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LAUSANNE
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LAUSANNE , the See also:capital of the Swiss See also:canton of See also:Vaud. It is the junction of the railway lines from See also:Geneva, from See also:Brieg and the Simplon, from See also:Fribourg and See also:Bern, and from Vallorbe (for See also:Paris). A funicular railway connects the upper See also:town with the central railway station and with Ouchy, the See also:port of Lausanne on the See also:lake of Geneva. Lausanne takes its name from the Flon stream flowing through it, which was formerly called Laus (See also:water). The older or upper portion of the town is built on the See also:crest and slopes of five hillocks and in the hollows between them, all forming See also:part of the Jorat range. It has a picturesque See also:appearance from the See also:surface of the lake, above which the See also:cathedral rises some 500 ft., while from the town there is a See also:fine view across the lake towards the mountains of See also:Savoy and of the See also:Valais. The See also:quaint characteristics of the hilly site of the old town have largely been destroyed by See also:modern improvements, which began in 1836 and were not quite completed in 1910. The See also:Grand See also:Pont, designed by the cantonal engineer, Adrien Pichard (1790-1841), was built 1839–1844, while the See also:Barre See also:tunnel was pierced 1851–1855 and the See also:bridge of Chauderon was built in 1905. The valleys and See also:lower portions of the town were gradually filled up so as to See also:form a See also:series of squares, of which those of Riponne and of St See also:Francois are the finest, the latter now being the real centre of the town. The See also:railways were built between 1856 and 1862, while the opening of the Simplon tunnel (1906) greatly increased the commercial importance of Lausanne, which is now on the See also:great See also:international See also:highway from Paris to See also:Milan. From 1896 onwards a well-planned set of tramways within the town was constructed. The town is still rapidly extending, especially towards the See also:south and See also:west. Since the days of See also:Gibbon (See also:resident here for three periods, 1753-1758, 1763–1764 and 1783–1793), whose praises of the town have been often repeated, Lausanne has become a favourite See also:place of See also:residence for foreigners (including many See also:English), who are especially attracted by the excellent establishments for secondary and higher See also:education. Hence in 2900 there were 9501 See also:foreign residents (of whom 628 were See also:British subjects) out of a See also:total See also:population of 46,732 inhabitants; in 1905 it was reckoned that these See also:numbers had risen respectivelyto 10,625, 818 and 53577• In 1709 it is said that the inhabitants numbered but 7432 and 9965 in 1803, while the numbers were 20,515 in 186o and 33,340 in 1888. Of the population in 1900 the great See also:majority was See also:French-speaking (only 6627 See also:German-speaking and 3146 See also:Italian-speaking) and See also:Protestant (9364 Romanists and 473 See also:Jews).
The See also:principal See also:building is the cathedral See also: On the Montbenon heights to the south-west of the cathedral See also:group is the federal See also:palace of See also:justice, the seat (since 1886) of the federal See also:court of justice, which, erected by the federal constitution of 29th May 1874, was fixed at Lausanne by a federal See also:resolution of 26th See also:June 1874. The See also:house, La Grotte, which Gibbon inhabited 1783–1793 and on the See also:terrace of which he completed (1787) his famous history, was demolished in 1896 to make See also:room for the new See also:post See also:office that stands on the Place St Francois. The See also:asylum for the See also:blind was mainly founded (1845) by the generosity of W. See also:Haldimand, an Englishman of Swiss descent. The first See also:book printed in Lausanne was the See also:missal of the cathedral church (1493), while the See also:Gazette de Lausanne (founded 1798) took that name in 1804. Lausanne has been the birthplace of many distinguished men, such as See also:Benjamin See also:Constant, the Secretans, Vinet and Rambert. It is the seat of many benevolent, scientific and See also:literary See also:societies and establishments. The See also:original town (mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary) was on the See also:shore of the lake, near Vidy, south-west of the present See also:city. It was burnt in the 4th century by the See also:Alamanni. Some of the inhabitants took See also:refuge in the hills above and. there founded a new town, which acquired more importance when See also:Bishop See also:Marius about 590 See also:chose it as his see city (perhaps transferring it from Avenches). Here See also:rose the cathedral church, the bishop's palace, &c. Across the Flon was a Burgundian See also:settlement, later known as the Bourg, while to the west was a third See also:colony around the church of St See also:Laurent. These three elements joined together to form the present city. The bishops obtained little by little great temporal See also:powers (the See also:diocese extended to the See also:left See also:bank of the See also:Aar) and riches, becoming in 1125 princes of the See also:empire, while their See also:chapter was recruited only from the noblest families. But in 1368 the bishop was forced to recognize various liberties and customs that had been gradually won by the citizens, the See also:Plaid See also:General of that See also:year showing that there was already some See also:kind of municipal See also:government, See also:save for the cite, which was not See also:united with the vale inferieure or the other four quartiers (Bourg, St Laurent, La Palud and Le Pont) in 1481. In 1525 the city made an See also:alliance with Bern and Fribourg. But in 1536 the territory of the bishop (as well as the Savoyard See also:barony of Vaud) was forcibly conquered by the Bernese, who at once introduced Protestantism. The Bernese occupation lasted till 1798, though in 1723 an See also:attempt was made to put an end to it by See also:Major Davel, who lost his See also:life in consequence. In 1798 Lausanne became a See also:simple prefecture of the canton Leman of the Helvetic See also:republic. But in 1803, on the creation of the canton of Vaud by the See also:Act of See also:Mediation, it became its capital. The bishop of Lausanne resided after 1663 at Fribourg, while from 1821 onwards he added " and of Geneva ",to his See also:title. Besides the general See also:works dealing with the canton of Vaud (q.v.), the following books refer specially to Lausanne: A. Bennis, L'Imprimerie a Lausanne et a Morges jusqu'a la f i n du e6`a siecle (Lausanne, 1904) ; M. Besson, Recherches sur See also:les origines See also:des See also:eve"ches de Geneve, Lausanne, See also:Sion (Fribourg, 1906) ; A. Bonnard, " Lausanne au 181eme siecle," in the See also:work entitled Chez nos aleux (Lausanne, 1902) ; E. Dupraz, La Cathedrale de Lausanne . etude historique (Lausanne, 1906) ; E. Gibbon, Autobiography and Letters (3 vols., 1896) ; F. Gingins and F. Forel, Documents concernant l'ancien eveche de Lausanne, 2 parts (Lausanne, 1846-1847); J. H. See also:Lewis and F. Gribble, Lausanne (1909); E. See also:van Muyden and others, Lausanne d travers les ages (Lausanne, 1906) ; See also:Meredith Read, Historic Studies in Vaud, Berne and Savoy (2 vols., 1897) ; M. Schmitt, Memoires hist. sur le diocese de Lausanne (2 vols., Fribourg, 1859) ; J. Stammler (afterwards bishop of Lausanne), Le Tresor de la cathedrale de Lausanne (Lausanne, 1902 ; trans. of a German book of 1894). (W. A. B. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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