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. 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. Early modern and modern Orbe In 1352, Orbe became a town with a town charter modeled on Moudon's. After the death of Girard de Montfaucon and of his wife, Orbe was inherited by Count Montbeliard in 1379. In 1410, it passed to Louis de Chalon, the Prince of Orange. The Chalon family held the town until it was captured by the Swiss Confederation in 1475 during the Burgundian Wars. However, the Swiss were unable to hold it and Hugh de Chalon recaptured it in the same year. In the following year, Charles the Bold met with Swiss messengers at Orbe. Due to the Swiss victory in the Burgundian Wars, the confederation acquired much of the old Burgundian land near the Jura Mountains in 1484. The de Chalon lands, including Orbe and nearby Echallens, became a joint condominium or gemeine Herrschaft which was administered by Bern and Fribourg. It remained a subject territory until the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the French-backed Helvetic Republic. Under the Helvetic Republic, Orbe became the capital of the District of Orbe. The Helvetic Republic, which espoused the ideals of the French Revolution, was very popular with the urban residents of Orbe. The reforms of the Helvetic Republic were too much for many Swiss to accept, and the republic was overthrown by the Stecklikrieg revolution. As the Helvetic government retreated in September 1802 from Bern to Lausanne, government troops briefly occupied Orbe. Under the Act of Mediation, Orbe remained the capital of its own district. Geography Orbe has an area, , of . Of this area, (73.6%) are used for agricultural purposes, while (3.7%) is forested. Of the rest of the land, (19.6%) are settled (buildings or roads), and (2.9%) is either rivers or lakes. Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 3.0% of the total area, while