Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz

Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Vaud (VD)
District :	Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut
BFS no. :	5888
Postal code :	1806
Coordinates :	557.37 thousand  /  146 702 coordinates: 46 ° 28 '13 "  N , 6 ° 53' 1"  O ; CH1903:  557370  /  one hundred forty-six thousand seven hundred and two
Height :	580  m above sea level M.
Height range :	428–1397 m above sea level M.
Area :	15.17  km²
Residents:	5184 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	342 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.st-legier.ch
Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz
Location of the municipality

Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is a municipality in the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland .

geography

Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is located at 580  m above sea level. M. , 3 km east-northeast of the district capital Vevey (linear distance). The village extends on the slopes gently sloping towards Lake Geneva south of the Veveyse valley , at the foot of the Les Pléiades panoramic mountain , in a panoramic position around 200 m above lake level of Lake Geneva and high above Vevey.

Aerial photo (1964)

The area of ​​the municipal area of ​​15.1 km² covers a section of the foothills of the Alps. The western part of the municipality includes the climatically favorable slopes and terraces above the northeastern shore of Lake Geneva, with the northern border running along the Veveyse, the southern along the Ognona brook . To the northeast, the municipality extends along the left flank of the Veveyse valley up to the height of Bondenoces , which is part of the Pléiades massif and is 1397  m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz. To the east of the Pléiades, the area extends in a narrow strip into the pre-alpine area of ​​the Moléson chain with extensive forests and alpine pastures in between. The protected high moor Les Tenasses is located here . The northern border is always formed by the Veveyse de Fégire, which has carved a deep erosion valley into the rock layers over the course of millions of years . In 1997, 18% of the municipal area was in settlements, 44% in forests and woodlands, 36% in agriculture and around 2% was unproductive land.

The municipality consists of the two villages Saint-Légier ( 564  m above sea level ) and La Chiésaz ( 594  m above sea level ), which have now grown together through the construction of numerous single-family houses, as well as various individual farms. Neighboring municipalities to Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz are Blonay , La Tour-de-Peilz , Vevey and Corsier-sur-Vevey in the canton of Vaud and Châtel-Saint-Denis in the canton of Friborg .

population

Population development
year	Residents
1850	912
1900	1101
1910	1255
1930	1245
1950	1397
1960	1585
1970	2230
1980	2787
1990	3578
2000	4068

With 5184 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is one of the medium-sized municipalities in the canton of Vaud. Of the residents, 83.0% are French-speaking, 9.4% German-speaking and 2.9% English-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz rose only slowly in the first half of the 20th century. Since 1950 (1,397 inhabitants) the population has increased significantly, combined with a tripling of the population within 50 years. The settlement area of ​​Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz has now merged seamlessly with that of Blonay.

economy

Up until the beginning of the 20th century, Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz was a predominantly agricultural village. Today arable farming in the lower elevations as well as dairy farming and cattle breeding on the heights and in the valley of the Veveyse only play a minor role in the livelihood structure of the population. In the lowest part of the municipality, viticulture is practiced on a few hectares .

Further jobs are available in the secondary sector and especially in the service sector. A commercial zone has been created in the area of ​​the La Veyre motorway junction since the 1980s. Companies in the construction, transport and information technology sectors have settled here. In recent decades the village has developed into a preferred residential community thanks to its attractive location (with a view over Lake Geneva to the Alps and in the southwest to the Jura). A large number of those in employment are commuters who work in the Vevey-Montreux region, sometimes also in Lausanne .

traffic

The community has excellent transport connections and is located on the connecting road from Vevey to Blonay . The next motorway connection (Vevey) to the A9 (Lausanne-Sion), which opened in 1970 and crosses the municipality, is only around 1 km from the town center. The La Veyre junction is also located in the municipality, where the A12 (Bern-Vevey) motorway meets the A9.

On October 1, 1902, the narrow-gauge railway line Vevey-Blonay-Chamby was inaugurated with several stops in the village and in 1911 extended from Blonay as a rack railway up to Les Pléiades . The branch line from Vevey via Saint-Légier to Châtel-Saint-Denis was opened in 1904, but was closed in 1969.

history

The municipality of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz was settled very early, which has been proven by finds of an ax from the Bronze Age and graves from the La Tène period . Saint-Légier was first mentioned in a document in 1228 under the name Sanctus Leodegarus , named after Leodegar , a bishop of Autun . La Chiésaz was first mentioned in 1215 as La Chiesa and in 1242 as Chesas . This place name comes from the late Latin word casa (house, farm, residence).

Since 1079 the areas around Saint-Légier and La Chiésaz belonged to the Lords of Blonay. In 1300 the two villages, together with Hauteville, passed to the Counts of Savoy , who established the barony of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz and returned it to the de Blonay family as a fief. This exchanged the fief in 1363 for Denens, which is why Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz fell directly into the dependency of Savoy again. In the following period there were frequent changes of ownership, and from 1565 to 1686 the barony was again in the hands of the de Blonay family.

With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Vevey , but had its own court of law. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime , the village 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 it was assigned to the Vevey district. As part of a border adjustment, the Gilamont area (formerly the site of a mill) was ceded by Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz to the city of Vevey in 1931.

The artist Edouard Alfred Béguin (1834–1906) was born in St-Légier-La Chiésaz and was also buried there. In old age he returned from Paris to his home village and began to paint the house walls and barn doors there.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz

Even before the 10th century, Saint-Légier had a chapel, which was replaced by a Romanesque church in the 12th century . The south apse of this church is still preserved, while the north apse belonged to a family chapel that was built in 1223 under the Lords of Blonay. The current nave dates from the 15th century, the front tower from the early 16th century. Next to the church there is a priory house from the 17th century.

Below Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is the Hauteville Castle, which was built in 1740 on the site of an older castle. It is one of the most important baroque castles in the canton of Vaud. The three-wing complex surrounds a large courtyard. The castle has a rich baroque interior and wall and ceiling paintings from the time it was built.

Web links

Commons : Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz (French)
• Elisabeth Salvi: Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial views of the village

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. ^ Sikart, Edouard Alfred Béguin (1834–1906)
3. ^ Edouard Alfred Béguin works in St-Légier-La Chiésaz