Château Grandcour

Already in the early Middle Ages, there was a settlement in the municipal area south of the present-day village. The first castle of Grandcour was probably built in the 10th century. A settlement developed around this castle in the 11th and 12th centuries. However, the Lords of Cossonay-Prangins, who owned the castle around 1200, are historically well-documented. The first documented mention of the place under the name Grancort (1212) also falls into this period. Later, the spellings Grandcort (1299) and Grancor (1342) appeared. The place name is composed of the Latin words grandis (large) and cortis (court).

Since the 12th century, Grandcour was a fortified small town and formed the center of a lordship, which also included Chevroux and the villages of Chesard and Ressudens (now incorporated). In 1293, the lordship came to Louis of Savoy, who granted the town certain freedoms. From 1311 to 1397, Grandcour belonged to the Lords of Grandson, then again to Savoy. The lordship, which was elevated to a barony in the mid-16th century, experienced numerous changes of ownership since the 15th century.

With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Grandcour came under the administration of the bailiwick of Avenches, forming an exclave together with Chevroux. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime, the village belonged to the Canton of Léman from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic, which subsequently merged into the Canton of Vaud with the entry into force of the Mediation Constitution. In 1798, Grandcour was initially assigned to the district of Avenches, in 1803 it came to the district of Payerne and became the capital of a circle.

The current Grandcour Castle with two small side wings was built from 1737 to 1741 in the Neoclassical style on the site of the medieval castle.

Source text: Wikipedia