Cossonay is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is part of the district of

Morges Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ' ...

History

Cossonay has both

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

ruins and medieval graves. The first documentation of the settlement dates from 1096 under the name ''Cochoniacum''. In 1164, this appears as ''Cosonai'', and in 1228 as ''Cossonai''. Ulrich von Cossonay gave the village church to the monastery in

Romainmôtier Romainmôtier is a village and former municipality in the district of Orbe in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. In 1970 the municipality was merged with the neighboring municipality Envy to form a new and larger municipality Romainmôtier-Envy ...

in 1096. In 1224, it passed to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in

Lutry Lutry () is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the Lavaux-Oron, which includes the Lavaux region, a UNESCO World Heritage site. History Lutry is first mentioned in 908 as ''in Lustraco villam''. In 1124 it was mentioned as ...

, which built a priory in the second half of the 13th century. The town wall, built in the 11th century, was rebuilt and extended in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Barons of Cossonay ruled over a territory from La Chaux to Boussens and from Dizy to Gollion. Cossonay received city rights in 1264. A fire near the end of the 14th century destroyed much of the town and the town archives. In 1421, the town passed to the house of Savoy. When the canton of Vaud was conquered by the

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

ese in 1536, the town came under the administration at

. From 1798 to 1803, Cossonay was part of the

canton of Léman Léman was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, corresponding to the territory of modern Vaud. A former subject territory of Bern, Vaud had been independent for only four months in 1798 as the Lemanic Republic before i ...

in the Helvetic Republic, which was transformed into the canton of Vaud by the mediation of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. The district of Cossonay was formed in 1798, and the municipality was its capital from its inception to its dissolution.

Geography

Aerial view of Cossonay, 2008-07-10 retouched

Cossonay lies at an elevation of and northwest of

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. The town stretches across the high plateau west of the Venoge, about above the valley floor, in the ''Gros de Vaud'' in the middle of the canton of Vaud. The municipality is the breadbasket of Vaud. The eastern boundary is the Venoge. In the south, it reaches down to the valley of the Valezard, and in the north to Pré Defour. On the west, lies the forest of Sépey, in which the highest point of the municipality lies at an elevation of 620 m. Here lies the Étang du Sépey, which is a lake formed by an earlier quarry. Cossonay has an area, , of . Of this area, or 62.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 23.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 14.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 7.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.2%. Out of the forested land, 20.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 50.4% is used for growing crops and 11.1% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes. The municipality was the capital of the

Cossonay District Cossonay District was a district of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The seat of the district was the town of Cossonay. It was dissolved on 31 August 2006.Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
accessed 4 April 2011 The municipality is located on a plateau, that rises steeply about above the Venoge river. On the plateau, it consists of the village of Cossonay-ville and the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Allens. The area of Grands Moulins, the cable works of Cossonay, the train station and the settlement of Cossonay-Gare are at the foot a hill that lies in the municipality of

Penthalaz Penthalaz is a municipality in the district of Gros-de-Vaud in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Penthalaz is first mentioned in 1182 as ''Pentala''. Geography Penthalaz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 55.8% is used for agric ...

. The surrounding municipalities are

Gollion Gollion is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Morges. History Gollion is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Gollun''. Geography Gollion has an area, , of . Of this area, or 80.7% is used for agricultu ...

Senarclens Senarclens is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Morges. History Senarclens is first mentioned in 1011 as ''Senerclens''. Geography Senarclens has an area, , of . Of this area, or 86.9% is used fo ...

, La Chaux, Dizy, and

Lussery-Villars Lussery-Villars is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Gros-de-Vaud. On 1 January 1999, Lussery and Villars-Lussery were united to form the municipality.blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is ''Per pale Azure and Argent.''

Demographics

Cossonay has a population () of . , 19.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 39.7%. It has changed at a rate of 31.5% due to migration and at a rate of 9.1% due to births and deaths.
accessed 19-May-2011 Most of the population () speaks French (2,278 or 89.1%), with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

being second most common (79 or 3.1%) and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

being third (68 or 2.7%). There are 46 people who speak

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Of the population in the municipality 506 or about 19.8% were born in Cossonay and lived there in 2000. There were 1,128 or 44.1% who were born in the same canton, while 354 or 13.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 497 or 19.4% were born outside of Switzerland. In there were 38 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 15 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 23 while the foreign population increased by 7. There were 5 Swiss men and 5 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 17 non-Swiss men and 20 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 66 and the non-Swiss population increased by 19 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

of 2.6%. The age distribution, , in Cossonay is; 402 children or 12.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 488 teenagers or 14.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 438 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 465 people or 14.0% are between 30 and 39, 621 people or 18.7% are between 40 and 49, and 398 people or 12.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 283 people or 8.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 131 people or 4.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 70 people or 2.1% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 19 people or 0.6% who are 90 and older.Canton of Vaud Statistical Office
accessed 29 April 2011 , there were 1,119 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,211 married individuals, 103 widows or widowers and 125 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 1,050 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 333 households that consist of only one person and 77 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,069 households that answered this question, 31.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 5 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 251 married couples without children, 376 married couples with children There were 73 single parents with a child or children. There were 12 households that were made up of unrelated people and 19 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing. there were 222 single family homes (or 48.2% of the total) out of a total of 461 inhabited buildings. There were 121 multi-family buildings (26.2%), along with 84 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (18.2%) and 34 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.4%). Of the single family homes 38 were built before 1919, while 60 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (49) were built between 1981 and 1990. The most multi-family homes (40) were built before 1919 and the next most (22) were built between 1996 and 2000.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 there were 1,137 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 353. There were 45 single room apartments and 271 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,032 apartments (90.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 86 apartments (7.6%) were seasonally occupied and 19 apartments (1.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.28%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1140 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2600 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1550 from:start till:444 bar:1550 at:454 fontsize:S text: " 111 Hearths" shift:(8,5) bar:1764 from:start till:507 text:"507" bar:1798 from:start till:702 text:"702" bar:1850 from:start till:938 text:"938" bar:1860 from:start till:946 text:"946" bar:1870 from:start till:946 text:"946" bar:1880 from:start till:1085 text:"1,085" bar:1888 from:start till:1041 text:"1,041" bar:1900 from:start till:1060 text:"1,060" bar:1910 from:start till:1110 text:"1,110" bar:1920 from:start till:1135 text:"1,135" bar:1930 from:start till:1106 text:"1,106" bar:1941 from:start till:1076 text:"1,076" bar:1950 from:start till:1214 text:"1,214" bar:1960 from:start till:1284 text:"1,284" bar:1970 from:start till:1529 text:"1,529" bar:1980 from:start till:1553 text:"1,553" bar:1990 from:start till:2043 text:"2,043" bar:2000 from:start till:2558 text:"2,558"

Heritage sites of national significance

The Swiss Reformed Church of St-Pierre and St-Paul is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire town of Cossonay and the village of La Chaux is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 26.91% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (17.9%), the FDP (14.91%) and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

(14.72%). In the federal election, a total of 790 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

was 40.5%.

Economy

Cossonay was an agricultural town into the 20th century. Until the 15th century, it was a wine-growing region, but since then, other crops and cattle have dominated. Mills were built along the Venoge in the 16th century. Industrialization came in the 19th century. Now, many workers commute to the metropolitan area of Lausanne. , Cossonay had an unemployment rate of 3.8%. , there were 46 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 174 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

and there were 28 businesses in this sector. 973 people were employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 116 businesses in this sector. There were 1,388 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.1% of the workforce. the total number of

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employee, employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to me ...

jobs was 953. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 31, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 166 of which 42 or (25.3%) were in manufacturing and 109 (65.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 756. In the tertiary sector; 162 or 21.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 4.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 57 or 7.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 0.7% were in the information industry, 166 or 22.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 30 or 4.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 102 or 13.5% were in education and 92 or 12.2% were in health care. , there were 551 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,014 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.2% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 763 or 29.8% were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, while 1,183 or 46.2% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 12 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.47% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 160 individuals (or about 6.25% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 58 (or about 2.27% of the population) who were

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic. There were 3 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, 2 individuals who were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 329 (or about 12.86% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 122 individuals (or about 4.77% of the population) did not answer the question.

Weather

Cossonay has an average of 116.7 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. The wettest month is June during which time Cossonay receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.7, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is April with an average of of precipitation over 9.4 days., the Cossonay weather station elevation is 570 meters above sea level.

Education

In Cossonay about 968 or (37.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 351 or (13.7%) have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). Of the 351 who completed tertiary schooling, 51.3% were Swiss men, 29.9% were Swiss women, 11.1% were non-Swiss men and 7.7% were non-Swiss women. In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 508 students in the Cossonay school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 631 children of which 203 children (32.2%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

program requires students to attend for four years. There were 257 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 251 students in those schools.Canton of Vaud Statistical Office - Scol. obligatoire/filières de transition
accessed 2 May 2011 , there were 529 students in Cossonay who came from another municipality, while 112 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Transportation

Cossonay lies at the crossroads of the highways from Morges to

Orbe Orbe (; la, Urba; older german: Orbach, ; frp, Orba) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the former district of Orbe and is now part of the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois. History Orbe is first mentioned about 2 ...

and from Lausanne over Col du Mollendruz to the Vallée_de_Joux. The motorway entrance to the A1 (Lausanne-

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...

) is about 5 km from the center, and opened in 1981. In 1855, the railway line Yverdon-Bussigny-près-Lausanne opened a train station at Cossonay-Gare, and the station is today served by three routes of the

RER Vaud RER Vaud (french: Réseau express régional vaudois) is an S-Bahn network in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is centered on Lausanne and began operating in December 2004. History With the December 2022 timetable change the RER Vaud network ...

commuter train network. Cossonay-Gare is linked to Cossonay-Ville by the Cossonay–Gare–Ville funicular. Postal buses run from Cossonay-Gare to Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne and L'Isle, as well as from Cossonay-Ville to Cottens and to Morges.

Notable people

Marcel Pilet-Golaz Marcel Pilet-Golaz (31 December 1889 – 11 April 1958) was a Swiss politician. He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 13 December 1928 and handed over office on 31 December 1944. He was affiliated to the Free Democratic Party. Dur ...

(1889 in Cossonay – 1958) a Swiss politician, served on the Swiss Federal Council 1928-1944 *

Ervin Y. Galantay Ervin Y. Galantay (born Ervin Iván Galántay; 14 October 1930 – 30 October 2011) was a Hungarian-American architect. He married Karla Jay Noell (New York) in 1959. They had two sons Roy (born in 1961) and Richard (born in 1964). He lived most ...

(1930-2011) a Hungarian-American architect, lived most of his life in Cossonay

References

{{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of Vaud Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud