Ollon

Ollon is first mentioned in 1018 as Aulonum though there is some debate about whether this refers to another settlement. In 1025-32 it was mentioned as Olonum.[4]

Mountains near Villar-sur-Ollon

Aerial view (1952)

Ollon has an area, as of 2009, of 59.54 square kilometers (22.99 sq mi). Of this area, 23.86 km² (9.21 sq mi) or 40.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.11 km² (10.47 sq mi) or 45.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.3 km² (2.4 sq mi) or 10.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.55 km² (0.21 sq mi) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes and 1.68 km² (0.65 sq mi) or 2.8% is unproductive land.[6]

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.[6]

The municipality is located in the Aigle district. The area covered by Ollon borders the Rhône on the southwest side, and rises up the mountainside as far as Chamossaire. Ollon includes 123 hectares (300 acres) of vineyards. It is one of the largest municipalities in the canton. It consists of the village of Ollon and 23 other villages and hamlets (including; Antagnes, Arveyes, Chesières, Huémoz, Panex, Saint-Triphon, Villars-sur-Ollon) as well as scattered summer grazing camps (Bretaye, Les Closalets, La Barboleusaz).

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Quartered Vert and Gules, overall a Cross couped Argent.[7]

Roc d'Orsay gondola

balconies in Villars-sur-Ollon

Villars-sur-Ollon

Ollon has a population (as of December 2019) of 7,555.[8] As of 2008, 32.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[9] 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.[10]

Most of the population (as of 2000) 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.[11]

Of the population in the municipality 1,724 or about 27.6% were born in Ollon and lived there in 2000. There were 1,374 or 22.0% who were born in the same canton, while 1,011 or 16.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,869 or 29.9% were born outside of Switzerland.[11]

In 2008 there were 38 live births to Swiss citizens and 15 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 45 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 7 while the foreign population increased by 10. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 81 non-Swiss men and 107 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 91 and the non-Swiss population increased by 95 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.8%.[9]

The age distribution, as of 2009, in Ollon is; 690 children or 9.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,368 teenagers or 19.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 622 people or 9.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 772 people or 11.1% are between 30 and 39, 1,142 people or 16.4% are between 40 and 49, and 900 people or 13.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 750 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 437 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79,there are 246 people or 3.5% who are 80 and 89, and there are 22 people or 0.3% who are 90 and older.[12]

As of 2000, 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.[11]

As of 2000, there were 2,399 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household.[10] There were 839 households that consist of only one person and 151 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,519 households that answered this question, 33.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 15 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 627 married couples without children, 726 married couples with children There were 158 single parents with a child or children. There were 34 households that were made up of unrelated people and 120 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.[11]

In 2000 there were 5,227 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 1,523. There were 486 single room apartments and 1,154 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,130 apartments (40.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2,880 apartments (55.1%) were seasonally occupied and 217 apartments (4.2%) were empty.[13] As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 2 new units per 1000 residents.[10] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 1.33%.[10]

The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][14]

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.[15]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 26.43% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (20.06%), the FDP (19.34%) and the Green Party (12.08%). In the federal election, a total of 1,602 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 45.5%.[16] The current mayor (2011–16) is Jean-Luc Chollet.

As of  2010, Ollon had an unemployment rate of 3.7%. As of 2008, there were 221 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 75 businesses involved in this sector. 287 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 54 businesses in this sector. 1,588 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 227 businesses in this sector.[10] There were 2,815 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.4% of the workforce.

In 2008 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.[17]

In 2000, 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.[18] Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 59.5% used a private car.[10]

Catholic Church of Villars-sur-Ollon

From the 2000 census, 1,922 or 30.7% were Roman Catholic, while 2,603 or 41.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 128 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.05% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 167 individuals (or about 2.67% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 14 individuals (or about 0.22% of the population) who were Jewish, and 175 (or about 2.80% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 11 individuals who were Buddhist, 14 individuals who were Hindu and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 732 (or about 11.70% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 480 individuals (or about 7.67% of the population) did not answer the question.[11]

In Ollon about 1,975 or (31.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 885 or (14.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 885 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.2% were Swiss men, 23.2% were Swiss women, 18.0% were non-Swiss men and 14.7% were non-Swiss women.[11]

In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 789 students in the Ollon school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.[19] 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.[20]

As of 2000, there were 46 students in Ollon who came from another municipality, while 346 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[18]

• Huémoz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Saint-Triphon in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.