Ollon is a municipality in the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, sited in the foothills of the mountains to the south-east of the Lake of Geneva. The old German language name Olun is no longer used.
History
Ollon is first mentioned in 1018 as Aulonum though there is some debate about whether this refers to another settlement. In 1025-1032 it was mentioned as Olonum.
On the hill Le Lessus stands a high square tower, probably from the 13th century. The tower was partially destroyed in 1476. Foundations indicate that the tower was reached by a walkway. Nearby, the remains of a romanesque chapel from the 12th century is still visible. In 1232 the Counts of Savoy granted the castle to Guy de Saillon. The fief was dismembered in the 14th century and reunited in the 16th century under the Rovéréa family. Between 1476 and 1798 it was one of the twelve Zenden des Mandements Ollon in the government of Aigle. The village was ruled by a Bernese mayor. Since the Middle Ages, black marble has been mined in the village.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 38.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 11.1% is used for growing crops and 8.5% is pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops and 17.7% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams.
Demographics
thumb|Roc d'Orsay gondola
thumb|balconies in Villars-sur-Ollon
thumb|Villars-sur-Ollon
Ollon has a population () of . , 32.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009) the population has changed at a rate of 11.7%. It has changed at a rate of 10.7% due to migration and at a rate of 1.2% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population () speaks French (4,955 or 79.2%), with English being second most common (335 or 5.4%) and German being third (246 or 3.9%). There are 96 people who speak Italian and 3 people who speak Romansh.
, there were 2,723 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,915 married individuals, 318 widows or widowers and 301 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 2,399 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2 new units per 1000 residents.
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Heritage sites of national significance
The Saint-Triphon Et Charpigny, a prehistoric to medieval hilltop settlement, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire villages of Huémoz and Ollon are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Politics
In the 2023 federal election the most popular party was the FDP with 27.0% of the vote, followed by the SVP with 19.4% of the vote, and the SP with 21.2% of the vote.
Economy
As of April 2025, Ollon had an unemployment rate of 3.1%.
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,777. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 139, of which 124 were in agriculture and 15 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 269 of which 78 or (29.0%) were in manufacturing and 168 (62.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,369. In the tertiary sector; 224 or 16.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 110 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 355 or 25.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 0.4% were in the information industry, 28 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 66 or 4.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 387 or 28.3% were in education and 8 or 0.6% were in health care.
, there were 499 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,334 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 2.0% of the workforce coming into Ollon are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 59.5% used a private car. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 205 children of which 96 children (46.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 402 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 386 students in those schools. There were also 1 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 46 students in Ollon who came from another municipality, while 346 residents attended schools outside the municipality.