Editing Orbe (section)

===Middle ages===
[[File:Orbe 6.JPG|thumb|left|Plan of Orbe Castle]]
By the Middle Ages, Orbe sat on the road over the Jougne Pass and at the crossroads of two major transportation routes.  One stretched from the [[Jura Mountains]] to the [[Alps]] while the other ran from the [[Rhine]] River to the [[Rhone]] River.  The municipality grew up on both sides of the [[Orbe (river)|Orbe]].  On the left side was the villa Tavellis and the [[parish church]] of Saint-Germain, while the right side had the villa Tabernis with the church of Saint-Martin.  At some point during the Middle Ages, a bridge was built across the river which joined the two settlements.  [[Orbe Castle]] and the town's market were built on the hill above the river and the bridge.

In 888, the town was owned by the [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundian]] king [[Rudolph I of Burgundy|Rudolf I]].  The next records of the town come from silver coins which the town's [[Mint (coin)|mint]] produced for [[Conrad of Burgundy|Conrad the peaceful]] between 937 and 993.  The town remained part of the independent [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles|Kingdom of Burgundy]] until the death of the last king, [[Rudolph III of Burgundy|Rudolf III]] in 1032.  Before Rudolph's death, the [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] had forced him to name Conrad as his successor.  With Rudolph's death, the entire kingdom, including Orbe, was incorporated into the empire.  In 1076, [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry IV]] replaced the Burgundian noble in Orbe with one of his [[vassal]]s, Count Wilhelm II.

Land and rights in the town passed through several nobles, and in 1168, Amadeus II of Montfaucon, the count of Montbéliard, bought about half of the town of Orbe.  In a record from 1183, the town's churches and much of the land were owned by [[Baulmes Priory|Baulmes]] and [[Payerne Priory|Payerne Priories]].  Around the end of the 11th century, [[Romainmôtier Abbey]] acquired some land in the town, on which they built a hospital.  In 1139, they expanded the building into the nearby Notre-Dame chapel.<ref name=HDS/>

In addition to the religious land owners, the Counts of Montfaucon-Montbeliard began to live in the town.  In 1233, they built a round [[keep]] in Orbe Castle.  Two years later, Amadeus III of Montfaucon-Montbeliard built the Bourg-Vieux and Bourg-Neuf to help protect the town.  By fortifying the town and castle, the counts and the town were able to control the trade routes that passed through the valley.<ref name=HDS/>