Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac L�man), across from �vian-les-Bains, France, and about 60 km northeast of Geneva. It is the capital of the canton of Vaud. Population (as of December 2003): 126,766. It lies in the middle of a wine-growing region.

Contents

1 History 2 Geography 3 Miscellaneous 4 Education 5 Culture 6 Photos of Lausanne 7 External links

History

The Romans built a military camp, which they called Lousanna at the site of a Celtic settlement. The city which grew from the camp was ruled by the Dukes of Savoy and the Bishop of Lausanne, and then by Berne from 1536 to 1798. In 1803, it became the capital of a newly formed Swiss canton, Vaud.

Geography

The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is the Lake Geneva, also called "Leman Lake". The north shore of the lake rises to a plateau. Lausanne is built against this side of the plateau, with about 500 meters of elevation difference from its southern edge bordering Ouchy and its northern edge bordering Le Mont sur Lausanne. Lausanne boasts dramatic views of the lake, and of the Alps.

The area surrounding Lausanne is an extensive wine-growing region, stretching all along the north (Swiss) shore of the lake.

Miscellaneous

The International Olympic Committee has its headquarters in Lausanne, and the Olympic Museum is also located there.

Education

• �cole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Lausanne)
• University of Lausanne (Universit� de Lausanne)
• �cole h�teli�re de Lausanne

Culture

Sporting activities are very popular in Lausanne, with water sports available on the nearby lake and mountaineering in the nearby mountains. Cycling is also a popular pastime, with the vineyards in the surrounding hills providing spectacular views and challenging routes. There is an annual marathon, road cycling race GP Lausanne, and triathlon competition among other things.

The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne provide a diverse and rich musical life. The latter has been under the direction of Michel Corboz for many years.

Each summer, the City festival, or F�te de la Cite is held in the beginning of July. There are also film festivals, and the Bach Festival. Le Festival et Concours Bach de Lausanne follows La Nuit de Mus�es ("Night of the Museums") in the fall season.

Lausanne is also the site of many museums:

• Cabinet des M�dailles cantonal
• Collection de l'Art brut (Art Brut Collection)
• Espace Arlaud
• Espace des Inventions (Science Center for Kids)
• Fondation de l'Hermitage (Hermitage Foundation)
• Fondation Claude Verdan - Mus�e de la main (Museum of the Hand)
• Fondation du vivarium de Lausanne
• Forum d'architectures de Lausanne
• Forum de l'H�tel de Ville (Forum of the Town Hall)
• Mus�e cantonal d'Arch�ologie et d'Hitoire (Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History)
• Mus�e cantonal des Beaux-Arts (Cantonal Fine Arts Museum)
• Mus�e de design et d'arts appliqu�s contemporains, mu.dac
• Mus�e de l'Elys�e (Elys�e Museum)
• Mus�e cantonal de G�ologie (Cantonal Geological Museum)
• Mus�e Historique de Lausanne (Lausanne Historical Museum)
• Mus�e et jardins botaniques cantonaux (Cantonal Museum and Botanical Gardens)
• Mus�e Olympique Lausanne (Olympic Museum)
• Mus�e de Pully (Pully Museum)
• Mus�e romain de Lausanne-Vidy (Lausanne-Vidy Roman Museum)
• Mus�e de la Villa romaine de Pully (Pully Roman Villa Museum)
• Mus�e cantonal de Zoologie (Cantonal Zoology Museum)
• Roseraie de la Vall�e de la Jeunesse (Rosegarden)
• Etablissement horticole de la Bourdonnette - serres de la Ville (Horticultural Establishment of La Bourdonette - Municipal Glasshouses)

Lausanne is the birthplace of:

• Umberto Agnelli
• Anthony Bloom
• Fran�ois-Louis David Bocion
• Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
• Benjamin Constant
• Aloise Corbaz
• Charles Dutoit
• Egon von Furstenberg
• Eug�ne Grasset
• Bertrand Piccard
• Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz
• Th�ophile Steinlen
• Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Butler)
• Bernard Tschumi
• F�lix Vallotton

Photos of Lausanne

Photos of Lausanne, taken in June 2001:

External links

• City of Lausanne, official site (http://www.lausanne.ch)
• The official tourism homepage of Lausanne (http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch)
• Lausanne travel guide at Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Lausanne)
• Mus�e de l'Elys�e (http://www.elysee.ch/)

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See also: Lausanne Township, Pennsylvania

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