Country Switzerland Area 2.38 km2 | District Riviera-Pays-dEnhaut Mayor syndic (list)Laurent Ballif(as of 2014) | |
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.
Contents
- Map of Vevey
- Hotels vevey geniessen sie ein nachtessen auf dem genferse
- Montreux lucerne vevey
- History
- Geography
- Economy
- Festivals
- References
Map of Vevey
It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-dEnhaut District. It is part of the French-speaking area of Switzerland.
Hotels vevey geniessen sie ein nachtessen auf dem genferse
Vevey is home to the world headquarters of the food giant Nestle, founded here in 1867. Milk chocolate was invented in Vevey by Daniel Peter in 1875, although the first chocolate bar was produced in Bristol, UK in 1847 by Fry and Sons.
Montreux lucerne vevey
History
A piloti settlement existed here as early as the 2nd millennium BC.
Under Rome, it was known as Viviscus or Vibiscum. It was mentioned for the first time by the ancient Greek astronomer and philosopher Ptolemy, who gave it the name Ouikos. In the Middle Ages it was a station on the Via Francigena. It was then ruled by the bishopric of Lausanne, and later under the Blonay family.
Vevey lived through a period of prosperity after the Vaud Revolution of 1798. In the 19th century industrial activities included mechanical engineering at the Ateliers de Constructions Mecaniques de Vevey, food (Nestle) and tobacco (Rinsoz & Ormond).
Geography
Vevey has an area, as of 2009, of 2.4 square kilometers (0.93 sq mi). Of this area, 0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi) or 2.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.11 km2 (0.042 sq mi) or 4.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.13 km2 (0.82 sq mi) or 89.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km2 (9.9 acres) or 1.7% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 51.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 26.9%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 6.7%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 0.4% is used for growing crops and 1.7% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality was the capital of the Vevey District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Vevey became the capital of the new district of Riviera-Pays-dEnhaut.
Economy
As of 2010, Vevey had an unemployment rate of 8.1%. As of 2008, there were 9 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 1,320 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 134 businesses in this sector. 10,014 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 985 businesses in this sector. There were 7,741 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.4% of the workforce.
Festivals
The Confrerie des Vignerons (Brotherhood of Winegrowers) organises the Winegrowers Festival (Fete des Vignerons) four or five times each century (one per generation) to celebrate its wine-growing traditions and culture. On those occasions an arena for 16,000 spectators is built in the marketplace — the Grande Place, which is the second-biggest marketplace in Europe, after Lisbon, Portugal. The festivals date from the 18th century; the last five were in 1905, 1927, 1955, 1977 and 1999.