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The Canton of 'Vaud' (pronounced ; ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in the southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne.

Contents

Geography

History

Culture

Economy

Education

Districts

Demographics

See also

External links

Geography

The canton stretches from Lake Neuchâtel in the north, where it borders the canton of Neuchâtel to Lake Geneva in the south, bordering the canton of Geneva, Haute-Savoie (lake border with France) and canton of Valais. On the Jura ranges in the west, the canton borders the French départements of Ain, Jura, and Doubs. In the east, it borders canton of Fribourg and canton of Bern. The total area is 3,212 km².
In the north, there is an exclave containing Avenches surrounded by canton of Fribourg and Lake Neuchâtel. On the other hand, there are two enclaves of the canton of Fribourg, as well as two enclaves of the canton of Geneva, that are surrounded by the canton of Vaud.
The areas in the southeast are mountainous, part of the Swiss Alps. The Diablerets Glacier, peaking at 3,210m, rests in these mountains, which also host several popular skiing destinations such as Villars, Les Diablerets and Leysin. The central area of the canton, in contrast, constitutes of moraines and is thus hilly. There are plains along the lakes.

History

Along the lakes, Vaud was inhabited in prehistoric times. Later on, the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii inhabited the area. The tribe was defeated by Caesar's troops in 58 BC and as a consequence the Romans settled the area. The towns of Vevey (''Viviscus'') and Lausanne (''Lausonium'' or ''Lausonna'') are two of the many towns established by the Romans.
In 27 BC the state of ''Civitas Helvetiorum'' was established around the capital of Avenches (''Aventicum''). There are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th century the area was repeatedly invaded by Alemannic tribes, and in the 5th century the Burgundians occupied the area. The Merovingian Franks later replaced the Burgundians. Their occupancy did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud was made part of the Carolingian Empire. In 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians. The Zähringens themselves were succeeded in 1218 by the counts of Savoy. It was only under the counts of Savoy that the area was given political unity, establishing what is today in greater part known as the canton of Vaud. A part stretching from Attalens to the River Sarine, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg.
As the power of the Savoys declined at the beginning of the 15th century the land was occupied by troops from Bern. By 1536 the area was completely annexed. Reformation was started by co-workers of John Calvin like Pierre Viret, including a famous debate at the cathedral of Lausanne; but it was only decisively implemented when Bern put its full force behind it. The Bernese occupants were not popular amongst the population and the French Revolutionary troops were received with enthusiasm in 1798. The French troops were victorious and a ''Lemanic Republic'' was declared. This was soon turned into the canton of Léman, which in 1803 joined the Swiss confederation.
The current constitution dates from April 14 2003, replacing the one from 1885. In the 19th century the canton of Vaud was an outspoken opponent of the Catholic separatist movement (''Sonderbund'').

Culture

Vaud shares a lot with its fellow French-speaking Protestant cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel. It has still a strong rural component, protected by high subsidies, even if most of the economy and population are now urbanised, around services (finance, telecommunications, tourism) and industry (packaging, tobacco, food-processing, watchmaking, pharmaceuticals &c). There are survivals of its own Franco-Provençal patois, around which an association was formed.
Quality of life is very high, but natality is very low and the Swiss population is being slowly displaced by immigrants (Germans, French, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese). Life expectancy is high, but suicide rates also are. Church attendance is very low. The official Presbyterian Evangelical Reformed Church of Vaud is almost entirely liberal and keeps a cultural and social aspect; attendance is mostly of aged people. Youngsters, when attending church, do it mostly at Neopentecostal (YWAM &c) or Evangelical (Assemblies of God, Biblical Action, Reformed Baptist) churches. Also many immigrants attend these churches, the Roman Catholic ones, or mosques.
Education shares the generally high Swiss standards, but higher education attendance by natives is in decline, with relatively higher attendance by immigrants and other foreigners.
There is a perceived generation gap, where people born at or before the 1960s still keep most of the old Vaud Protestant culture, while youngsters share in the modern general European hedonism.

Economy

The capital Lausanne is the major city in the canton. There are light industries concentrated around the capital. In 1998, 71.7% of the workers worked in the tertiary sector and 20.8% in the secondary.
The canton is the second largest producer of wine in Switzerland. Most of the wine produced in the canton is white wine, and most vineyards are located on the steep shores of Lake Geneva. There is agriculture in the areas away from Lake Geneva. Sugar beet is important around Orbe, tobacco in din far the La Broye Valley and fruit
is grown on the foot of the Jura mountains. Cattle breeding and pasture are common in the Alps and the Jura mountains. There is a salt mine at Bex. Tourism is important in many towns along the Lake Geneva. Major lakeside resorts include Lausanne, Montreux or Vevey.

Education

The Canton is home to several renowned universities and schools:

★ Swiss Federal institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL)

★ University of Lausanne (UNIL)

★ International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

★ École Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne, Lausanne Art School (ECAL)

★ Institut Le Rosey

★ Glion Institute of Higher Education, Glion Institute of higher Education

★ The American Graduate School of Business

Districts

Demographics

The population is French speaking and has been overwhelmingly Protestant (Calvinist) since the early years of the Reformation.
The major population centres of the canton are: Lausanne (approx. 275,000 inhabitants in 2000), Montreux-Vevey (70,000 inhabitants) and Yverdon-les-Bains. The region around Nyon is often considered part of the agglomeration of Geneva. All of these are on Lake Geneva, except for Yverdon, which is on Lake Neuchâtel.
Other cities and towns include: Morges, Renens, Rolle.

See also

★ Municipalities of the canton of Vaud

★ Lausanne - Capital of the canton.

★ French language

★ Franco-Provençal language

External links

★ Cantonal government

★ Vaud Tourist Office

★ Official Statistics

★ Maps and Charts of Canton of Vaud

★ List of Swiss municipalities