Cully (French pronunciation: [kyji] ⓘ) is a former municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud.

[1] The earliest traces of human activity in Cully come from the Neolithic, when Lake Geneva was near the modern port of Moratel.

During the Roman Empire, the route from Lausanne to Great Saint Bernard ran through the area.

In the 14th century the inhabitants the acquired the right to hold a weekly market and fortify the village.

After the collapse of the Ancien régime, the village belonged from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic to the Canton of Léman.

Cully lies at an average altitude of 387 m (1,270 ft), 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of the canton capital Lausanne as the crow flies.

The village is located in the Lavaux, on a slightly projecting outcrop into the Lake Geneva headland, at the foot of the vineyards of Mont de Gourze.

Of the rest of the land, 0.64 km2 (0.25 sq mi) or 26.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes.

[4] The municipal area covers a section of the Lavaux at the northeastern shore of Lake Geneva.

The land extends northward from the shore across the narrow riparian buffer strips and the slopes of the Lavaux, with the eastern boundary runs along the creek "Champaflon" then to the southeast to the Jorat plateau.

In the northeast, the area extends to theMont de Gourze, which at 925 m (3,035 ft) is the highest point of Cully.

In the area of Cully is the watershed between the catchments of the Rhine and Rhône, 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of Lake Geneva.

Cully includes the hamlet Chenaux at an altitude of 530 m (1,740 ft) on a ridge in the vineyards above the village and a number of individual farms on the plateau.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Argent and Gules, a Grape Bunch counterchanged.

[10] About 35.2% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

[6] The historical population is given in the following chart:[2][13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 20.24% of the vote.

Even today, the vineyards on the slopes of the Lavaux account for some 90 hectares and agriculture and livestock on the plateaus is an important factor in the employment structure of the population.

[15] Thanks to good transport links and an attractive location, the village has in recent decades developed into a residential community.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 63, of which 61 were in agriculture, 1 was in forestry or lumber production and 1 was in fishing or fisheries.

In the tertiary sector; 59 or 12.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 3 or 0.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 80 or 16.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 0.4% were in the information industry, 16 or 3.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 21 or 4.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 37 or 7.6% were in education and 201 or 41.3% were in health care.

It lies on the main road to Lausanne along Lake Geneva to Vevey (with a local bypass).

The nearest motorway connections, built in 1974 is the A9 (Lausanne-Sion), which crosses Belmont (west) and Chexbres (east), each about 6 km (4 mi) from Cully.

[18] Cully has a historic center with narrow streets and picturesque winegrowers' houses dating from the 16th to 19th century.

The Maison Jaune, built in 1641 is the Town Hall, and the Bâtiment de Villette (dating back to the 16th century) are listed buildings.

Other important buildings are the Bâtiment Vallon (1673) and the Hôtel du Raisin, which was built in 1574 and remodeled in 1630 and formerly served as city hall.

In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.

[17] The fictional daughter of leading Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby in the long-running TV show Midsomer Murders is named Cully.