Chexbres

History

The municipality of Chexbres was already inhabited in Roman times, and a single wall remains and coins have been found. The first written mention of the place appeared in 1139 under the name Chexbres. In the ensuing period many other names: Chibriacum (1100), Chabris (1134), Chabre (1142), Cabarissa (1145), Cerbre (1147), Chebra (1165), Chabrii (1179), Chabre (1221), Chaibri (1248), Chaibry (1368), Chebry (1453), Cheibri (1454) and even to 1562, both Chaybres and Cheybres appeared. The origin of the name is not clearly understood. It could be derived from the Roman personal names Cabrius, from the Gallic words Caebre (meaning city on a hill) or from Cabus (hemp). The area around Chexbres was owned from the 6th century by the abbey of Saint Maurice and in 978 came under the Kingdom of Burgundy. In 1079 King Henry IV gave the village and lands to the bishop of Lausanne. With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Chexbres came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Lausanne. After the collapse of the ancien régime, the village belonged from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic to the Canton of Léman, and later the Canton of Vaud. In 1798 the village was assigned to the district of Lavaux and until 1810 was part of the greater community of Saint-Saphorin within this district. It was only after 1810 that it became a politically independent municipality. Thanks to its scenic location, the village developed during the 19th century into a resort.

Geography

Chexbres is located at above sea level, east-southeast of the capital of the canton of Lausanne (as the crow flies). The village covers an area east of the Forestay river, in Lavaux, a scenic location about above the lake level of Lake Geneva. The community itself has no direct lake access, but extends to the east of the Château de Glérolles almost to the shores of Lake Geneva. Crêt Bérard at above sea level is the highest point of Chexbres. To the west, the area extends beyond the valleys of the Forestay on the hill of Le Signal at up to above sea level. Chexbres includes the hamlet of Le Monte Iller at above sea level on the slope below the village, amid the vineyards and a number of farms. Chexbres is bordered by Rivaz, Puidoux and Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux). Chexbres has an area, , of . Of this area, or 51.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 16.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 32.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and or 0.5% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 15.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 15.4%. Out of the forested land, 10.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.8% is used for growing crops and 24.8% is pastures, while 16.8% is used for orchards or vine crops.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  6,331
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  5,239
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  4,853
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,920
• common frog

  Rana temporaria Linnaeus, 1758 · Amphibia
  2,653
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,394
• Red Admiral

  Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,380
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  2,275

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-01-12
  4 km SSW of Les Houches, France
• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 3.3 — 2022-09-25
  7 km ESE of Ar?ches-la-Frasse, France
• M 2.7 — 2022-08-23
  4 km S of Turtmann, Switzerland
• M 4.5 — 2022-03-12
  3 km S of Faverges, France