Lucens

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Geography

Lucens is on 498 m 5,5 km northnortheast the district principal place Moudon (air line). The village extends in the middle Broyetal, both sides the river cerium-howls, which out-steps here from the Vallon of the Vaux into the valley level of the Broye, in the eastern central country.

The surface 6,3 km of the large Gemeindegebiets covers a section of the middle Broyetals and the mol ASS hill ASS bordering west. Northeast from Lucens whole approximately 1 km broad flat valley soil of the Broye belongs to the municipality; southwest the village runs the border to Curtilles along the Broye, which here canalized and straightened is. From the valley soil the Gemeindegebiet extends westward to to the upper edge of the steep rock slope of the high plateau of Cremin. To the west of Lucens the municipality soil is enough into to a large extent wooded Vallon of the Vaux, which is eingetieft together with its short into the Molasseschichten of the hill country. The hill course between the Vallon of the Vaux and the Broyetal is covered and reached by the forest Bois Ban on the height of with 690 m the highest point of Lucens. From the municipality surface 1997 20 % were allotted to 36 % to settlements, to forest and wood, 41 % to agriculture and approximately 3 % were unproductive country.

To Lucens belong the industrie and trade zones in the Broyetal as well as several single yards. Neighbour municipalities of Lucens are Seigneux, Curtilles, Moudon, Bussy sur Moudon, Oulens sur Lucens, Forel sur Lucens and Cremin in the canton Waadt as well as Villeneuve in the canton Freiburg.

Population

With 2212 inhabitants (at the end of of 2005) Lucens belongs to the medium sized municipalities of the canton Waadt and is concerning the number of inhabitants the second largest municipality in the district Moudon. From the inhabitants 82,0 % are 5,0 % italienischsprachig and 3,5 % speak Albanian (conditions 2000). The total population of Lucens amounted 1900 to 1517 inhabitants. Particularly in the years from 1960 to 1970 the total population rose strongly, in order to remain stable thereafter for some time with approximately 2100 inhabitants. After a maximum around 1990 with 2320 inhabitants in the last years more easily decrease in population was registered.

Economics

Into the second half 19. Century was Lucens a village predominantly coined/shaped by the agriculture. With the establishment of the Edelsteinschleiferei Junod in the year 1862 the economic upswing of Lucens began. The enterprise, which occasionally nearly 1000 coworkers busy, was closed 1931. Besides further important enterprises in the industry of the Steinschleiferei and Uhrmacherei developed, for example the Tanner SA (1880), the Gasser Ravussin SA (1921) and the multicolored SA (1917).

Thus Lucens developed to an important industrial site in the middle Broyetal, whose status it stops this very day. In the year 2001 57 % of the employed persons in the industriellen sector were busy, while the service sector and the primary sector 4 % of the employed persons on itself 39 % could combine.

The agriculture with agriculture and cattle breeding as well as forestry have today only marginal note a meaning in the acquisition structure of the population. The trade and industrial zones extend in the Broyetal between the line and the Broye. Important enterprises are today still the Gasser Ravussin SA and the Reymond & CO SA (in the range of the micro technology) as well as SA (isolation material). Further enterprises have themselves on construction industry, the carrying trade, the building of metals, which specializes computer science and the electric industry.

Experimental nuclear power station Lucens

In the process of the 1960er years the underground experimental nuclear power station Lucens (VAKL) was built. With the research atomic reactor on 29 January 1968 in Switzerland electricity was produced for the first time by nuclear power. After short period of operation a consequence-fraught incident occurred on 21 January 1969, when it came to problems with the cooling system to a partial core melt-through. Radioactive gases escaped into the Kaverne, which could be isolated and sealed however. The misfortune is after the disaster of Tschernobyl/Ukraine and Three Mile Island /USA the third-heaviest reactor disaster. There was however hardly danger for humans and environment, since the reactor was in a mountain-mad.

The test reactor of Lucens is a symbol for the progress faith of the Swiss reactor research during the 1960er-Jahre. The accident of Lucens must be called from today's viewpoint a successful miss. By the incident can in reactor and safety-relevant regard the handling with critical situation improve. Also economically the reactor no Fiasko is to have been, there the sales of the moderator (heavy water) allegedly the entire retreating longwall system financed.

See also: Would list nuclear accidents

Traffic

The municipality is traffic-technically quite well opened. It is because of the old main street from Payerne to Moudon. The transit traffic from Payerne to Lausanne, which particularly achieved occasional high frequencies before the opening of the motorways of Berne into the Western part of Switzerland, is led around on a local by-pass around Lucens. On 25 August 1876 the railway line was taken by Payerne via Moudon after with a station in Lucens in enterprise.

History

The first documentary mention of the place took place already in the year 963 under the name mansion Losingus. The designations Locens (1157) and Lucens appeared later (1217). The place name probably decreases/goes back on the burgundischen family name Lauso and means at the people of the Lauso.

Lucens belonged to 10 since that. Century the bishops of Lausanne, stood back however long time behind the Curtilles which was on the opposite valley side of the Broye. In the place of the today's lock a castle-similar plant probably already was, in 11. and 12 in burgundischer time. Century was developed. Only with the further development and the transfer of the residence from Curtilles to Lucens in 13. Century rose the meaning of the place. Lucens was from now on summer residence of the bishops of Lausanne. The lock was 1476 in the course of the Burgunderkriege by the oath comrades into fire, was later however again developed.

As one of the last places in the Waadtland Lucens was conquered 1536 of the Bernern. Thus the village arrived under the administration of the Landvogtei Moudon. After the first Landvogt had had its seat still in Moudon, second, Wolfgang von Erlach, 1542 into the lock of Lucens, shifted its head office which it regarded to defend as substantially simpler than the Vogteisitz in Moudon. All further that Bernese Vogtei Moudon resided thereafter in Lucens which formed its own Kastlanei with Court of Justice. Lucens became thereby the actual administrative centre in the middle Broyetal.

After the collapse of the Ancien Lucens from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetik to the canton belonged, which came up afterwards with the coming into force of the Mediationsverfassung in the canton Waadt. 1798 were assigned it to the district Moudon and lost its position as administrative centre. A new economic upswing took place only after 1850 with the industrialization and the establishment of a Edelsteinschleiferei in the year 1862.

Objects of interest

Outstanding building of Lucens is the formerly lock, in 13. Century in strategically protruding situation on the rock spur between the Vallon of the Vaux and the Broyetal was established northwest the village. Larger changes and extensions took place in the middle 16. Century, when the lock became to erkoren to the Vogteisitz. The oldest parts originating from the Middle Ages are the donjon high in Savoyard kind round and 26 m (13. Century) and its adjacent buildings and walls. The irregular Palas with and a double Ringmauer developed during that Bernese time. Since that time the lock changed 1798 into the possession of the canton, by this however 1803 was sold and changed several times the owner.

Most famous owner was reliably Sir Adrian Conan Doyle, the son of the writer Arthur Conan Doyle. On its initiative 1965 in the lock the Sherlock cross-beam museum were furnished. To the death of Sir Adrian Conan Doyle (1970) changed the lock again the owner. Today (2005) it is no longer accessible to the public. The Sherlock cross-beam museum was shifted into the Maison Rouge in the village.

At the stairway to the lock the gothical lock chapel Sainte stands, in 14. Century under supervision was built. It contains 15 in the choir Wandmalereien from that. Century; the glass paintings were provided 1952 by J. Prahin. In the old local centre some stately citizen and farmhouses from that are 17. to 19. Century receive.