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 monasterium Sancti Martini cum villa quae dicitur Lustriacus and in 1147 it was Lustriey.

In August 1984, during the construction of the underground car park in La Possession, an arrangement of 24 standing stones (menhir) were discovered. 18 of the stones were re-erected next to it in the original formation. The thirteen large standing stones ( high) were arranged in a line, while the eleven subsequent smaller stones (from high) described a curve to the south. The standing stones are traditionally assigned to the beginning of the middle Neolithic period. However local pottery indicates a later date, to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. Menhir No. 14 is a figurative stele, in which geometric ornamentation (x-shaped lines, balanced circles, zigzag line) were carved. Similar symbols can also be found on standing stones in southern France, but their meaning is unknown.

thumb|right|200px|Lutry street

Lutry began to become a town at the beginning of the 13th century when it was encircled by a circular wall created by the Bishop (1212–19). The wall was supported by a square tower, the Tour de l'Eveque, which was built by William of Ecublens in 1221–29. The hamlets Curtinaux, Savuit, Le Châtelard and Corsy as well as the neighborhoods of Friporte, Voisinand and Bourg Neuf were outside the walls, and soon a second curtain wall was built around the latter. In 1291 there was a hospital in the priory and in 1348 another one was built in the town. With the construction of an inner harbor, market buildings were created in 1408. At the instigation of the monks, a vineyard was placed around the town. An organization known as the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, in 1307, marked the beginning of a civic organization. Starting in the 13th century, the town began an effort to deforest the neighboring Monts-de-Lutry, an effort that was completed in the 17th century. The newly available fields, pastures and forests were managed by farmers, who were also citizens of the town.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 20.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 11.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, 17.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 12.1% is used for growing crops and 12.7% is pastures, while 18.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located on numerous terraces between Lake Geneva and the Jorat region. Until 1823 it included the now independent municipality of Savigny. It consists of the village of Lutry and the hamlets of Curtinaux, Savuit, Le Châtelard, Corsy, La Conversion, Echerins, Bossières, Le Daley, Montagny, Le Petit Bochat, Le Miroir and La Croix. It borders the municipalities of Paudex and Belmont-sur-Lausanne to the east, Savigny to the north and Villette to the west.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Gules and Argent.

Demographics

thumb|200px|Market in Lutry

thumb|200px|Grape Harvest Festival in Lutry

thumb|right|200px|Grand'Rue in Lutry

Lutry has a population () of . , 23.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009) the population has changed at a rate of 14.4%. It has changed at a rate of 18.7% due to migration and at a rate of −4.4% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population () speaks French (6,872 or 83.1%), with German being second most common (530 or 6.4%) and English being third (310 or 3.7%). There are 153 people who speak Italian and 6 people who speak Romansh.

, there were 3,161 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 3,974 married individuals, 562 widows or widowers and 573 individuals who are divorced.

, there were 3,579 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household.

there were 3,964 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 992. There were 226 single room apartments and 1,333 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 3,420 apartments (86.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 464 apartments (11.7%) were seasonally occupied and 80 apartments (2.0%) were empty.

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Heritage sites of national significance

Lutry Castle or Rôdeurs Castle, the Roman Catholic Church of Saint-Martin, the Swiss Reformed Church of Saint-Martin, the Gothic facade house, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire town of Lutry and the hamlets of Châtelard and Savuit are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

The castle was built in the 15th and 16th centuries as the home of the Bishop of Lausanne's representative, the Mayor de Lutry family. The large gate house into the castle was built around the end of the 16th century, while the large coat of arms is from 1640.

The Reformed Church of Saint-Martin was built on the foundation of an earlier Romanesque priory church. The current church was built in multiple stages. The polygonal choir is from 1260. The nave and northern side chapels were built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church tower is from 1544. In 1570 the west facade was replaced with a Renaissance style portal and surrounded with sculptures. The interior is decorated with paintings by the Flemish artist Humbert Mareschet from 1577. In 2021, Charles Monod (FDP) was elected as mayor (syndic) until 2026. The municipality's government is, as of 2025, composed of four FDP politicians (Charles Monod, Pierre-Alexandre Schlaeppi, Etienne Blanc and Patrick Sutter) and of one socialist politician (Alain Amy).

Economy

, Lutry had an unemployment rate of 3.4%. , there were 96 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 33 businesses involved in this sector. 308 people were employed in the secondary sector there were 55 businesses in this sector. 1,853 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 326 businesses in this sector.

, there were 1,269 workers who commuted into the municipality and 3,112 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 18.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 64% used a private car. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 665 children of which 232 children (34.9%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 428 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 438 students in those schools. There were also 6 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.

, there were 48 students in Lutry who came from another municipality, while 732 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Notable people

140px|thumb|Eugène Ruffy, 1890s

People born in Lutry

  • Victor Ruffy (1823 in Lutry – 1869) a Swiss politician, on the Federal Council of Switzerland from 1867
  • Eugène Ruffy (1854 in Lutry – 1919) a Swiss politician, on the Swiss Federal Council 1893–1899

People dead in Lutry

  • Frederick, Burgrave of Dohna (1621–1688) a German nobleman and governor of the Principality of Orange
  • Alfred Pochon (1878–1959) a Swiss musician
  • Edmond Jaloux (1878–1949) a French novelist, essayist and critic
  • Bernard Reichel (1901–1992) a 20th-century Swiss classical composer
  • Catherine Kousmine (1904–1992) a Russian scientist who believed in nutritionally based medicine
  • Appel Ooiman (1905–1971) a Dutch rower, competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics
  • Fernand Jaccard (1907–2008) a Swiss football midfielder and manager
  • Jacques Aubert (1916–1995) a Swiss entomologist
  • Vince Taylor (1939–1991) a British rock and roll singer, primarily known in France

Notes and references

  • Official website