne-Villeneuve. There is also a daily bus service which serves the route from Cully to Chexbres.
Landmarks
Epesses villages has some densely packed wine growers houses, mostly dating from the 17th to 19th century, offering a picturesque townscape. The Saint-Jacques Church in Epesses is dated from the 14th to the 16th century and has been restored several times since then. The Bovard century, dated to the 15th century is a listed building.
References
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