Vogt. The Schultheiss was subordinate to the town military leader (Bannerherr), who was elected by the citizens. The Bannerherr chaired the sixty member council, which was divided into the Conseil Premier Douze, the Conseil Second-Douze, and the Communauté which had 36 members. The Communauté included representative from the village of Corcelles and the surrounding hamlets. In 1769, the Council was reduced to 50 members. The City Council building of Payerne was built in 1572, and since 1964 has served as the seat of the District Court. Guillaume Farel and Pierre Viret began to preach the Protestant Reformation in 1532–33 in Payerne. The town adopted the new faith even before the conquest by Bern. The territory of the Reformed parish coincided with the municipality. A castle was built in 1640 on the grounds of the monastery as a residence for the Bernese representative. From the early 19th until the late 20th century, it housed the high school. In 1688 the town created a council for legislative reforms, followed in 1689 by one for weights and measures and in 1699, one for the care of orphans. The town had a court and an appeals court, with further appeals being sent to Bern. In 1617, the town refused to recognize the rights of Vaud. The city law was updated and printed in 1733. The city had a doctor, a surgeon and a pharmacist. Bern paid for three of the Regents at the College, while Payerne paid for a fourth. Starting in 1761 there was a teacher for girls, and in 1784 a German teacher was provided. In 1791 the town citizens rejected an order for forced labor on a nearby road and in 1795 they called for the division of the commons. In 1798 it was briefly the capital of the short lived canton of Sarine et Broye. From 1798 until 1802 it was the capital of the district of Payerne under the Helvetic Republic's canton of Fribourg. From 1802 until 2006 it was the capital of the district of Payerne in the canton of Vaud. In the 1830s and 40s the city walls and three gates were demolished, only the four towers still remain. The former monastery town spread out in all directions, and grew gradually to meet the town of Corcelles. The old councils were replaced with a five-member executive council and a 70 member city council. The municipal elections of