Morges

Morges (Latin: Morgiis (plural, probably ablative, else dative)) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges and is also the seat of the district.

History

Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as Morgia. It was known by its German name Morsee though that name is no longer used.

Prehistory

There were several prehistoric settlements along what is now the Morges lakefront. The largest and best known, Grande-Cité, was occupied in the late Bronze Age. One of the wooden objects at Grande-Cité has been dendrochronologically dated to 1031 BC. Many of the stilts and building structures have been preserved in situ. A dugout of oak was discovered near the settlement and in 1877 half of it was recovered and placed in the Musée d'histoire et d'art in Geneva.

About a hundred meters (yards) further north is the village of Vers-l'Eglise. The first settlement here dates back to the Neolithic, based on a layer of ceramic objects that date from between 2900 BC and 2700 BC. It remained occupied through the Late Bronze Age.

Morges District

Morges District is a district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The seat of the district is the city of Morges.

Geography

Morges has an area, as of 2009, of 372.99 square kilometers (144.01 sq mi). Of this area, 205.69 km² (79.42 sq mi) or 55.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 126.4 km² (48.8 sq mi) or 33.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 38.25 km² (14.77 sq mi) or 10.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 2.66 km² (1.03 sq mi) or 0.7% is unproductive land.

Demographics

Morges has a population (as of December 2014) of 78,464.

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (56,847 or 82.3%), with German being second most common (3,224 or 4.7%) and Italian being third (2,589 or 3.7%). There are 22 people who speak Romansh.

Of the population in the district 12,738 or about 18.4% were born in Morges and lived there in 2000. There were 23,191 or 33.6% who were born in the same canton, while 11,880 or 17.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 19,384 or 28.1% were born outside of Switzerland.