Vaud

Coordinates: 46°37′N 6°33′E / 46.617°N 6.550°E / 46.617; 6.550
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Vaud
Canton of Vaud
Canton de Vaud (French)
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Liberté et patrie
("Freedom and fatherland")
Anthem: Hymne vaudois
("The Vaudese Anthem")
Map
Joined1803
LanguagesFrench
Websitewww.vd.ch
The logo of Vaud

Vaud (

26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts, and its capital city is Lausanne
. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolour.

Vaud is the third largest canton of the country by population and fourth by size. It is located in Romandy, the French-speaking western part of the country, and borders the canton of Neuchâtel to the north, the cantons of Fribourg and Bern to the east, the canton of Valais to the south, the canton of Geneva to the south-west, and France to the west. The geography of the canton includes all three natural regions of Switzerland: the Jura Mountains, the Swiss Plateau, and the (Swiss) Alps. It also includes some of the largest lakes of the country: Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel. It is a major tourist destination, renowned for its landscapes and gastronomy.

The largest city is Lausanne, followed by Yverdon-les-Bains and Montreux. As of 2020, the canton has a population of 814,762.[2] It is one of the four cantons where French is the sole official language, and it is the canton with the largest number of French speakers. Formerly a Bernese bailiwick, Vaud joined the Swiss Confederation as an independent canton in 1803.

History

Roman column in Nyon
Bailiwicks of Bern in Vaud in the 18th century

Humans lived alongside the Vaud lakes in prehistoric times. Later, the

Latin
: Viviscus) and Lausanne (Lausonium or Lausonna).

While the exact date of the founding of Aventicum is not exact, it was likely established during or shortly after Augustus' reign. There are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th centuries

Merovingian Franks later replaced the Burgundians. Their control did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud became part of the Carolingian Empire (the successor state to the Merovingians). 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 gained political unity as the Barony of Vaud. A part stretching from Attalens to the river Sarine
, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg.

Château Saint-Maire
has been the seat of the cantonal government since 1803

As the power of the

Protestant Reformation started with co-workers of John Calvin like Pierre Viret
(a famous debate took place at the cathedral of Lausanne), but it was only decisively implemented when Bern put its full force behind it.

The Bernese occupiers were not popular amongst the population. In 1723 Major

Swiss Confederation
. In spite of Bernese attempts to reclaim Vaud, it has remained a sovereign canton ever since.

In the 19th century, the canton of Vaud was an outspoken opponent of the

Sonderbund Catholic separatist movement, which led to intervention by 99,000 Swiss Federal troops under General Henri Dufour
against 79,000 separatists, in the Sonderbund War (November 1847). Separation was prevented at the cost of very few lives.

The current cantonal constitution dates from 14 April 2003, replacing the constitution of 1885.[9]

Geography

Vevey, Lake Geneva, and the Swiss Alps
Vallée de Joux, Jura
Montreux and Lake Geneva

The canton stretches from

Doubs. In the east, it borders the cantons of Fribourg and Bern
. The total area is 3,212 square kilometres (1,240 sq mi).

Along with the canton of Berne, Vaud is one of the two cantons whose territory extends from the Jura to the Alps, through the three distinct geographic regions of Switzerland.

The areas in the south east are mountainous, situated on the north side of the

Les Diablerets and Leysin
.

The central area of the canton, in contrast, consists of

exclave of the canton surrounded by the canton of Fribourg and Lake Neuchâtel. On the other hand, there are three enclaves of the canton of Fribourg (Estavayer-le-lac, Vuissens, Surpierre), as well as two enclaves of the canton of Geneva (Céligny), that are surrounded by the canton of Vaud.[10]

The north-western part of the canton is also mountainous but in a more modest way with mountains generally not above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft); the

Swiss watch manufacturing.[11]

Politics

The room of the Grand Council of Vaud, the parliament of the canton of Vaud

Members of the national council

Source:[12]

UDC members PS members PES members
PLR
members
PDC members PVL member(s)
Michaël Buffat Pierre-Yves Maillard Daniel Brélaz Laurent Wehrli [fr] Claude Béglé [fr] François Pointet [fr]
Alice Glauser-Zufferey [fr] Ada Marra Valentine Python Jaqueline de Quattro [fr] --- ---
Jean-Pierre Grin-Hofmann Roger Nordmann Sophie Michaud Gigon Olivier Feller [fr] --- ---
Jacques Nicolet Brigitte Crottaz [fr] Leonore Porchet [fr] Isabelle Moret --- ---

Members of the council of states

Source:[13]

PS member(s) PLR member(s)
Adèle Thorens Olivier Français

Federal election results

Percentage of the total vote per party in the canton in the National Council Elections 1971–2019 [14] [15]
Party Ideology 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
FDP.The Liberalsa
Classical liberalism 26.0 25.6 27.1 30.4 27.6 26.4 23.5 25.0 18.5 14.6 16.3 26.8 23.3
CVP/PDC/PPD/PCD Christian democracy 5.3 4.6 5.1 4.5 4.1 3.6 5.6 4.5 4.4 5.6 4.6 4.1 2.4
SP/PS Social democracy 25.0 27.6 24.9 21.9 22.5 22.9 22.7 22.4 21.7 22.0 25.2 22.2 20.4
SVP/UDC
Swiss nationalism
7.7 8.0 6.8 6.2 6.2 7.3 7.8 10.7 20.3 22.4 22.9 22.6 17.4
LPS/PLS
Swiss Liberal
12.4 13.6 16.7 16.9 17.4 17.6 14.7 12.6 11.1 8.1 5.7 c *
Ring of Independents Social liberalism 4.1 1.6 0.8 * b * 0.9 * * * * * * *
EVP/PEV Christian democracy * * * * * * * * 0.7 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3
GLP/PVL Green liberalism * * * * * * * * * * 5.1 3.9 8.4
BDP/PBD Conservatism * * * * * * * * * * 0.8 1.8 0.4
PdA/PST-POP/PC/PSL Socialism 12.2 10.7 9.3 4.1 3.5 4.2 8.9 7.8 6.7 4.7 2.1 * 4.1
GPS/PES Green politics * 1.0 6.4 7.0 8.4 6.3 4.1 7.1 11.3 14.3 11.6 11.3 19.7
FGA Feminist * * * 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.6 * * * * * *
Solidarity Anti-capitalism * * * * * * 2.6 2.1 2.6 2.1 1.8 2.9 *
SD/DS National conservatism 4.2 1.6 * 2.6 2.8 2.9 1.8 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 *
Rep. Right-wing populism 2.9 3.1 * * * * * * * * * * *
EDU/UDF Christian right * 1.0 * * 1.1 * 2.7 2.7 1.8 1.3 1.1 0.7 0.3
FPS/PSL Right-wing populism * * * * * 2.5 * * * * * 0.0 *
MCR
Right-wing populism * * * * * * * * * * 0.5 * *
Other * 1.6 2.9 2.6 2.8 1.9 3.1 4.2 0.5 3.7 1.1 2.6 2.3
Voter participation % 45.9 43.5 37.3 40.2 37.4 37.4 32.9 31.5 42.7 44.3 41.6 42.9 41.4
^a before 2009: FDP; since 2009: FDP.The Liberals
^b "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.
^c Part of the FDP for this election

Political subdivisions

Districts

Districts of canton of Vaud

The canton of Vaud is divided into 10 districts:

Municipalities

There are 300 municipalities in the canton (As of 2022).

Demographics

Lausanne, capital and largest city in Vaud

The population is

Roman Catholics (34%).[16]

The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) was 814,762.

Italians.[17] The major population centres of the canton are: Lausanne (140,202 inhabitants in 31 December 2020), Montreux-Vevey (Montreux: 26090 Vevey:19752 inhabitants) and Yverdon-les-Bains (29,955 inhabitants). The region around Nyon is often considered part of the agglomeration of Geneva. All of these are on Lake Geneva (called Léman in French
), except for Yverdon, which is on Lake Neuchâtel.

Languages

Main languages spoken at home in the canton (2020):[18]

French: 82.40%
English: 9.10%
Portuguese: 7.51%
German: 5.15%
Italian: 5.00%
Spanish: 3.88%
Albanian: 2.37%
South Slavic languages: 1.61%
Other languages: 6.75%
Note: Respondents were permitted to choose more than one language.

Economy

Lavaux vineyards above Lake Geneva

The

capital, Lausanne
, is the major city of the canton. There are light industries concentrated around it. 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

salt mine at Bex. Tourism is important in many towns along Lake Geneva. Major lakeside resorts include Lausanne, Montreux, and Vevey
.

The Union Cycliste Internationale is based in Aigle, and many of its defamation lawsuits against critics have been heard in the Est Vaudois district court of Vevey.[19]

Education

Two Swiss public universities are located within the canton:

Additionally, there are several public hautes écoles offering a limited selection of programmes:

Gastronomy

The canton is often referred to as the "culinary capital of Switzerland" and is renowned for its many cheeses, wines and charcuterie.[20] It is also home to a high number of gourmet restaurants, such as the Hôtel de ville in Crissier, founded by Frédy Girardet.

Papet Vaudois is a very popular dish of the canton. It consists of potatoes and leeks accompanied by regional sausages, notably Saucisse aux choux. Taillé aux greubons are a salted bakery specialty of the region consisting of crackling encased in puff pastry. Another of the canton's specialties is carac, a sweet tart consisting of a sweetcrust pastry case (pâte sucrée) filled with chocolate ganache, covered by a characteristic green icing or fondant layer topped with a dot of chocolate.[21]

Notable people

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Arealstatistik Land Cover - Kantone und Grossregionen nach 6 Hauptbereichen accessed 27 October 2017
  2. ^ a b c "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  3. ^ Statistik, Bundesamt für (21 January 2021). "Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) nach Grossregion und Kanton - 2008-2018 | Tabelle". Bundesamt für Statistik (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Le français est la "langue officielle" du canton de Vaud..." Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Canton de Vaud (Confédération suisse)". Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Article 3 : Langue officielle". Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. Arpitan: (Quenton de) Vôd), Brochure "The Canton of Vaud"
    , Office of Information and Communications (BIC). Retrieved 29 January 2021
  8. ^ Histoire de la Suisse, Éditions Fragnière, Fribourg, Switzerland.
  9. ^ "Les 10 ans de la constitution: Canton de Vaud : site officiel". Vd.ch. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Vaud.ch - Bienvenue dans le canton de Vaud".
  11. ^ "Watch Valley - Home". Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  12. ^ The Swiss Parliament. "Members of the National Council: Canton of Vaud". Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  13. ^ The Swiss Parliament. "Members of the Council of States: Canton of Vaud". Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  14. ^ Nationalratswahlen: Stärke der Parteien nach Kantonen (Schweiz = 100%) (Report). Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Federal election year – Election website of the FSO - Canton of Vaud". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. ^ Federal Department of Statistics (2004). "Wohnbevölkerung nach Religion". Archived from the original (Interactive Map) on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  17. ^ Canton de Vaud (2010). "International website for the promotion of the canton of Vaud - Population and social life". Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Langues".
  19. ^ Vaughters defends Kimmage ahead of UCI case, Daniel Benson, cyclingnews.com, 28 September 2012
  20. ^ Lake Geneva Region: Switzerland's gastronomic capital, greatbritishchefs.com. Retrieved 2020-0123
  21. ^ "Carac". www.patrimoineculinaire.ch (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2019.

Bibliography

  • (in French) Laurent Flutsch and Séverine André (with the collaboration of Bernadette Gross), Y en a point comme nous. Un portrait des Vaudois aujourd'hui [There are none like us. A portrait of the Vaudois of today], Éditions Infolio, 2015, 368 pages ().

External links

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