Like Berne, Fribourg and Morat/Murten, Morges was built according to the Zaehringen plan, named after a very influential aristocratic family in the Middle Ages.
The plan features two wide main streets to accommodate the markets, a transverse square with public buildings set back, and narrow alleys known in those days as "punaises" (from the mediaeval French adjective "punais" which means "smelly"). In fact, these alleys were used as sewers; waste was thrown into them from the backs of the buildings so as to keep the main streets clean.
