Montreux

Montreux
Montreux - Montreux at night.
Montreux at night.
Country Switzerland Coat of Arms of Montreux
Canton Vaud
District Vevey
Population 24,771 (Dec 2009)[1]
- Density 742 /km2 (1,921 /sq mi)
Area  33.40 km2 (12.90 sq mi)
Elevation 390 m (1,280 ft)
Postal code 1820
SFOS number 5886
Mayor Pierre Salvi SPS/PSS
Surrounded by Blonay, Haut-Intyamon (FR), La Tour-de-Peilz, Noville, Veytaux, Villeneuve
Twin towns Wiesbaden (Germany), Menton (France), Chiba City (Japan)
Website www.montreux.ch
Profile, SFSO statistics
Montreux is located in Switzerland
Montreux
View map of Montreux

Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has (as of December 2007) a population of 23,800[2] and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration. [3]

Contents

History and geography

Montreux lies on the north east 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 Bern 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.

Culture

Freddie Mercury statue.

Montreux hosts several noteworthy festivals:

Montreux boasts one of the most beautiful walks along the lake, stretching from Villeneuve all the way towards Vevey. The main square of the town, Place du Marché, features a statue of Freddie Mercury facing Lake Geneva. Some of the numerous small villages around Montreux include La Tour-de-Peilz, Clarens, Territet, and Villeneuve. The Chateau of Chillon provides a marvelous view of the entire Lake of Geneva and can be easily accessed via bus, walk or boat.

Deep Purple made Montreux famous with their song "Smoke on the Water", which tells the events of 1971, when a Frank Zappa fan with a flare gun set the Montreux Casino on fire. The destroyed Casino was reopened in 1975.

Closeup of the Montreux Casino, rebuilt in 1975.
View of Montreux town from the railway station

Montreux is the home of Mountain Studios, the recording studio used by several artists. "Bonzo's Montreux" by Led Zeppelin is named after the city where the drums session of John Bonham was recorded in 1976. In 1978, the band Queen bought the studio. It was then sold to Queen producer David Richards. In 2002 the Mountain Studios was converted into a bar as part of a complete renovation of the studio. David Richards has left Montreux to settle down somewhere else. Queen also appeared in 1984 and in 1986 at the Golden Rose Festival and Queen guitarist Brian May appeared in 2001 at the Jazz Festival. Montreux was also the subject of the 1995 Queen single A Winter's Tale on the album Made in Heaven, one of Freddie's last songs before his death on November 24, 1991. The album cover features the statue of Mercury beside the lake.

In 1990, the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage was awarded to Montreux.[5]

The Federation International de Roller Skating was founded in Montreux in 1924.

Notable residents

Weather

Climate data for Montreux-Clarens
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: MeteoSchweiz [6]

Gallery

Freddie Mercury statue at sunset in Montreux.

Château de Chillon near Montreux.

Southwest view over the Lake Geneva from Montreux.

Lake Geneva as seen from Montreux, Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1810

Montreux 1900

Another angle of Montreux 1900

References

  1. ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office, MS Excel document – Bilanz der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung nach Kantonen, Bezirken und Gemeinden (German) accessed 25 August 2010
  2. ↑ Bundesamt fur Statistik (Federal Department of Statistics) (2008). "Bilanz der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung (Total) nach Bezirken und Gemeinden". http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/01/02/blank/key/raeumliche_verteilung/kantone__gemeinden.html. Retrieved November 5, 2008. 
  3. ↑ http://www.montreuxriviera.com/fr/Bon_a_savoir/Geo_generale?fs=minus
  4. ↑ "Freddie Mercury: the show must go on!" (in French). Swissinfo. 2003-08-31. http://www.swissinfo.org/fre/a_la_une/detail/Freddie_Mercury_the_show_must_go_on.html?siteSect=105&sid=4185155&cKey=1179732973000&ty=st. Retrieved 2008-08-19. "Et voilà qu’en cette année 2003, c’est carrément un 'Memorial Day' qui est organisé en l’honneur de Faroukh Bulsara, né en 1946 à Zanzibar, et devenu star planétaire sous le nom de Freddie Mercury." 
  5. ↑ Swiss Heritage Society, Wakker Prize (German) accessed 9 May 2009
  6. ↑ "Temperature and Percipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss. http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html. Retrieved 8 May 2009. 

External links

Municipalities in the district of Vevey

Blonay | Chardonne | Corseaux | Corsier-sur-Vevey | Jongny | Montreux | Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz | La Tour-de-Peilz | Vevey | Veytaux

Canton of Vaud | Districts of the canton of Vaud | Municipalities of the canton of Vaud

 Coat of Arms of the Canton of Vaud