Payerne

Payerne is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully. The german name Peterlingen for the town is out of use.

The earliest traces of settlements near Payerne include Neolithic objects and traces of a Bronze Age settlement. There are also burial mounds from the Hallstatt and Latène cultures, including gold necklaces which were found at Le Bois de Roverex. There was a Celtic bridge and a Roman era road in the area of Les Aventuri. There were Roman buildings within and outside the city walls, Roman cemeteries, and a dedicatory inscription of Publius Graccius Paternus. During the Early Middle Ages, the village of Payerne first appeared. In 587, Bishop Marius built the villa Paterniacum and a Chapel to St. Mary in the village. The chapel later developed into a parish church. The present Gothic building was built in the 14th Century over Roman foundations. It was renovated in the 1990s. In the 10th Century, the Cluniac Payerne Priory was founded. In 1033, Emperor Conrad II was crowned as the King of Burgundy in the priory church.

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