Author: Maarten Koning

The region of  Cortaillod (canton of Vaud) has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The oak stilts that appeared when the lake level was lowered due to the first correction of the Jura waters (1869-1891) are evidence of the pile dwellings of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

The village of Cortaillod (from the Latin ‘Curtile’ or ‘Cortillum’: small garden adjoining a farm) was founded by the inhabitants of Boudry (now the canton of Neuchâtel) in the Middle Ages. The village fell under three successive lordships: of Gorgier, of the priory of Bevaix and of the county of Neuchâtel.

In 1503, the village’s inhabitants obtained permission from Aimon de Montfaucon, the bishop of Lausanne (1443-1517), to build the Saint Nicolas chapel. In the 16th century, under the Confederation’s domination (1512-1529), the commune obtained permission to build a mill on the Vivier.

Claude Abram DuPasquier (1717-1783) and Jacques-Louis Pourtalès (1722-1814) founded and developed the painted cloth industry ‘indiennes’ in the 18th century. This technique was a great success, and the fame spread throughout Europe.

The Fabrique-Neuve in Cortaillod was one of its first and largest. At the end of the century, its production reached 45,000 pieces and employed more than 700 workers.

The continental blockade, established by the French decree of 21 November 1806 (Napoleon closed the ports of the European continent to trade with England) and the law prohibiting the entry of printed cloth into the French Empire (1852-1870) accelerated the decline of this industry.

From 1879, the Société d’Exploitation des Câbles Électriques, Berthoud-Borel system (later Alcatel Cable and today Nexans) became the main industry, and its products made Cortaillod known in many countries of the world.

(Source and more information: www.cortaillod.ch).

The village of Concise (canton of Vaud) and the surrounding villages (Corcelles-près-Concise, Onnens, La Golette, Concise-Sous-Colachoz) did not exist five thousand years ago.

However, along the Neuchâtel-Yverdon-les-Bains railway line, built between 1859 and 1870, 25 sites of pile dwellings have been found. These were covered by two metres of earth and are partially well preserved. They date from the period 3,900-1700 BC.

The pile dwellings stood on the edge of the lake. There is little evidence of stilts until 4000 BC, but the area was inhabited. This has been proven by burial ritual objects.

The age of the pile dwellings ranges from 3,900 BC (Neolithic age) to the present day. (Neolithic Age) to 1700 BC (Bronze Age). (Bronze Age). Then they disappeared. Pile dwellings can again be demonstrated in the 11th century. This was a relatively colder period, and the lake level was lower. This trend continued until 900-800 BC. (Hallstatt period).

One of the most famous villages was in Grandson-Corcelettes.

The history of Concise continues with the Celtic period (La Tène), the Favarges quarry in Roman times (used for the construction of the Roman city Aventicum (today Avenches), Christianity, the Burgundians (first kingdom 443-534), the Merovingians and the Carolingians (534-888), the Burgundians (second kingdom 888-1032), the German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, the Counts and Dukes of Savoy (1207-1536), the city of Bern (1536 and the Reformation), the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) and finally the Swiss Confederations (1803-1813, 1815 and 1848) and the canton of Vaud

Source: O. Meuwly and others, Histoire Vaudoise, Lausanne 2015).