Yvonand
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| Yvonand | ||||||||||
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| Population | 2,317 (2003) | |||||||||
| - Density | 173 /km² (449 /sq.mi.) | |||||||||
| Area | 13.38 km² (5.2 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 438 m (1,437 ft) | |||||||||
| - Highest | 658 m - Roche de la Baume | |||||||||
| - Lowest | 430 m - Lake Neuchâtel | |||||||||
| Postal code | 1462 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 5939 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Cheseaux-Noréaz, Cheyres (FR), Concise, Corcelles-près-Concise, Cronay, Cuarny, Donneloye, Molondin, Onnens, Rovray, Villars-Epeney | |||||||||
| Website | www.yvonand.ch | |||||||||
  Yvonand
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Yvonand is a municipality in the district of Yverdon of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Neuchâtel the village has a population of 2,447 which may rise to 7,000 in summer, due to the sandy beaches, which gently shelve into the lake.
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[edit] Geography
Yvonand is 438 metres above sea level and 8 km east northeast of the district capital Yverdon-les-Bains. The village extends along the mouth of the River Mentue, briefly before its delta into Lake Neuchâtel, in northern French speaking Switzerland. The surface of the 13.4 km² large commune covers a section of the undulating land between Lake Neuchâtel and the Broye.
The central part of the area features the delta of the River Mentue, which flows into Lake Neuchâtel. The lakeshore in the region of and surrounding Yvonand is flat, near a belt of reeds and forest. In the southeast the land rises to its highest point, in the municipality, at 675 metres above sea level, bordering a high plateau with Rovray and Arrissoules, achieving the height of La Baume, which then drops dramatically toward Yvonand. The southern part of the municipality covers the valley of the Mentue, up to 1 km wide. On the east side of the River Vaux, the stream has created a valley in the course of millions of years by its erosive strength. Between these two valleys is the high forest, Bois de Montessy, and Niédens. The western delimitation runs by sections along the River Epena, which rises behind the Montéla.
A 1997 survey indicated that 10% of the surface of the commune is allotted to settlements, 33% to forest and wood, 54% to agriculture and somewhat less than 3% is unproductive country.
Neighbouring municipalities of Yvonand are Cheseaux-Noréaz, Villars-Epeney, Cuarny, Cronay, Donneloye, Molondin and Rovray in Canton Vaud as well as Cheyres in Canton Fribourg.
[edit] Population
With 2,447 inhabitants (at the end of 2006) Yvonand is one of Canton Vaud's medium sized municipalities and is, at the same time, the second largest municipality of the Yverdon District. 91.9% are French speaking, 4.4% are German speaking and 1.1% are Portuguese speaking (according to a census of 2000). The total population of Yvonand increased in 1850 from 861 inhabitants, to 1,187 inhabitants in 1900. Afterwards the number of inhabitants rose slightly until 1980 at 1,328 inhabitants. Since that time a rapid increase in population was registered, due to a strong demand for new housing. The recent extension of the A1 motorway, which traverses the commune has improved communication links, making the commune more attractive to commuters, who work further afield, but who enjoy the sheltered lakeside location.
[edit] Transport
The municipality is well served thanks to the main road from Yverdon to Estavayer-le-Lac, which traverses the commune and which serves as the High Street to the village. Since 2001, through traffic has bypassed the village thanks to the completion of the Yverdon-les-Bains - Payerne section of the A1 motorway (Lausanne - Berne). This motorway runs across the heights to the south of Yvonand, where the deep valleys of the Mentue and the Vaux had to be spanned, with two impressive viaducts over 100m high (Pont sur la Mentue and Viaduc du Vaux). The nearest motorway junctions are Yverdon Ouest (10km to the west) and Estavayer-le-Lac (14km to the east).
On 1 February 1877 the Yverdon railway line was extended to Payerne with a station in Yvonand. There is a Post Bus, which serves the municipalities of the hinterland in a circular route.
[edit] History
Yvonand has a long tradition of settlement. Approximately 4,000 years BC, the caves in the Vallon of Vaux were used as first places of settlement. Some cave paintings date from this time. In the Bronze Age, settlements were made of wooden stakes in Yvonand bay.
During Roman times the gemeindegebiet settled, on the road between Eburodunum (Yverdon) and Aventicum (Avenches). At Mordagne to the west of the Mentue, the foundation walls of a Roman villa were excavated, which was established around 100 years after Christ. The traces of a settlement, to which a Heiligtum (a Gallo-Roman temple) also belonged, was probably inhabited in the year 400.
The first documentary mention of the place took place in 1009, under the name Evonant. The designations Ivonant (1100) appeared later, de Vonant in the 12th Century, Eyvonant (1437) and Yvonant (1453). The place name derives from the Germanic family name Evo and the word 'nant', which signifies a brook or a valley.
During the Burgundian Wars in 1476, Yvonand came under the administration of Grandson, which was itself under the common rule of Berne and Fribourg; situated at the southern lakeshore it had its own Court of Justice. In 1531 the commune joined the reformation.
After the collapse of the Ancien Régime and during the period of Napoleon's Helvetic Republic, from 1798 to 1803, Yvonand was forced to join the Canton of Léman, which afterwards became Canton Vaud. In 1798, it was assigned to the district of Yverdon.
[edit] Sites of Interest
A church, belonging to the diocese of the Bishop of Lausanne, has existed in the village since its first denomination as Yvonand; the reformed parish church was built again in 1749 and received a new tower in 1906, which was upgraded in 2006. The Catholic chapel dates from 1959.
[edit] Local Societies
- Yvonand Youth Club: www.jeunesse-yvonand.net
[edit] External links
- Municipility Information
- Yvonand in Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz
- Geography and History of Yvonand
- Ariel photographs of the village
- VD8 Campsite
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