Everything about Lausanne totally explained
Lausanne (
pronounced [loˈzan], ) is a city in 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. Lausanne is located some 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. 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 (for example)
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. During the
Napoleonic Wars, its status changed. In 1803, it became the capital of a newly formed Swiss canton,
Vaud under which it joined the Swiss Federation.
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 that gave rise to the motto 'Lausanne bouge' (Lausanne is getting animated). In a rare showmanship of anti-authoritarianism, the youth responded by ascribing to the word
flic (literally "cop") the term, Fédération Lausannoise des Imbéciles Casqués (Lausanne Federation of Helmeted Imbeciles). 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 on 2003. By the 1990s, it supposedly had one of the highest rates of AIDS in Europe.
A surprising decision for the city housing the
IOC is that in a 1992 referendum, its citizens rejected holding the
Winter Olympic Games. The dignitaries of the city were so convinced that the vote would be 'yes' that they'd prepared a champagne celebration.
Geography
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 500 meters (1,600 ft) between the lakeshore at Ouchy and its northern edge bordering
Le Mont-sur-Lausanne and
Epalinges. Lausanne boasts a dramatic panorama over the lake.
In addition to its generally southward-sloping layout, the center of the city is the site of an ancient river 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're on and where they want to go, lest they find themselves tens of meters below or above the street which they're 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 250,000 (2005 est.).
Transport
is also available.]]
Lausanne includes
buses and
metros (operated by
TL 
), nationwide and regional
train lines (
CFF,
LEB ), and boats (
CGN ). The majority of urban public transport in Lausanne is by
trolleybus.
Lausanne will become the first city in
Switzerland to have a
rubber-tyred metro system, with the m2 Line which will open in 2008. The rolling stock will be 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 (transit with
Italy and
France), the forking point between these two motorways being at the north-west side of the city.
Education
Lausanne enjoys some world class higher education establishements.
Culture
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.
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" (museum's night) in the fall season.
Lausanne is also the home of the
Béjart Ballet.
Museums
Lausanne is also the site of many
museums:
Musée Olympique Lausanne (Olympic Museum)
Musée de l'Elysée (Elysée Museum)
Fondation de l'Hermitage (Hermitage Foundation)
The Collection de l'Art Brut (Art Brut Collection)
mudac (Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains)
Musée Historique de Lausanne (Lausanne Historical Museum)
Cabinet des Médailles cantonal
Espace Arlaud
Espace des Inventions (Science Center for Kids)
Fondation Claude Verdan - Musée de la main (Museum of the Hand)
Vivarium de Lausanne
Musée cantonal d'Archéologie et d'Histoire (Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History)
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts (Cantonal Fine Arts Museum)
Musée cantonal de Géologie (Cantonal Geological Museum)
Notre Dame de Lausanne, restaured by viollet-le-Duc.
Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy (Lausanne-Vidy Roman Museum)
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 20 km de Lausanne ), the Tour de Romandie road cycling race, marathon (website) and triathlon competition, among other sports events. The two most important sports are ice hockey and football.
Lausanne Hockey Club
Lausanne-Sport Football Club
Lausanne-Sports Aviron Rowing Club
International Olympic Committee Headquarters
International Hockey Federation Headquarters
International Table Tennis Federation Headquarters
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) The World Air Sports Federation
Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) The international governing body for equestrian
Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron (FISA) The international governing body for rowing
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) The international governing body for fencing
International Baseball Federation
International Swimming Federation
International Skating Union
Notable people
Lausanne is the birthplace of:
David Bennent, Actor
Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh, Russian Orthodox ecclestiastic located in Britain
François-Louis David Bocion, Swiss artist and teacher
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, Swiss traveller and orientalist
Alejo Carpentier, Cuban-French writer
Stéphane Chapuisat, Footballer
Benjamin Constant, Swiss thinker, writer and French politician
Aloise Corbaz, Swiss outsider artist
Charles Dutoit, conductor
Egon von Furstenberg, fashion designer
Eugène Grasset, Swiss decorative artist
Bertrand Piccard, Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist
Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss writer
Ubol Ratana, Thai princess
Théophile Steinlen, Art Nouveau painter and printmaker
Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Butler), British painter
Bernard Tschumi, contemporary architect, writer, and educator
Nanos Valaoritis (1921) Greek poet
Félix Vallotton, post-impressionist painter
Vincent Perez, film actor and director
Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss Tennis player
Notable residents:
Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician
Jean Anouilh, French dramatist
Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA
Alice Bailly, Swiss painter and multimedia artist
Maurice Béjart, choreographer
Capucine, French actress and model
Coco Chanel, fashion designer
Pierre de Coubertin, French baron and IOC founder
Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, queen of Spain
Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian jeweller
Edward Gibbon, British historian
Gloria Guinness, socialite and writer.
Oswald Heer, Swiss geologist and naturalist
Stéphane Lambiel, men's figure skater and 2-time World Champion
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, Finnish president and field marshal
James Mason, English actor
Jô Soares, Brazilian humorist
Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, Ukrainian bacteriologist
Paloma Picasso, Fashion designer
Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer
Albin Schram, Renowned manuscript collector
Georges Simenon, Belgian writer
Han Suyin, China-born writer
Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect
Pierre Viret, Swiss reformed theologian
Serge Voronoff, Surgeon buried in LausanneFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lausanne'.
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