Morges (; ,

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

, probably

ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages. It is used to indicate motion away from something, make comparisons, and serve various o ...

, else

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...

; ) is a

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

in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

, west of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

History

Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ''Morgia''. It was known by its

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

name ''Morsee'' though that name is no longer used.

Prehistory

There were several prehistoric settlements along what is now the Morges lakefront. The largest and best known, ''Grande-Cité'', was occupied in the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. One of the wooden objects at Grande-Cité has been dendrochronologically dated to 1031 BC. Many of the stilts and building structures have been preserved in situ. A dugout of oak was discovered near the settlement and in 1877 half of it was recovered and placed in the Musée d'histoire et d'art in Geneva. About a hundred meters (yards) further north is the village of Vers-l'Église. The first settlement here dates back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, based on a layer of ceramic objects that date from between 2900 BC and 2700 BC. It remained occupied through the Late Bronze Age. North-east of Grande-Cité is the third lake settlement, Les Roseaux, which comes from the Early Bronze Age. It is a rich site for artifacts including numerous edge strips for bronze axes and cups made of fine ceramics (of the Roseaux type). The arrangement of the

stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...

show the organization of the huts, which were oriented at right angles to the modern shore. Dendrochronological investigations of the stilts have determined that many of the houses were built between 1776 and 1600 BC. On top of the older settlement, a smaller Late Bronze Age settlement, dendrochronologically dated to 1055 BC, has been discovered. The Bronze Age settlements were abandoned and the region was sparsely inhabited until the Gallo-Roman era when a villa and farms were built.

Medieval Morges

In 1286, Louis of Savoy, founded a city in a pasture where a

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

has previously stood. A castle was built to protect the city. A

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

was granted in 1293. The new city grew at the expense of the county of Vufflens, the

diocese of Lausanne The Bishop of Lausanne (French: ''Évêque de Lausanne'') was the principal ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Diocese of Lausanne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lausannensis''). History King Rudolphe I of Burgundy granted the Church of Lausanne ...

and Romainmôtier Abbey, all of which lost property and rights to the new city. It quickly developed into an administrative and market center as well as a hub for transporting goods by land and sea. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Morges was a seasonal residence of the court of Savoy and the seat of a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

. The city was ruled as a single

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

, and the residents were taxed according to their

frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...

or the width of their property along the street. The city was laid out like many neighboring Zähringer towns. There were two wide longitudinal streets that could be used for markets and fairs. A third, parallel road was added due to the rapid expansion of Morges. A rectangular plaza was created for the weekly market. Due to the shape of the streets and the frontage tax, most of the plots are long and narrow. Most of the houses have courtyards for light and ventilation and some are also equipped with spiral staircases and arbors. The religious institutions and their related educational institutions and parish houses as well as a hospital and the college were in the northern half of the town near the church. Workshops developed in the southern half of the city, around the harbor and the marketplace. There were also the covered markets, the granary, the slaughterhouse and important inns in the southern half. The most significant of the inns was the Auberge de la Croix Blanche at Grande-Rue 70-72 which was given a late Gothic facade around 1550. The castle in the south of the town square was built with a square floor plan and four round corner towers. It resembles the castle of

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Ancient Rome, Roman era) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Jura-North Vaudois District, Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It ...

, which may have served as a model for Morges Castle. One of the round towers, larger than the others, served as the main tower. The raised courtyard was covered, during the Middle Ages, by

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s, which were first mentioned in 1340. On the lake side, outside the castle walls, there was a fortified kitchen. This kitchen, which was unique in Switzerland, was attached to the exterior of the castle walls. In 1363 the kitchen was rebuilt. Following the conquest of Vaud by

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, the roof the kitchen became a platform for shooters. It was later converted into an observation deck. The

Syndic ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...

s are first mentioned in Morges in 1375. The Town Hall was built around 1515-20 and is the oldest public building of its type in Vaud. The stair tower and monumental portal were built in 1682, while the facade was done in a late Gothic style. Prior to its construction, public meetings were held in the church, the hospital or in a hostel. Until the 16th century the town council consisted of two groups, the small Council with six or seven members, and a General Council (Conseil général). In 1514 the old councils were replaced with a twelve-member council and a twenty-four-member council. Both of these councils remained until the end of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. The municipality owned their own weights and measures, two community ovens, an infirmary (1340–1564) and a Hospital which was consecrated to St. Rochus (1518). The

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

was on the market place, the prison at the castle and the gallows were at Tolochenaz. During the Middle Ages, the church belonged to the former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of Notre-Dame in Joules (now part of

Echichens Echichens is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges. The municipalities of Colombier, Monnaz and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges merged on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Echichens.

). The town chapel was first mentioned in 1306 without a patron saint and by 1490 it was consecrated to Notre-Dame. The chapel was on the Lausanne side of the ramparts and the unattached bell tower adjoined the city gate and served as part of the city defenses. In 1537 Tolochenaz and Morges formed a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and the chapel was converted into a Reformed church. It was razed in 1769. Outside the city walls, but near Morges, was the monastery of Colettaner, which was also known as the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

abbey. It was founded in 1497-1500 and despite being close to Morges, was associated with

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

troops devastated it in 1530 and again in 1536. The ruins of the monastery were replaced with a cemetery.

Early Modern Morges

The city and castle were plundered in 1475 and again in 1530. After the conquest of Vaud in 1536 by Bern, Morges became the center of a

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

in 1539. The castle was in deplorable condition. The new owners had the upper half of the fortifications rebuilt in the 1540s to suit the needs of artillery. Since Morges had not surrendered quickly enough to Bern, the city gates were demolished. The gate houses remained until 1769 and 1803, when they were finally destroyed. During the early modern era, Morges was very prosperous. A number of large civic and private buildings were built during this time. They include Bern's granary (1690–92) at the site of a formerly fortified private residence, the house at Grande-Rue 56 (which was built in 1560 and the arcaded courtyard was added in 1670) and the building at Grande-Rue 94 with its remarkable facade from 1682. A

latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Colon ...

(scola grammatical calis) was operating by the second half of the 15th century. In 1574 the Collège de Couvaloup, which was inspired by the academies of Geneva, Lausanne and Bern, opened in Morges. The new church was built in a French

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

style between 1769–76 and is one of the masterpieces of Reformed architecture in Switzerland. German language church services began in town starting in 1710. Beginning in the late 18th century the areas outside the city walls were built up. A number of country estates (La Gottaz, La Prairie, La Gracieuse) and new suburbs developed along the arterial roads to Lausanne and Geneva. A small harbor is first mentioned in 1536 and shortly thereafter, regular boat service to Geneva began. In 1664 a simple pier was built out of poles, but it was too small to provide protection for the galleys that were on the lake. The Bernese government therefore decided to build a commercial and military port in Morges and not in Lausanne-Ouchy. The current port was built with two curved breakwaters between 1691–96 and in 1702 the

customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

was finished. With the port, Morges became the starting point for several trade routes and became the site of a major transshipment point for goods such as salt, wine and grain. During the early modern era, the local economy began to rely more on transportation and trade than on the production of goods. The shoemakers guild was very influential in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were replaced by tanners in the 18th and 19th centuries when they grew to be more important in the local economy. The largest socio-professional groups at the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798 were; (in order of importance) the rentiers or

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

s, merchants,

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

s, farmers, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters and joiners.

Morges in the modern era

The first railway line of the Canton connected Yverdon to Morges in 1855. The new station for this line, on the western outskirts of the city, caused a surge of development outside the city walls. The first line was followed in 1856 by the Morges-Lausanne route and in 1858, the Morges-Geneva line. In 1895, the Morges-

Bière Bière is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges District, Morges. History Bière is first mentioned in 1177 as ''Beria''. Geography Bi� ...

Apples An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

line was finished, which opened up the hinterland. Morges grew into a regional economic, political and cultural center during the ancien régime. With the cultural development, it became a center for patriots (including Jean-Jacques Cart, Henri Monod and Jules Nicholas Muret) and the Vaudois revolution. After the 1798 French invasion Morges was a district capital. During the second half of the 19th century, the city enjoyed an upturn in business thanks to the steamship port and the temporary connection from port to the railway (1855–62). In the port, the shipyard was located near the shipping company Compagnie générale de navigation sur le lac Léman (1858–89). The castle, which became the cantonal armory in 1803, was expanded in 1836–39 with some utility buildings and damaged in an explosion in 1871. Starting in 1925, it housed the Vaud Military Museum. A Catholic church was built in 1844 and a chapel for German language services opened in 1891. In 1922 the cantonal Farming and Wine Production school was founded in Marcelin, the building is now the ''Agrilogie Marcelin''. A number of companies dominated the economic life of the municipality in the 19th and 20th centuries: a gas factory (1867–1932), the transport company Friderici AG (1890), the biscuit factory Oulevay AG (1899–1992), the metal construction workshop Société industrielle de Lausanne (1907–79), the foundry Neeser AG (1947) and the pasta factory Gala (1988–2005). Between 1900 and 1940, the city extended further, with new villas and suburbs springing up. The first zoning plan of 1934 was followed by further plans in 1957 and 1970. Between 1961 and 1964 the highway was built, that divides the municipality into two parts. Since 2007, the municipality has been part of the

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster". * Economies of agg ...

of Lausanne-Morges project. This project aims to create 30,000 jobs by 2020. In September 2020, a man released from prison July and who had been under investigation for "previous jihadist activity," chose a victim at random in Morges and killed him "to avenge the prophet."

Geography

Morges has an area, , of . Of this area, or 21.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 4.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 73.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.0% is either rivers or lakes.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.4% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 19.5%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 9.4%. Out of the forested land, 3.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 6.8% is used for growing crops and 2.1% is pastures, while 12.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.5% is in lakes and 0.5% is in rivers and streams. The municipality was part of the old

Morges District Morges District is a district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The seat of the district is the city of Morges. Geography Morges has an area, , of . Of this area, or 55.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.9% is forested. ...

until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Morges became part of the new district of Morges.Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
accessed 4 April 2011 The municipality is the capital of the district. It is located south-west of

along a bay in

Coat of arms

The

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Per fess Argent and Gules, two Bars wavy counterchanged.'' It symbolizes the two rivers that bounded the town to the east, the Bief, and to the west the Morges river.

Demographics

Morges has a population () of . , 32.8% 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 4.3%. It has changed at a rate of 2.9% due to migration and at a rate of 1.5% due to births and deaths.
accessed 11-July-2011 Most of the population () speaks French (11,654 or 82.3%), with

being second most common (601 or 4.2%) and

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

being third (566 or 4.0%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality 3,030 or about 21.4% were born in Morges and lived there in 2000. There were 4,128 or 29.2% who were born in the same canton, while 2,474 or 17.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 4,085 or 28.9% were born outside of Switzerland. In there were 115 live births to Swiss citizens and 57 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 129 deaths of Swiss citizens and 21 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 14 while the foreign population increased by 36. There were 10 Swiss men and 13 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 184 non-Swiss men and 199 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 a decrease of 109 and the non-Swiss population increased by 291 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

of 1.3%. The age distribution, , in Morges is; 1,382 children or 9.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,475 teenagers or 10.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,890 people or 13.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 2,178 people or 15.1% are between 30 and 39, 2,175 people or 15.1% are between 40 and 49, and 1,686 people or 11.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,599 people or 11.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,135 people or 7.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 710 people or 4.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 161 people or 1.1% who are 90 and older.Canton of Vaud Statistical Office
accessed 29 April 2011 , there were 5,695 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,496 married individuals, 940 widows or widowers and 1,023 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 6,628 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 2,727 households that consist of only one person and 242 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 6,747 households that answered this question, 40.4% were households made up of just one person and there were 27 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,742 married couples without children, 1,618 married couples with children. There were 395 single parents with a child or children. There were 119 households that were made up of unrelated people and 119 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing. there were 500 single family homes (or 37.6% of the total) out of a total of 1,330 inhabited buildings. There were 503 multi-family buildings (37.8%), along with 234 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (17.6%) and 93 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.0%). Of the single family homes 30 were built before 1919, while 34 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (154) were built between 1946 and 1960. The most multi-family homes (107) were built between 1946 and 1960 and the next most (105) were built before 1919. There were 31 multi-family houses 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 7,194 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 2,469. There were 680 single room apartments and 941 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 6,478 apartments (90.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 616 apartments (8.6%) were seasonally occupied and 100 apartments (1.4%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.06%. 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:18000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:400 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1459 from:start till:520 bar:1459 at:530 fontsize:S text: " 130 Hearths" shift:(8,5) bar:1721 from:start till:1942 text:"1,942" bar:1764 from:start till:2385 text:"2,385" bar:1850 from:start till:3241 text:"3,241" bar:1860 from:start till:3627 text:"3,627" bar:1870 from:start till:3806 text:"3,806" bar:1880 from:start till:3936 text:"3,936" bar:1888 from:start till:4052 text:"4,052" bar:1900 from:start till:4421 text:"4,421" bar:1910 from:start till:4564 text:"4,564" bar:1920 from:start till:4672 text:"4,672" bar:1930 from:start till:5047 text:"5,047" bar:1941 from:start till:5689 text:"5,689" bar:1950 from:start till:6456 text:"6,456" bar:1960 from:start till:8420 text:"8,420" bar:1970 from:start till:11931 text:"11,931" bar:1980 from:start till:13057 text:"13,057" bar:1990 from:start till:13891 text:"13,891" bar:2000 from:start till:14154 text:"14,154" bar:2018 from:start till:15705 text:"15,705" bar:2023 from:start till:17755 text:"17,755"

Heritage sites of national significance

It is home to the Les Roseaux and Stations de Morges prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

.UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
/ref> The De La Croix Blanche Inn, the buildings at Grand-Rue 54 and Grand-Rue 94, Morges Castle along with the Military Museum of Vaud, the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, the Bronze Age shore front settlement Les Roseaux/La Grande Cité and the Temple are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old city of Morges is part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

. File:Morges chateau ag1.jpg , Morges Castle and Military Museum of Vaud File:Arbalette-p1000556.jpg, Weapons and armor from the Military Museum File:Mitrailleuse-gatling-p1000746.jpg, A Mitrailleuse gatling gun from the Military Museum File:Temple de Morges (609089803).jpg , Temple

Twin Town

Morges is twinned with:

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 27.87% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (19.64%), the FDP (13.56%) and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

(13.05%). In the federal election, a total of 3,649 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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 44.1%.

Economy

, Morges had an unemployment rate of 5.5%. , there were 33 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 978 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 95 businesses in this sector. 7,391 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 ...

, with 783 businesses in this sector. There were 7,229 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.1% of the workforce. the total number of

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

jobs was 6,864. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 30, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 914 of which 340 or (37.2%) were in manufacturing and 232 (25.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 5,920. In the tertiary sector; 1,597 or 27.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 227 or 3.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 502 or 8.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 236 or 4.0% were in the information industry, 328 or 5.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 474 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 556 or 9.4% were in education and 1,286 or 21.7% were in health care. , there were 5,309 workers who commuted into the municipality and 4,531 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 2.1% of the workforce coming into Morges are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 25.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.1% used a private car.

Transport

Morges has a railway station served by trains of the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

and the Bière–Apples–Morges railway (BAM), a

Metre-gauge railway Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

. Morges is served by the

boats of the CGN. The main east-west Swiss A1 motorway serves Morges (junctions 15 and 16).

Religion

From the , 5,439 or 38.4% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

, while 4,925 or 34.8% were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, Of the rest of the population, there were 201 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.42% of the population), there were nine individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 897 individuals (or about 6.34% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 16 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 412 (or about 2.91% of the population) who were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. There were 23 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, eight individuals who were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and 30 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,854 (or about 13.10% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

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 771 individuals (or about 5.45% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Morges about 4,991 or (35.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 2,165 or (15.3%) have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

or a ''

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

''). Of the 2,165 who completed tertiary schooling, 47.1% were Swiss men, 30.0% were Swiss women, 13.2% were non-Swiss men and 9.7% were non-Swiss women. In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,415 students in the Morges 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, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

program requires students to attend for four years. There were 716 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 662 students in those schools. There were also 37 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.Canton of Vaud Statistical Office - Scol. obligatoire/filières de transition
accessed 2 May 2011 Morges is home to the ''Musée militaire'' and the ''Musée Paderewski''.Canton of Vaud Statistical Office - Fréquentation de quelques musées et fondations, Vaud, 2001-2009
accessed 2 May 2011 In 2009 the ''Musée militaire'' was visited by 17,300 visitors (the average in previous years was 16,619). In 2009 the ''Musée Paderewski'' was visited by 200 visitors (the average in previous years was 333). , there were 1,293 students in Morges who came from another municipality, while 417 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Morges is home to the ''Bibliothèque municipale de Morges'' library. The library has () 33,000 books or other media, and loaned out 109,679 items in the same year. It was open a total of 270 days with average of 26 hours per week during that year.

Sport

The HC Forward-Morges plays in the Swiss 1. Liga. The YC Yens-Morges plays in the Swiss Unihockey Competition.

Notable people

Early times

* Margaret of Savoy (1420 in Morges – 1479) a daughter of

Amadeus VIII of Savoy Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began t ...

and

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

18th century

* Charles-Emmanuel de Warnery (1720 in Morges - 1776) a royal Prussian colonel, later a royal Polish general * Henri de Catt (1725 in Morges – 1795) Swiss scholar, private secretary to

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

of Prussia * John Francis Hobler (1727 in Morges - 1794 ) Swiss-born, naturalised-English, watchmaker *

Jean-André Venel Jean-André Venel (28 May 1740 – 9 March 1791) was a Swiss surgeon and a pioneer in the field of orthopedics. Biography Venel was born on 28 May 1740 in Morges, Vaud, the son of Jean-François Venel, a barber surgeon and perruquier, and ...

(1740 in Morges – 1791) a Swiss doctor, pioneer in the field of

orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

Jean-François Sablet Jean-François Sablet (23 November 1745 – 24 February 1819) was a French painter; part of a family of artists of Switzerland, Swiss origin. Biography Jean-François Sablet was born in Morges. He studied with his father, the painter and picture ...

(1745 in Morges - 1819) a French painter; part of a family of artists of Swiss origin * Jean-Marc Mousson (1776 in Morges - 1861) politician and civil servant, the first

Chancellor of Switzerland The federal chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Counci ...

from 1803 to 1830 *

Fernán Caballero Fernán Caballero (24 December 1796 – 7 April 1877) was the pseudonym of Spanish novelist Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl de Faber y Ruiz de Larrea. She was daughter of German writer Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber and Spanish writer Frasqui ...

(1796 in Morges – 1877) pseudonym of the Spanish novelist ''Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl de Faber''

19th century

Louis Buvelot Louis Buvelot (3 March 1814 – 30 May 1888), born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss landscape painter who lived 17 years in Brazil, and following 5 years back in Switzerland, stayed 23 years in Australia, where he influenced the Heidelberg Sch ...

(1814 in Morges – 1888) landscape painter, influenced the

Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and Walter ...

of painters *

François-Alphonse Forel François-Alphonse Forel (; 2 February 1841 – 7 August 1912) was a Swiss physician and scientist who pioneered the study of lakes, and is thus considered the founder. He was also professor at the University of Lausanne and the Father of limnolo ...

(1841 in Morges – 1912) scientist, pioneered the study of lakes, founded

limnology Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...

Eugen Bracht Eugen Felix Prosper Bracht (3 June 1842 – 5 November 1921) was a German landscape painter. Biography Bracht was born in Morges, Waadt (near Lake Geneva in Switzerland) of German parents. His family later moved to Darmstadt, Germany, where ...

(1842 in Morges – 1921) a German landscape painter *

Auguste-Henri Forel Auguste-Henri Forel (; 1 September 1848 – 27 July 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and former eugenicist, notable for his investigations into the structure of the human brain and that of ants. He is considered a co ...

(1848 in Morges – 1931) a

myrmecologist Myrmecology (; from Greek: μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the study of ants. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social ...

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

, psychiatrist and

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

Victor Morax Victor Morax (16 March 1866 – 14 May 1935) was an ophthalmologist born in Morges, Switzerland. He studied in Freiburg (Germany) and Paris, and from 1891 to 1903, he worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. From 1903 to 1928, he was associa ...

(1866 in Morges – 1935) Swiss ophthalmologist * Jean Morax (1869–1939) Swiss painter and theatre decorator, born and died in Morges * Henryk Opieński (1870 – 1942 in Morges) Polish composer, violinist, teacher and musicologist *

René Morax René Morax (11 May 1873 – 3 January 1963) was a Swiss writer, playwright, stage director and theatre manager. He founded the Théâtre du Jorat in Morges in 1908, and promoted historical and rural theatre in French in Switzerland. He is known f ...

(1873–1963) Swiss poet and playwright, born and died in Morges * Milo Martin (1893 in Morges – 1970) a Swiss sculptor and medal-artist

20th century

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, Russian-born composer, lived in Morges from 1915 to 1920 *

Queen Anne of Romania Anne (born Princess Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite of Bourbon-Parma; 18 September 1923 – 1 August 2016) was the wife of King Michael I of Romania. She married Michael in 1948, the year after he had abdicated the throne. N ...

(1923 – 2016 in Morges), wife of the former king

Michael I of Romania Michael I ( ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last King of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947. Shortly after Michael's birth, his f ...

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age an ...

(born 1948 in Morges), Swiss keyboardist, played with

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

Gilles Jobin Gilles Jobin (born 1964) is a Swiss dancer, choreographer and director living and working in Choreography, Geneva, Switzerland. Biography Born in Morges, the son of abstract painter , Gilles trained in ballet at the École supérieure de danse ...

(born 1964 in Morges), a Swiss dancer, choreographer and director *

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;

r 1859 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars''. The lette ...

– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

, Polish pianist and politician *

Nuria Gorrite Nuria Gorrite (born 6 July 1970) is a Swiss-Spanish politician and museum curator. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, she was the first woman to be elected President of the Council of State of Vaud. Early life and education ...

(born 1970), grew up in Morges, President of the

Council of State of Vaud The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud () is the List of cantonal executives of Switzerland, executive organ of the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member ''Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland), Conseil d'Ét ...

Sport

* Jean Schopfer (1868 in Morges – 1931), a French tennis player and a writer, known as ''Claude Anet'' * Olivier Anken (born 1957 in Morges), a retired ice hockey player * Dominique Bosshart (born 1977 in Morges), a Canadian taekwondo athlete, bronze medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, also competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* Jonathan Massacand (born 1984 in Morges), backstroke swimmer, competed in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

* Yannick Weber (born 1988 in Morges), a Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman *

Yann Sommer Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional association football, footballer who plays as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan. Known for his exceptional reflexes and high agility, Sommer is ...

(born 1988 in Morges), Swiss football goalkeeper * Nikola Vučević (born 1990 in Morges), a Montenegrin professional basketball player * Lara Michel (born 1991 in Morges), a Swiss tennis player

References

External links

Morges-Ville de MorgesMorges Photo Gallery
{{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Populated places on Lake Geneva Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud