Jump to content

Montreux

Coordinates: 46°26′N 6°55′E / 46.433°N 6.917°E / 46.433; 6.917
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Montreux
City center of Montreux with Lake Geneva and the Alps in the background
City center of Montreux with Lake Geneva and the Alps in the background
Coat of arms of Montreux
Location of Montreux
Map
Montreux is located in Switzerland
Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is located in Canton of Vaud
Montreux
Montreux
Coordinates: 46°26′N 6°55′E / 46.433°N 6.917°E / 46.433; 6.917
CountrySwitzerland
CantonVaud
DistrictRiviera-Pays-d'Enhaut
Government
 • ExecutiveMunicipalité
with 7 members
 • MayorSyndic (list)
Laurent Wehrli FDP/PRD/PLR
(as of February 2014)
 • ParliamentConseil communal
with 100 members
Area
 • Total33.41 km2 (12.90 sq mi)
Elevation
390 m (1,280 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2018)[2]
 • Total25,984
 • Density780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
1820
SFOS number5886
LocalitiesBaugy, Brent, Caux, Chailly-sur-Montreux, Chamby, Chaulin, Chêne, Chernex, Clarens, Collonge, Cornaux, Crin, Fontanivent, Glion, Jor, Le Châtelard, Les Avants, Les Planches, Mont-Fleuri, Pallens, Pertit, Planchamp, Sonzier, Tavel, Territet, Vernex, Villard-sur-Chamby and Vuarennes
Surrounded byVilleneuve, Blonay, Haut-Intyamon, La Tour-de-Peilz, Noville, Veytaux
Twin townsWiesbaden (Germany), Menton (France), Chiba City (Japan)
Websitewww.montreux.ch
Profile (in French), SFSO statistics

Montreux (mɔ̃tʁø) is a municipality in Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.[3]

It is on Lake Geneva shoreline at the foot of the Alps and has a population, as of December 2020, of 26,090[4] and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.[5]

The Montreux Jazz Festival, annually in July since 1967.

In 1990, the Wakker Prize was awarded to Montreux.

Lake Geneva from Montreux

The earliest settlement was a Late Bronze Age village at Baugy. Montreux lies on the northeast shore of Lake Geneva at the fork in the Roman road from Italy over the Simplon Pass, where the roads to the Roman capital of Aventicum and the road into Gaul through Besançon separated. This made it an important settlement already in Roman times.

In the 12th century, viticulture was introduced to the region, and the sunny slopes of the lake from Lavaux to Montreux became an important wine-growing region.

The region was subject to various princes, most notably the princes of Savoy from the south side of the lake. They unified the territory which comprises the present canton of Vaud and were generally popular sovereigns.

After the Burgundian Wars in the 15th century, the Swiss in Berne occupied the region without resistance, an indication of the weakness of the princes of Savoy. The Reformation made the region around Montreux and Vevey an attractive haven for Huguenots from Italy, who brought their artisanal skills and set up workshops and businesses.

In 1798, Napoleon liberated the region from the Bernese. In the 19th century, the tourist industry became a major commercial outlet, with the grand hotels of Montreux attracting the rich and cultured from Europe and America.

Starting in the 19th century there were three independent municipalities that shared a central authority. This county council was made up of four deputies from Le Châtelard, two from Les Planches and one from Veytaux. The church, the market hall of La Rouvenaz, the secondary school (the building was from 1872 and 1897) and the slaughter-house (1912) were all owned by the county council. Each municipality had its own taxes and a mayor. In 1962, the municipalities of Le Châtelard and Les Planches merged, while Veytaux remained independent.

Villages

[change | change source]

Baugy, Brent, Caux, Chailly-sur-Montreux, Chamby, Chaulin, Chêne, Chernex, Clarens, Collonge, Cornaux, Crin, Fontanivent, Glion, Jor, Le Châtelard, Les Avants, Les Planches, Mont-Fleuri, Pallens, Pertit, Planchamp, Sonzier, Tavel, Territet, Vernex, Villard-sur-Chamby and Vuarennes.

The Köppen climate classification subtype for Montreux's climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Notable people

[change | change source]
Freddie Mercury statue
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Twin towns

[change | change source]

Montreux is twinned with the towns of Menton, France and Wiesbaden, Germany, and with the city of Chiba in Japan.

References

[change | change source]
  1. 1.0 1.1 "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  3. Description and characteristics of Montreux
  4. "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  5. "Montreux Riviera website". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-12.

Other websites

[change | change source]

Media related to Montreux at Wikimedia Commons