Aubonne

Infobox Swiss town
subject_name = Aubonne
municipality_name = Aubonne
municipality_type = municipality
imagepath_coa = |pixel_coa=


languages = French
canton = Vaud
iso-code-region = CH-VD
district = Morges
lat_d=46|lat_m=30|lat_NS=N|long_d=06|long_m=23|long_EW=E
postal_code = 1170
municipality_code = 5422
area = 6.88
elevation = 508|elevation_description=
population = 2650|populationof=2003
website = www.aubonne.ch
mayor = Pierre-Alain Blanc|mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
mayor_title = |list_of_mayors =
places = Trévelin, Bougy-Saint-Martin
demonym = Les Aubonnois
neighboring_municipalities= Allaman, Féchy, Pizy, Montherod, Saint-Livres, Lavigny, Etoy
twintowns = |

Aubonne is a municipality in the district of Morges in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

Geography

Aubonne lies at an elevation of 508 m. 19 km west of Lausanne. It is spread in the valley of the Aubonne River, on the edge of the Jura foothill plateau, about 130 m. above the surface of Lake Geneva.

The highest point in the municipality is at an elevation of 643 m. In 1997, 19 percent of the territory of the municipality was residential, 13 percent forested, 67 percent agricultural, and a little less than 1 percent unproductive land.

The villages of Trévelin and Bougy-Saint-Martin belong to the municipality. The surrounding municipalities are Allaman, Féchy, Pizy, Montherod, Saint-Livres, Lavigny, and Etoy.

History

The municipality was settled very early. The oldest remains are from the Bronze Age. From Roman times, there remain foundations of villas, and from early medieval times, graves.

The first documentation of the municipality is from 1177 under the name of "Albona". In the first half of the 13th century, a defensive wall was built around the town. In 1255, the town was sold to Count Peter II of Savoy. He gave the governing of the town over to the family of Thoire-Villars. Aubonne was the most important town on the north side of the lake between Lausanne and Geneva until the second half of the 15th century. Since the 13th century, it had weekly markets, and starting in 1487 semi-annual three-day markets.

The Count of Greyerz acquired Aubonne in 1393. Since he was allied with the "Eidgenossen", the municipality was spared the ravages of the Burgundian Wars in 1476. When the canton of Vaud was conquered by Bern in 1536, Aubonne came under Bernese domination, but still belonged to the Count of Greyerz until 1553.

In 1670, the city was bought by the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and in 1685 by Henri Duquesne, who sold it to Bern again in 1701. From 1798 to 1803 it belonged to the canton of Léman in the Helvetic Republic, which, through the mediation of Napoleon became the canton of Vaud. Aubonne has been the capital of its district since 1803.

Population

With 2675 inhabitants (as of 2005), Aubonne is a medium-sized town.

The population in 1850 was 1730, and in 1900 it was 1736. After 1950 (1682), the population began to increase moderately.

The population is 84.1 percent French-speaking, 5.2 percent German-speaking, and 3.6 percent Portuguese-speaking (as of 2000).

Economy

Aubonne was long an agricultural town. Today, however, agriculture plays a secondary role. Agricultural products of the region include wine.

Because Aubonne does not lie on the Lausanne-Geneva railway built in the 19th century, industrialization began relatively late. The first factory, a gun powder factory, was built in 1853. In the 20th century, a precision machine shop,, laboratories, furniture manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies have come to Aubonne.

Today, the majority of jobs are in the service sector.

Transportation

Aubonne lies at the crossroads of the highway between Rolle and Cossonay and the highway between Allaman and Gimel. The entrance to the A1 motorway was opened in 1964 and is only about 2 km from the center.

The train station of the Lausanne-Geneva railway was opened on April 14, 1858 and lies just outside the municipality in Allaman. From 1896 to 1952, there was an electric tram from Allaman to Aubonne. Today, Aubonne is served by the bus line Allaman – Aubonne – Gimel. There are also postal buses to Rolle and Etoy.

Personalities

*Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, writer, studied there.
*Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, traveller, owner of the seigneurery of Aubonne from 1670 to 1685.
*Georges de Mestral, electrical engineer who invented Velcro, lived there.
*Alexandre Yersin, bacteriologist who discovered the bacillus of the plague or pest, lived there.
*Sibylle Blanc, actrice, born there
*Michael I of Romania, king in exile, lives here.

Tourism

A wood museum was opened in 1967. The first arboretum in the canton of Vaud was established in 1963 in Aubonne. It has an area of about 200 hectares and features both native and imported trees.

References

External links

*http://www.aubonne.ch
*HDS|2292
*commonscat-inline|Aubonne