Saubraz

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


languages = French
canton = Vaud
iso-code-region = CH-VD
district = Morges
lat_d=46|lat_m=31|lat_NS=N|long_d=06|long_m=20|long_EW=E
postal_code = 1189
municipality_code = 5437
area = 3.69
elevation = 687|elevation_description=
population = 218|populationof=2003
website = www.saubraz.ch
mayor = Bernard Arnoldi|mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
mayor_title = |list_of_mayors =
places =
demonym = Les Saubrians
neighboring_municipalities= Bière, Gimel, Montherod
twintowns = |

Saubraz is a municipality in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Morges, in the canton of Vaud.

Geography

Saubraz is located at an elevation of 687 m above mean sea level (AMSL), 13km west of the city of Morges. It is a farming village sprawled across a plateau in the Jura Mountains between the valleys of "Saubrett" in the south and "Toleure" in the north.

The municipality has an area of 3.7 km², which includes a section of the Jura Plateau. The creek "Saubrett" and its tributary "Toluere" drain the eastern part of the area into the Aubonne River. Toleure forms the northern boundary of the municipality. The plateau "Saubraz" is located between the two creeks; it gradually rises to the Jura Mountains in the northwest. The highest point in Saubraz is located at 810 m AMSL at the foot of "Mont Chaubert". In the south, the municipality’s woodland area 'Bois des Ursins" rises to the Ursins Plateau. The composition of the land in the municipality is as follows (as of 1997): 7% residential area, 44% woodland and forests, 48% agriculture and slightly less than 1% is unproductive.

The municipalities Gimel, Montherod and Bière border Saubraz.

Population

With 267 inhabitants (as of the end of 2005), Saubraz is one of the small towns in the caton of Vaud. 90.4% of the residents are French-speaking, 4.6% speak German, and 3.5% speak Portuguese (as of 2000). The population of Saubraz totaled 267 in 1900. By 1970 it had been reduced to 157, but in 1980 it there was an increase to 210 residents. Since then the population has remained fairly constant.

Economy

Up until the second half of the 20th century Saubraz was predominately an agricultural town. Even today agriculture plays an important role, as animal husbandry, dairy production and farming are the dominant occupations. Other jobs are found in local business and the services sector. Because the town has developed into a more residential area in the last few decades, many commuters who work in the neighboring towns Gimla and Biere, as well as in the larger cities along the Lake Geneva, have left.

Transportation

Saubraz is located away from the larger thoroughfares; the main access road comes from Aubonne. Saubraz is connected to the public transport network, by way of the postal service’s routes, which run from Gimel, via Bière, to L’Isle.

History

The first recorded mention of the town was in 1237, under the names "Sabrun" and "Salbrum". In 1251 the description "Saubra" appeared. The town formed around a church, which belonged to the Premonstratensian Abbey Lac-de-Joux (L’Abbaye) and burned down in 1251. After Bern conquered Vaud in 1536, Saubraz shared in the fate of Aubonne and 1701 it became a part of the Aubonne administrative district. After the breaking up of the Ancien régime the town was a part of the canton Léman from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic. It subsequently was absorbed by the canton of Vaud and in 1798 assigned to the district of Aubonne.

The chapel which had been built on the ruins of the medieval church was cleared away during the building of a school house in 1899. Today Saubraz is part of the Gimel parish.

External links

* [http://www.saubraz.ch Official website (in French)]
* [http://www.flagquest.com/fotw/images/c/ch-vd032.gifFlag]
* [http://www.swisscastles.ch/aviation/Vaud/aaville4/saubraz.html Aerial photos]