Saint-Prex
Castle of Saint- Prex
Saint- Prex is a municipality in the district of Morges in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
Geography
Saint- Prex is at 377 m above sea level. M., 4.5 km southwest of the district capital Morges ( straight line ). The historic town extends on a peninsula jutting into the lake, in the Vaud Mittelland.
The area of 5.5 km ² large municipality area includes a section on the north shore of Lake Geneva. The communal land extends from the shore northward over the flat riparian strips down to the adjoining, about 50 m higher lying terrain terrace. The northern border is formed by the wooded valley of the river Boiron de Morges. At Bois Billens is 455 m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Saint- Prex. In the west the boundary runs along the short stream Ruisseau des Chenaux, while the area to the east extends to the mouth of the Boiron in Lake Geneva. The river has filled up a small alluvial fan here. From the municipality surface 1997 37 % came from settlements, 7% of the forest and shrubs, 55 % to agriculture and slightly less than 1% was unproductive land.
At Saint- Prex included major housing estates, the hamlets of Beaufort (410 m above sea level. M. ) at the edge of the terrace overlooking the resort grounds and Les Iles (425 m above sea level. M. ) south of Boiron well as some individual farms. Neighboring municipalities of Saint- Prex are Buchillon, Etoy, Villars -sous -Yens, Lussy -sur- Morges, Lully and Tolochenaz.
Population
With 5417 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012) Saint- Prex is one of the medium-sized municipalities in the canton of Vaud. Of the 82.5% of residents are French-speaking, 5% in German and 3.3% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Saint- Prex amounted in 1850 to 528 residents in 1900 to 882 inhabitants. Since 1950 (1507 inhabitants), a rapid population increase was recorded with a tripling of the population within 50 years.
Economy
Saint- Prex was until the end of the 19th century agriculturally coined town. Today, agriculture and viticulture have only a minor role in the economic structure of the population. The southern slopes of the terrain terrace are ideal as a wine-growing regions.
The economic boom of the town took place at the beginning of the 20th century with the founding of the glass factory Verrerie SA 1911 by Henri Cornaz. This has as Vetropack Holding today its headquarters in Saint- Prex. In addition, there is a company specializing in measuring instruments company, and numerous small businesses. The place has a glass museum ( since 1982) as well as tourist infrastructure (hotels, beach and boat harbor ), and the cultural and sports center Vieux -Moulin.
In recent decades, Saint- Prex has increasingly developed into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who work mainly in Lausanne and Morges.
Since 2006, Saint- Prex seat of Vale International AG, a subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale International generates an annual profit of several billion francs, roughly one-third of net income
Traffic
The community is easily accessible via. It lies on the main road 1 from Geneva along the lake to Lausanne. The motorway Aubonne and Morges -Ouest on the A1 opened in 1964 ( Geneva, Lausanne), which crosses the municipality area, each about 5 km away from the town center. On April 14, 1858 of section from Morges to Coppet of the railway line Lausanne- Geneva was taken with a train station in Saint -Prex in operation. Furthermore, Saint- Prex is connected to the network of passenger ship on Lake Geneva.
History
Saint- Prex can look back on a very long urban tradition. In Fraidaigue remains of a settlement have been discovered from the Neolithic period. From the Late Bronze Age necropolis with 30 tombs dates (mostly inhumations ). Other tracks are from the Roman period and from the early Middle Ages.
The first written mention of the village took place in 885 under the name of Sanctus Prothasius. At this time, a church is mentioned in the place where the Bishop of Lausanne Protasius said to have been buried mid-7th century. The current name is a dialect form of the name of Bishop Saint Prothais represents the church, and the resulting in their environment place belonged since the High Middle Ages, the cathedral chapter of Lausanne. For strategic reasons, this left the place, which held a market since 1223, fix 1234. 1358 Saint- Prex came under the suzerainty of the Counts of Savoy.
With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, the town came under the administration of the bailiwick of Morges and lost under these political and economic dependence on its meaning. The building material of the old city wall was used in the 17th century for the installation of the Naval Port in Morges. After the collapse of the ancien régime Saint- Prex belonged from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic to the canton of Geneva, who came up then with the enactment of the Act of Mediation in the canton of Vaud. 1798 was assigned to the district of Morges.
Attractions
Adapted to the shape of the peninsula of Saint- Prex owns the historic town of the rare floor plan of a nearly equilateral triangle. The main street extends from the door ( in the middle of the northern side of the triangle ) to the port on the tip of the peninsula. Rectangular, there are several small cross streets.
The historic city center with residential and partly agricultural outbuildings has retained the character of an agrarian -oriented small town until today. From the former attachment, only the gate is connected to a bell and clock tower from the 18th century. To the east of the old town, the castle, of which only the mighty square keep the original building from the 13th century is preserved rises. The present buildings of the castle date from the 16th century. The mansion Le Manoir on the southern edge of the old town also has a medieval watchtower from the 13th century. Many citizens, patricians and peasants' houses date from the 16th to the 19th century.
Outside the historic town is the Protestant parish of Saint- Protais that goes back in its origins to the 9th century. Today's single-nave building was erected in the 12th century ( choir) and 13th century ( nave ). Inside there are frescoes from the 14th century.
For the care of the valuable historical townscape, the municipality in 1973 was awarded the Wakker Prize.
Parish Church of Saint- Protais