Vaud

Vaud(/voʊ/VOH;French:(Canton de) Vaud,pronounced[kɑ̃tɔ̃dəvo]),more formally theCanton of Vaud, is one of the26 cantonsforming theSwiss Confederation. It is composed often districts; its capital city isLausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolour.
Vaud is the third-largest Swiss canton by population and fourth by size. It is located inRomandy, theFrench-speaking western part of the country, and borders the canton ofNeuchâtelto the north, the cantons ofFribourgandBernto the east, the canton ofValaisto the south, the canton ofGenevato the south-west, andFranceto the west. The geography of the canton includes all three natural regions of Switzerland: theJura Mountains, theSwiss Plateau, and the(Swiss) Alps. It also includes some of the largest lakes of the country:Lake GenevaandLake Neuchâtel. It is a major tourist destination, renowned for its landscapes and gastronomy.
The largest city isLausanne, followed byYverdon-les-BainsandMontreux. As of 2020, the canton had a population of 814,762.It is one of the four cantons whereFrenchis the sole official language, and it is the canton with the largest number of French speakers. Formerly a Bernese bailiwick, Vaud joined the Swiss Confederation as an independent canton in 1803.
Humans lived alongside the Vaud lakes in prehistoric times. Later, theCeltictribe of theHelvetiiinhabited the area.Caesar's troops defeated the Helvetii in 58 BC and as a consequence theRomanssettled in the area. The many towns established by the Romans includeVevey(Latin:Viviscus) and Lausanne (LausoniumorLausonna).
While the exact date of the founding of Aventicum is not exact, it was likely established during or shortly after Augustus' reign. There are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th centuriesAlemannictribes repeatedly invaded the area, and in the 5th century theBurgundiansoccupied the territory. TheMerovingianFranks later replaced the Burgundians. Their control did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud became part of theCarolingian Empire(the successor state to the Merovingians). In 1032 theZähringensof Germany defeated the Burgundians. The Zähringens themselves were succeeded in 1218 by the counts ofSavoy. It was only under the counts of Savoy that the area gained political unity as theBarony of Vaud. A part stretching fromAttalensto the riverSarine, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg.
As the power of theHouse of Savoydeclined at the beginning of the 15th century, troops fromBernoccupied the land. By 1536 Bern had completely annexed the area. Vaud'sProtestant Reformationstarted with co-workers ofJohn CalvinlikePierre Viret(a famous debate took place at the cathedral of Lausanne), but it was only decisively implemented when Bern put its full force behind it.
The Bernese occupiers were not popular amongst the population. In 1723 MajorAbraham Davelled a revolt against Bern, in protest at what he saw as the denial of political rights of the French-speaking Vaudois by the German-speaking Bernese; he was subsequently beheaded.Later, inspired by theFrench Revolutionof 1789–1799, the Vaudois drove out the Bernese governor in 1798 and declared theLemanic Republic. Vaud nationalists likeFrédéric-César de La Harpe, born in Rolle, had called for French intervention in liberating the area, and French Revolutionary troops moved in, taking over the whole of Switzerland itself in the process and setting up theHelvetic Republic. UnderNapoleon I(Emperor 1804–1815), Vaud became (1798–1803) thecanton of Léman. Unrest about the abolition offeudalrights and taxes led to increased discontent, which culminated in the revolt of theBourla-papeyin spring 1802, closely followed by theStecklikrieg(August to October 1802) that brought the end of the entire Helvetic Republic in 1803. In 1803 Vaud joined the re-installedSwiss Confederation. In spite of Bernese attempts to reclaim Vaud, it has remained a sovereign canton ever since.
In the 19th century, the canton of Vaud was an outspoken opponent of theSonderbundCatholic separatist movement, which led to intervention by 99,000 Swiss Federal troops under GeneralHenri Dufouragainst 79,000 separatists, in the Sonderbund War (November 1847). Separation was prevented at the cost of very few lives.
The current cantonal constitution dates from 14 April 2003, replacing the constitution of 1885.
The canton stretches fromLake Neuchâtelin the north, where it borders thecanton of Neuchâtel, toLake Geneva(French:Léman) in the south, where it borders thecanton of Geneva, the FrenchdepartmentofHaute-Savoie(lake border) and thecanton of Valais(Chablais). In theJura mountainsin the west, the canton borders the French departments ofAin,Jura, andDoubs. In the east, it borders the cantons ofFribourgandBern. The total area is 3,212 square kilometres (1,240 sq mi).
Along with the canton of Berne, Vaud is one of the two cantons whose territory extends from the Jura to the Alps, through the three distinctgeographic regions of Switzerland.
The areas in the south east are mountainous, situated on the north side of theBernese Alps. This region is commonly named theVaud Alps(French:Alpes Vaudoises). TheDiableretsmassif, peaking at 3,210 metres (10,531 ft), is the highest mountain of the canton. Other summits such as theGrand Muveranand theTour d'Aïare visible from most of the canton. The area also hosts several popular skiing destinations such asVillars,Les DiableretsandLeysin.
The central area of the canton, in contrast, consists ofmorainesand is hilly. There are plains along the lakes. In the north, Avenches is in anexclaveof the canton surrounded by the canton of Fribourg and Lake Neuchâtel. On the other hand, there are three enclaves of thecantonof Fribourg (Estavayer-le-lac, Vuissens, Surpierre), as well as two enclaves of the canton ofGeneva(Céligny), that are surrounded by the canton of Vaud.
The north-western part of the canton is also mountainous but in a more modest way with mountains generally not above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft); theJura Mountains. TheVallée de Jouxis one of the most popular destinations in the region and also a centre of luxury mechanicalSwiss watchmanufacturing.
Source (As of 2017):
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The canton of Vaud is divided into 10 districts:
There are 300municipalities in the canton(As of 2022).
The population isFrench-speaking and historically was mostlyProtestant(Calvinist), dating from the early years of theReformation. Recently, however, this has been changing due to immigration fromSouthern Europe. In 2000, the population was nearly evenly split between Protestants (40%) andRoman Catholics(34%).
The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) was 814,762.As of 2010, the population included about 28% foreigners, including manyItalians.The major population centres of the canton are: Lausanne (140,202 inhabitants on 31 December 2020),Montreux-Vevey(Montreux: 26090 Vevey:19752 inhabitants) andYverdon-les-Bains(29,955 inhabitants). The region aroundNyonis often considered part of the agglomeration ofGeneva. All of these are on Lake Geneva (calledLémaninFrench), except for Yverdon, which is on Lake Neuchâtel.
Main languages spoken at home in the canton (2020):
French: 82.40%English: 9.10%Portuguese: 7.51%German: 5.15%Italian: 5.00%Spanish: 3.88%Albanian: 2.37%South Slavic languages: 1.61%Other languages: 6.75%Note: Respondents were permitted to choose more than one language.
Thecapital,Lausanne, is the major city of the canton. There are light industries concentrated around it. In 1998, 71.7% of the workers worked in the tertiary sector and 20.8% in the secondary.
The canton is the second-largest producer ofwinein Switzerland. Most of the wine produced in the canton is white, and most vineyards are located on the steep shores of Lake Geneva such as theUNESCOWorld Heritage SitetheLavaux Vineyard Terraces. There is agriculture in the areas away from Lake Geneva. Sugar beet is important aroundOrbe, tobacco inLa Broye Valley, and fruit at the foot of theJura mountains. Cattle breeding and pasture are common in theAlpsand the Jura mountains. There is asalt mineatBex. Tourism is important in many towns along Lake Geneva. Major lakeside resorts include Lausanne,Montreux, andVevey.
TheUnion Cycliste Internationaleis based in Aigle, and many of its defamation lawsuits against critics have been heard in the Est Vaudois district court of Vevey.
Two Swiss public universities are located within the canton:
Additionally, there are several publichautes écolesoffering a limited selection of programmes:
The canton is often referred to as the "culinary capital of Switzerland" and is renowned for its many cheeses, wines and charcuterie.It is also home to a high number of gourmet restaurants, such as the Hôtel de ville inCrissier, founded byFrédy Girardet.
Papet Vaudoisis a very popular dish of the canton. It consists of potatoes and leeks accompanied by regional sausages, notablySaucisse aux choux.Taillé aux greubonsare a salted bakery specialty of the region consisting ofcracklingencased inpuff pastry. Another of the canton's specialties iscarac, a sweet tart consisting of asweetcrust pastrycase (pâte sucrée) filled with chocolateganache, covered by a characteristic greenicingorfondantlayer topped with a dot of chocolate.