Lausanne () is a city in
Romandy, the
French-speaking part of
Switzerland, situated on the shores of
Lake Geneva (French:
Lac Léman), and facing
Évian-les-Bains (
France) and with the
Jura mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located northeast of
Geneva. It is the capital of the
canton of
Vaud and of the
district of Lausanne. The headquarters of the
International Olympic Committee are located in Lausanne and the IOC officially recognises the city as the
Capitale Olympique, and the headquarters of the
Court of Arbitration for Sport. It lies in the middle of a
wine region.
History
The
Romans built a military camp, which they called
Lousanna, at the site of a
Celtic settlement, near the lake where currently are
Vidy and
Ouchy; on the hill above was a fort called 'Lausodunon' or 'Lousodunon' (The 'y' suffix is common to many place names of Roman origin in the region (e.g.)
Prilly,
Pully,
Lutry, etc).
After the fall of the
Roman Empire, insecurity forced the transfer of Lausanne to its current center, a hilly, easier to defend site. The city which emerged from the camp was ruled by the
Dukes of Savoy and the
Bishop of Lausanne. Then it came under
Berne from 1536 to 1798 and a number of its cultural treasures, including the hanging tapestries in the Cathedral, were permanently removed. Lausanne has made a number of requests to recover them.
After the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes in 1685, Lausanne became (along with
Geneva) a place of refuge for French
Huguenots. In 1729 a seminary was opened by
Antoine Court and
Benjamin Duplan. By 1750 ninety pastors had been sent back to France to work clandestinely; this number would rise to four hundred. Official persecution ended in 1787; a faculty of Protestant theology was established at
Montauban in 1808, and the Lausanne seminary was finally closed on 18 April 1812. During the
Napoleonic Wars, the city's status changed. In 1803, it became the capital of a newly formed Swiss canton,
Vaud under which it joined the
Swiss Federation.
Modern history
In 1964 the city hosted the 'Swiss National Exhibition', displaying its newly found confidence to host major international events.
From the 1950s to 1970s a large number of
Italians,
Spaniards and
Portuguese immigrated, settling mostly in the industrial district of Renens and transforming the local diet.
The city has been traditionally quiet but in the late 1960s and early 1970s there were a series of mainly youth demonstrations confronted by the police. The next vigorous demonstrations took place to protest against the high cinema prices and since then the city has returned to its very sleepy self, until the protest against the
G8 meetings in 2003.
Geography
View of Laussane (Lausanna) - An 1837 woodcut print
The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is
Lake Geneva (
Lac Léman in French). Lausanne is built on the southern slope of the
Swiss plateau, with a difference in elevation of about between the lakeshore at Ouchy and its northern edge bordering
Le Mont-sur-Lausanne and
Epalinges. Lausanne boasts a dramatic panorama over the lake and the
Alps.
In addition to its generally southward-sloping layout, the center of the city is the site of an ancient river, the Flon, which has been covered since the 19th century. The former river forms a gorge running through the middle of the city south of the old city centre, generally following the course of the present
Rue Centrale, with several bridges crossing the depression to connect the adjacent neighborhoods. Due to the large differences in elevation, visitors should make a note as to which plane of elevation they are on and where they want to go, lest they find themselves tens of meters below or above the street which they are trying to travel on. The name
Flon is also used for the
Metro station located in the gorge.
Lausanne is located at the limit between the extensive
wine-growing regions of
Lavaux (to the east) and
la Côte (to the west).
The population of the greater Lausanne area (
grand Lausanne) is about 316,000 (2007 estimate).
Transport
Lausanne includes
buses and
metros (operated by ), nationwide and regional
train lines (
CFF, ), and boats (). The majority of urban public transport in Lausanne is by
trolleybus.
Lausanne became the first city in
Switzerland to have a
rubber-tyred metro system, with the m2 Line which opened in October 2008. The rolling stock is a shorter version of the one used on
Paris Métro Line 14.
Lausanne is connected to the
A1 motorway on its west side (
Geneva -
Zurich axis) and to the
A9 on its north and east side (for transit with
Italy and
France); the interchange between these two motorways is on the north-west side of the city.
Economy
Philip Morris International, a tobacco company, has its operations center in Lausanne.
Education
Palais de Rumine, place de la Riponne
Lausanne enjoys some world class education and research establishements, including private schools attended by students from around the world.
- AISTS ("International Academy of Sports Science and Technology")
- CHUV, a hospital center with associated research (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois Lausanne)
Culture
Waterfront view of Ouchy, just south of Lausanne
Place de L'Europe, Flon, by night (English: Europe square)
The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne provide a diverse and rich musical life. The latter has been under the direction of
Michel Corboz for many years.
In January, the
Prix de Lausanne, the famous dance competition takes place at the Théâtre de Beaulieu over a one-week period. The event attracts dancers and some of the big names in dance from all over the world.
The town hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest 1989 when
Celine Dion won for Switzerland.
Each July, the
"Festival de la Cité" (city festival) is held in the old part of town. There are also film and music festivals, such as the
Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival and the Bach Festival,
Le Festival et Concours Bach de Lausanne, which follows
"La Nuit de Musées" (museums' night, occurring in May) in the fall season.
Lausanne is also the home of the
Béjart Ballet.
Monuments
Museums
Lausanne is also the site of many
museums:
- (Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains)
- ("Lausanne History Museum")
- (formerly Cabinet des Médailles cantonal, "Cantonal Money Museum" - )
- ("Science Center for Kids")
- - Musée de la main ("Museum of the Hand")
- ("Cantonal Botanical Museum and Gardens" - )
- ("Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History" )
- ("Cantonal Fine Arts Museum")
- ("Cantonal Geological Museum")
- ("Lausanne-Vidy Roman Museum")
Art Galleries
Main contemporary art galleries:
Art centers or artists' run galleries
Music
- Contemporary composer Leonardo Balada's Symphony No. 4 is subtitled 'Lausanne'.
Sports
Sporting activities are very popular in Lausanne, with water sports available on the nearby lake and
mountaineering in the nearby mountains.
Cycling is also a popular pastime, with the
vineyards in the surrounding hills providing spectacular views and challenging routes. There is an annual
athletic contest (
Athletissima),
road running through the city (the ), the
Tour de Romandie road cycling race,
marathon () and
triathlon competition, among other sports events. The two most important sports are
ice hockey and
football.
- Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) The international governing body for university sports
- The Bandy Federation of Switzerland
Notable people
Auguste Piccard (on the right), physicist, inventor and explorer was a resident of Lausanne
Notable residents:
- Lorik Cana, Professional Footballer for Albania and Marseille
- Ravi Gupta, American-born scientific researcher and scholar
See also
