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The Canton of Vaud is home to one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Switzerland, dating from about 5,000 B.C. and to such archaeological remains as the strange menhirs at Grandson, Onnens and Vidy. As in other parts of Western Europe, the region was occupied by the Celts, among them the Helvetians. The fall of the western Roman Empire in the 5th century saw the rise to power of Burgundy, followed by the Franks, before the territory became attached to the Holy Roman Empire. In the 13th century, the Counts of Savoy imposed their rule upon a large part of Vaud and Chablais. The adoption of the Reformation by Bern in 1528 lead to political consequences: by coming to the aid of Geneva, under siege by the house of Savoy, the reformists of Bern crossed through Vaud in 1536 and occupied it until 1798.
_c9fd51e0f2f3f3c7b320a380beebca7e.jpg "Image") While Europe was constantly at war, the region, like the Protestant cantons of Bern, Zurich and Geneva, enjoyed the role of a refuge for Protestants fleeing their respective countries. Leaving aside the episode of Major Davel who marched on Lausanne in 1723 to deliver the land of Vaud from Bern and was condemned to death for his efforts, the people of Vaud lived in harmony with their overlords. But from the middle of the 18th century the town elites, particularly those from Morges and Vevey, found it increasingly difficult to live under the domination of Bern. Dispute and philosophyA wind of contestation, relayed by the ideas of the philosophers of the Romantic period arose to strengthen the French Revolution. Napoleon crossed Switzerland and was hailed as a hero. But the Napoleonic wars transformed the country into a battlefield and the incessant troubles that resulted exasperated Napoleon. In 1803, Napoleon imposed the Act of Mediation: Vaud acquired its first constitution and became a fully-fledged canton. Up until 1845, the people of Vaud, like the Swiss and the Europeans, lived through a rapid succession of political regimes. The Constitution of 1848 made the Swiss cantons, among them Vaud, into the federal state we know today. Ease of living and economic developmentAt the end of the 19th century, in the midst of that romantic period, the “Vaudois Riviera” attracted foreign visitors, beguiled by the mild climate and the beauty of the countryside. Lausanne, capital of the Canton of Vaud, became an important rail hub. The city was chosen to house the International Olympic Committee in 1915. The city was also the site of the National Exhibition in 1964. Home of one of the two federal polytechnics, Vaud specialises in new technologies and has become one of the Swiss centres for electronics and biotechnology. |
Switzerland, french part 
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