Lausanne, the lively capital of the canton of Vaud, is picturesquely situated on the north shore of Lake Geneva, on terraces rising above the lake which are broken by gorges. It ranks with Geneva as a focus of intellectual life in French-speaking Switzerland (Federal Court, University,
College of Technology, Hotel School and many other technical colleges), and is also a popular convention and conference center and the venue of important trade fairs (Comptoir Suisse in Autumn, International Tourism Fair in March). Major elements in the town's economy are the foodstuffs industries and vine-growing.
In the attractive townscape of Lausanne the modern office blocks and the high-level bridges spanning the gorges (now built over) of the Rivers Flon and Louve form a striking contrast to the narrow lanes and steep flights of steps which run up to the old town (Cité), dominated by the cathedral (530 m/1,739ft) and the Château, while to the south pleasant residential districts extend down to the port of Ouchy (380 m/1,247ft).
There was a Celtic settlement at the mouth of the River Flon which later became the Roman Lousonium or Lousonna. After the destruction of this town by the Alemanni about 379 a fortified settlement was built on the hill now occupied by the Cité, and after that the transfer of the episcopal see from Avanches to Lausanne (ca. 590) this became a town of some size which, like Geneva, belonged successively to the Burgundians, the Franks and the second Burgundian Kingdom before becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. In the 15th C. the Vaud region was conquered by the Bernese, who soon introduced the Reformed faith. In 1798, however, Vaud recovered its independence as the République Lémanique, and in 1803 it became the 19th canton to join the Swiss Confederation.
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