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'Nyon' is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north of Geneva on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of Nyon. The town has (as of 2006) 17,267 inhabitants. It is connected to the rest of Switzerland by way of the Route Suisse, the A1 Motorway and the railways of the ''Arc Lémanique''.

Contents

Name

History

Current situation

External links

References

Name

Nyon derives from one of the names used by the Romans for the town, 'Noviodunum' or 'Noiodunum'. Other names for the town, particularly of colonies placed there, are 'Colonia Iulia Equestris' or 'Colonia Julia Equestris', 'Colonia Equestris Noiodunum', 'Equestris', 'Civitas Equestrium', and 'Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum'.

History

It was founded by the Romans between 50 and 44 BCE under the name of Colonia Iulia Equestris or Colonia Equestris Noiodunum, the urban center of which was called Noviodunum. It grew to be one of the most important Roman colonies in modern-day Switzerland, with a forum, a basilica and an amphitheater that was discovered only recently, in 1996, when digging for the construction of a new building.
At Roman contact, the country round the town was held by the Helvetii. The town's importance is reflected in its numerous mentions in ancient sources. The Antonine Itineraries place the town on the road from Geneva to Lacus Lausonius (near Lausanne). It is first mentioned by Pliny (''H.N.'', iv. 7), and then by Ptolemy (ii. 9), who assigns it to the Sequani. Pliny and Ptolemy simply name it Equestris; and so it is named in the Itineraries. On some inscriptions it is called ''Civ. Equestrium'' (short for Civitas Equestrium), and ''Col. Julia Equ.'' (short for Colonia Julia Equestris) from which some have concluded that it was founded by Julius Caesar. In the Notitia it is called ''Civ. Equestrium Noiodunum'' (short for Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum). The district in which Nyon stands is called ''Pagus Equestricus'' in a document of the year 1011; and it is said that the people of the country as of the 18th century still called this district ''Enquestre''. (D'Anville, Notice, &c.; Walckenaer, Géographie, &c., des Gaules, vol. ii. p. 316.)

Current situation

It has a high school (Gymnase de Nyon, known as CESSOuest until 1997 or 1998), a modern hospital, a movie theater, numerous hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc. The town is best-known on the international stage as the home of the headquarters for UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe. It is also the seat of the international headquarters of the global union federation Union Network International.
In the last week of July each year, Nyon hosts the Paléo Festival, one of the largest music festivals in Switzerland.

External links

★ Official site of the town (available in French, English and German)

★ Web site of the Roman Museum of Nyon (same languages as above link)

★ Paléo Festival

★ Rugby Club Nyon

★ Ultimate Frisbee Club, Les Mange-Disques de Nyon

★ La Redoute, Popular neighbourhood of Nyon

References

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