Vevey
Encyclopedia
Vevey is a town in Switzerland
in the canton Vaud
, on the north shore of Lake Geneva
, near Lausanne
.
It was the seat of the district of the same name
until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District. It is part of the French-speaking area of Switzerland.
Vevey is bordered on the west by the River Veveyse and to the east by the River Oyonnaz.
Vevey is the site of the world headquarters of the food giant Nestlé
, founded here in 1867. Milk chocolate was invented in Vevey by Daniel Peter
in 1875.
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 a period of prosperity after the Vaud Revolution of 1798. In the 19th century indsustrial activities included mechanical engineering at the Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey
, food (Nestlé) and tobacco (Rinsoz & Ormond).
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 part of the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per pale Or and Azure, two Letters V interlaced counterchanged.
Most of the population speaks French
(12,526 or 77.3%) as their first language, with Italian
being second most common (854 or 5.3%) and Portuguese
being third (601 or 3.7%). There are 599 people who speak German
and 7 people who speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Vevey is; 1,945 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,928 teenagers or 10.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,543 people or 14.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 3,059 people or 17.0% are between 30 and 39, 2,852 people or 15.9% are between 40 and 49, and 2,059 people or 11.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,516 people or 8.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,131 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 806 people or 4.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 138 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.
, there were 6,936 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,966 married individuals, 1,065 widows or widowers and 1,235 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.67 which is more people per room than the cantonal average of 0.61 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 6.7% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 7,830 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household. There were 3,667 households that consist of only one person and 334 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 8,012 households that answered this question, 45.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 39 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,694 married couples without children, 1,754 married couples with children There were 527 single parents with a child or children. There were 149 households that were made up of unrelated people and 182 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 264 single family homes (or 20.5% of the total) out of a total of 1,286 inhabited buildings. There were 565 multi-family buildings (43.9%), along with 329 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (25.6%) and 128 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.0%).
, a total of 7,752 apartments (83.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,117 apartments (12.0%) were seasonally occupied and 430 apartments (4.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.8 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Vevey was 1067.93 Swiss franc
s (CHF) per month (US$850, £480, €680 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 567.76 CHF (US$450, £260, €360), a two room apartment was about 787.77 CHF (US$630, £350, €500), a three room apartment was about 1014.16 CHF (US$810, £460, €650) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1817.64 CHF (US$1450, £820, €1160). The average apartment price in Vevey was 95.7% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.45%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The four museums on the list are; the Alimentarium (Museum of Food), the Museum de la Confrérie des Vignerons, the Museum Jenisch and the Museum suisse de l’appareil photographique. There are three churches; the Roman Catholic
Church of Notre-Dame, the Orthodox Church and the Swiss Reformed
Church of Saint-Martin. The other seven buildings are; the Administration Building and Historical Archives of Nestlé
SA, Aile Castle
, the Cour au Chantre, the City Hall
, the Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes, the La Grenette and Place du Marché and the Saint-Jean Tower and Fountain.
St Martin's Church, a few minutes' walk away from the Grande Place, contains the bodies of a number of those who condemned King Charles I of England to death - especially that of Edmund Ludlow who escaped to Vevey after the death of Oliver Cromwell
.
The Alimentarium Museum, a modern museum opened in 1985 by the Nestlé foundation, features a permanent exhibition of cooking, eating, purchasing food, digesting, and a history of Nestlé.
, after Lisbon
, Portugal
.
The festivals date from the 18th century; the last five were in 1905, 1927, 1955, 1977 and 1999.
These Folk Markets are organised by the Société de développement de Vevey.
the most popular party was the SP
which received 27.21% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(17.86%), the Green Party
(16.21%) and the FDP
(10.83%). In the federal election, a total of 3,217 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 40.0%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 9,458. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 6, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,246 of which 433 or (34.8%) were in manufacturing and 688 (55.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 8,206. In the tertiary sector; 1,749 or 21.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 228 or 2.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 614 or 7.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 218 or 2.7% were in the information industry, 382 or 4.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 2,150 or 26.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 432 or 5.3% were in education and 1,437 or 17.5% were in health care.
, there were 8,153 workers who commuted into the municipality and 4,049 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.0 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 1.2% of the workforce coming into Vevey are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 25.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 42.2% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 427 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 2.64% of the population), there were 8 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 685 individuals (or about 4.23% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 43 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 1,083 (or about 6.68% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 52 individuals who were Buddhist
, 47 individuals who were Hindu
and 38 individuals who belonged to another church. 2,189 (or about 13.51% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 1,050 individuals (or about 6.48% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is August during which time Vevey receives an average of 138 mm (5.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.7 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.7, but with only 112 mm (4.4 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 78 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 9.4 days.
). Of the 2,069 who completed tertiary schooling, 43.5% were Swiss men, 29.2% were Swiss women, 15.4% were non-Swiss men and 11.9% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,968 students in the Vevey school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 817 children of which 456 children (55.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 1,024 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 852 students in those schools. There were also 92 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 712 students in Vevey who came from another municipality, while 537 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Vevey is home to the Alimentarium, the Musée Jenish and the Musée suisse de l'appareil photo museums. In 2009 the Alimentarium was visited by 61,358 visitors (the average in previous years was 57,530). In the same year the Musée Jenish was closed for renovations but the average in previous years was 17,286, and the Musée suisse de l'appareil photo was visited by 10,989 visitors (the average in previous years was 11,874).
Vevey is home to the Bibliothèque médiathèque municipale library. The library has 64,994 books or other media, and loaned out 153,629 items in the same year. It was open a total of 273 days with average of 34 hours per week during that year.
' novella Daisy Miller
. It is also mentioned in Little Women
, the classic American novel by Louisa May Alcott
, as the location of the young Theodore "Laurie" Laurence's early studies at boarding school.
, the first station to be "automated" in 1956, is served by several routes of the Léman RER
commuter rail system. It has frequent trains to Blonay
, Lausanne
, Geneva
, Montreux
and Villeneuve
, among others.
The number 1 bus is run every 10 minutes during day and goes from the Funicular to Villeneuve
. The number 13 bus goes up to Châtel-Saint-Denis
and Bossonnens
. These also late night Petit Prince buses.
Vevey is also well connected on the lake with boats going to all the major harbours like Le Bouveret
, Saint Gingolph, Evian
, Lausanne
and more.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in the canton Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
, on the north shore of Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
, near Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
.
It was the seat of the district of the same name
Vevey (district)
Vevey District was a district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The seat of the district was the city of Vevey. It has been dissolved on 1 January 2008 and merged into the new Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district.-Mergers and name changes:...
until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District. It is part of the French-speaking area of Switzerland.
Vevey is bordered on the west by the River Veveyse and to the east by the River Oyonnaz.
Vevey is the site of the world headquarters of the food giant Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, founded here in 1867. Milk chocolate was invented in Vevey by Daniel Peter
Daniel Peter
Daniel Peter was a famous Swiss chocolatier. He was the first person to make a milk chocolate bar, in 1875. M. Peter began his career as a candle maker in his native Vevey, Switzerland, but soon demand fell due to the emergence of oil lamps....
in 1875.
History
A pilotiPiloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood and in elevated houses such as Old Queenslanders in Australia's...
settlement existed here as early as the 2nd millennium BC.
Under Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, it was known as Viviscus or Vibiscum. It was mentioned for the first time by the ancient Greek astronomer and philosopher Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, who gave it the name Ouikos. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
it was a station on the Via Francigena
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...
. It was then ruled by the bishopric of Lausanne, and later under the Blonay
Blonay
Blonay is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Blonay is first mentioned in 861 as Blodennaco. In 1108 it was mentioned as Bloniaco. During the 13th Century it was known as Blonay, Blonai and Blunai.-Geography:Blonay has an area, ,...
family.
Vevey lived a period of prosperity after the Vaud Revolution of 1798. In the 19th century indsustrial activities included mechanical engineering at the Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey
Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey
Ateliers de constructions mécaniques de Vevey was an metal engineering company based in Vevey, Switzerland. Founded as Ateliers B.Roy & Cie in 1848 by Benjamin Roy it became Ateliers de constructions mécaniques de Vevey SA in 1895....
, food (Nestlé) and tobacco (Rinsoz & Ormond).
Geography
Vevey has an area, , of 2.4 square kilometre. Of this area, 0.07 square kilometre or 2.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.11 square kilometre or 4.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.13 square kilometre or 89.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) 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 part of the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Per pale Or and Azure, two Letters V interlaced counterchanged.
Demographics
Vevey has a population of . , 43.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 16.2%. It has changed at a rate of 14.2% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(12,526 or 77.3%) as their first language, with Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
being second most common (854 or 5.3%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
being third (601 or 3.7%). There are 599 people who speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and 7 people who speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Vevey is; 1,945 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,928 teenagers or 10.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,543 people or 14.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 3,059 people or 17.0% are between 30 and 39, 2,852 people or 15.9% are between 40 and 49, and 2,059 people or 11.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,516 people or 8.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,131 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 806 people or 4.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 138 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.
, there were 6,936 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,966 married individuals, 1,065 widows or widowers and 1,235 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.67 which is more people per room than the cantonal average of 0.61 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 6.7% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 7,830 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household. There were 3,667 households that consist of only one person and 334 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 8,012 households that answered this question, 45.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 39 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,694 married couples without children, 1,754 married couples with children There were 527 single parents with a child or children. There were 149 households that were made up of unrelated people and 182 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 264 single family homes (or 20.5% of the total) out of a total of 1,286 inhabited buildings. There were 565 multi-family buildings (43.9%), along with 329 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (25.6%) and 128 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.0%).
, a total of 7,752 apartments (83.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,117 apartments (12.0%) were seasonally occupied and 430 apartments (4.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.8 new units per 1000 residents.
the average price to rent an average apartment in Vevey was 1067.93 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s (CHF) per month (US$850, £480, €680 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 567.76 CHF (US$450, £260, €360), a two room apartment was about 787.77 CHF (US$630, £350, €500), a three room apartment was about 1014.16 CHF (US$810, £460, €650) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1817.64 CHF (US$1450, £820, €1160). The average apartment price in Vevey was 95.7% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.45%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
There are 14 structures in Vevey that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The four museums on the list are; the Alimentarium (Museum of Food), the Museum de la Confrérie des Vignerons, the Museum Jenisch and the Museum suisse de l’appareil photographique. There are three churches; the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Church of Notre-Dame, the Orthodox Church and the Swiss Reformed
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
Church of Saint-Martin. The other seven buildings are; the Administration Building and Historical Archives of Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
SA, Aile Castle
Aile Castle
Aile Castle is a castle in the municipality of Vevey of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
, the Cour au Chantre, the City Hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
, the Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes, the La Grenette and Place du Marché and the Saint-Jean Tower and Fountain.
Main sights
The Grande Place is dominated by a granary known as La Grenette, built in 1803 in the Neo-Classical "rustic" style. Behind La Grenette is the restaurant La Clef, in which Jean-Jacques Rousseau used to eat. The table at which he sat is still to be seen in the restaurant.St Martin's Church, a few minutes' walk away from the Grande Place, contains the bodies of a number of those who condemned King Charles I of England to death - especially that of Edmund Ludlow who escaped to Vevey after the death of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
.
The Alimentarium Museum, a modern museum opened in 1985 by the Nestlé foundation, features a permanent exhibition of cooking, eating, purchasing food, digesting, and a history of Nestlé.
Festivals
The Confrérie des Vignerons (Brotherhood of Winegrowers) organises the Winegrowers' Festival (Fête 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 EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, after Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
The festivals date from the 18th century; the last five were in 1905, 1927, 1955, 1977 and 1999.
Market
The town is also known for its large market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The Vevey folk markets,known locally as the Marchés Folkloriques, normally has up to 2000 visitors each Saturday over a period of two months. (Second week of July to end August). Visitors can buy a wine-glass and drink to their heart's content while listening to brass bands, Swiss folk music, and watching traditional craftsmen at work.These Folk Markets are organised by the Société de développement de Vevey.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 27.21% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(17.86%), the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(16.21%) and the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(10.83%). In the federal election, a total of 3,217 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 40.0%.
Economy
, Vevey had an unemployment rate of 8.1%. , 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.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 9,458. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 6, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,246 of which 433 or (34.8%) were in manufacturing and 688 (55.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 8,206. In the tertiary sector; 1,749 or 21.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 228 or 2.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 614 or 7.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 218 or 2.7% were in the information industry, 382 or 4.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 2,150 or 26.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 432 or 5.3% were in education and 1,437 or 17.5% were in health care.
, there were 8,153 workers who commuted into the municipality and 4,049 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.0 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 1.2% of the workforce coming into Vevey are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 25.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 42.2% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 6,676 or 41.2% were Roman Catholic, while 4,224 or 26.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 427 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 2.64% of the population), there were 8 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 685 individuals (or about 4.23% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 43 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 1,083 (or about 6.68% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 52 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 47 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 38 individuals who belonged to another church. 2,189 (or about 13.51% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 1,050 individuals (or about 6.48% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Vevey has an average of 124.1 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1234 mm (48.6 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is August during which time Vevey receives an average of 138 mm (5.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.7 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.7, but with only 112 mm (4.4 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 78 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 9.4 days.
Education
In Vevey about 5,104 or (31.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 2,069 or (12.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 2,069 who completed tertiary schooling, 43.5% were Swiss men, 29.2% were Swiss women, 15.4% were non-Swiss men and 11.9% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,968 students in the Vevey school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 817 children of which 456 children (55.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 1,024 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 852 students in those schools. There were also 92 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 712 students in Vevey who came from another municipality, while 537 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Vevey is home to the Alimentarium, the Musée Jenish and the Musée suisse de l'appareil photo museums. In 2009 the Alimentarium was visited by 61,358 visitors (the average in previous years was 57,530). In the same year the Musée Jenish was closed for renovations but the average in previous years was 17,286, and the Musée suisse de l'appareil photo was visited by 10,989 visitors (the average in previous years was 11,874).
Vevey is home to the Bibliothèque médiathèque municipale library. The library has 64,994 books or other media, and loaned out 153,629 items in the same year. It was open a total of 273 days with average of 34 hours per week during that year.
Literary references
Vevey is one of two locations that comprise the setting of Henry JamesHenry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
' novella Daisy Miller
Daisy Miller
Daisy Miller is an 1878 novella by Henry James first appearing in Cornhill Magazine in Jun-July 1879, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers...
. It is also mentioned in Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
, the classic American novel by Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
, as the location of the young Theodore "Laurie" Laurence's early studies at boarding school.
Notable residents past and present
- Olga BaclanovaOlga BaclanovaOlga Vladimirovna Baclanova, or Baklanova, was a Russian-born actress, who achieved prominence during the silent film era. She was billed as the Russian Tigress and remains most noted by modern audiences for portraying the leading lady in Tod Browning's unique horror movie Freaks , which features...
, Russian-born actress. - Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, British director and actor. (Corsier-sur-VeveyCorsier-sur-VeveyCorsier-sur-Vevey is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Corsier-sur-Vevey is first mentioned in 1079 as Corise. Until 1953 it was known as Corsier.-Geography:...
) - Peter CowiePeter CowiePeter Cowie is a film historian and author of more than thirty books on film. In 1963 he was the founder/publisher and general editor of the annual International Film Guide, a survey of worldwide film production. Educated at Charterhouse School, and an Exhibitioner in History at Magdalene...
, film historian Romantic movement - Fyodor DostoevskyFyodor DostoevskyFyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
, Russian novelist
- Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
, Russian novelist - Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
, British writer (Corsier-sur-Vevey) - Clara HaskilClara HaskilClara Haskil was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire....
, Swiss Romanian classical pianist - Bruno HoffmannBruno HoffmannBruno Hoffmann was a German player of the glass harp. Hoffmann is widely acknowledged as the virtuoso who reanimated contemporary interest in the glass harp and glass harmonica....
, German glass harp player - Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, French poet and writer
- Edouard Jeanneret Le CorbusierLe CorbusierCharles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Swiss architect - Paul JuonPaul JuonPaul Juon was a Germanised Russian composerHe was born in Moscow, where his father was an insurance official. His mother was German, and he went to a German school in Moscow. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1889, where he studied violin with Jan Hřímalý and composition with Anton Arensky...
, Germanised Russian composer - Oskar KokoschkaOskar KokoschkaOskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
, Austrian painter - Edmund LudlowEdmund LudlowEdmund Ludlow was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his Memoirs, which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source for historians of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After service in the English...
, general and politician in Oliver Cromwell's government and enemy of King Charles I - John Pentland MahaffyJohn Pentland MahaffyThe Rev. John Pentland Mahaffy GBE CVO was an Irish classicist and polymathic scholar.-Education and interests:...
, Irish academic - Jules MassenetJules MassenetJules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
, French composer (while composing EsclarmondeEsclarmondeEsclarmonde is an opéra in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont....
)
- James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, actor, (Corsier-sur-Vevey) - Thomas MedwinThomas MedwinThomas Medwin was an early 19th century English poet and translator, who is chiefly known for his biographies of his cousin Percy Bysshe Shelley and his recollections of his close friend Lord Byron.-Early life:...
, Writer and biographer of Percy Byssche Shelley - Henri NestléHenri NestléHenri Nestlé, born Heinrich Nestle , was a German confectioner and founder of Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, as well as one of the main creators of condensed milk.-Birth:...
, German citizen, founder of Nestlé - Claude NicollierClaude NicollierClaude Nicollier is the first astronaut from Switzerland, and has flown on four Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight was in 1992, and his final spaceflight was in 1999. He took part in two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope...
, first Swiss astronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.... - Daniel PeterDaniel PeterDaniel Peter was a famous Swiss chocolatier. He was the first person to make a milk chocolate bar, in 1875. M. Peter began his career as a candle maker in his native Vevey, Switzerland, but soon demand fell due to the emergence of oil lamps....
, inventor of milk chocolate and chocolate bar
- Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
, Swiss writer and philosopher. Arguably the father of the European Romantic movement - Percy ScholesPercy ScholesPercy Alfred Scholes was an English musician, journalist and prolific writer, whose best-known achievement was his compilation of the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Music...
, English musician and writer - Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Record producer and songwriter
- Thabo SefoloshaThabo SefoloshaThabo Patrick Sefolosha is a Swiss professional basketball shooting guard who plays for Fenerbahçe Ülker in Turkey. He is also under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA, but is playing overseas because of the 2011 NBA lockout....
, basketball player for the Oklahoma City ThunderOklahoma City ThunderThe Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena.... - Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk SienkiewiczHenryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
, Polish writer (Quo VadisQuo Vadis (novel)Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish. Quo vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?" and alludes to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he...
) Statue in the garden of the Grand Hôtel du Lac. - Henry Philip TappanHenry Philip TappanHenry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan....
, first PresidentPresident of the University of MichiganThe President of the University of Michigan is the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The office was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1850, which also specified that the president was to be appointed by the Regents of the University of Michigan and preside at their...
of the university of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... - Duncan JonesDuncan JonesDuncan Zowie Haywood Jones , also known as Zowie Bowie is an English film director, best known for directing the science fiction films Moon and Source Code .-Childhood and family life:...
, film director and his father David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, musician
Infrastructure
Vevey railway stationVevey railway station
Vevey railway station is a public transport hub not far from the shore of Lake Geneva. It serves the municipality of Vevey, in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland....
, the first station to be "automated" in 1956, is served by several routes of the Léman RER
Léman RER
The Léman RER , referred to as S-Bahn Léman in German-speaking areas, is a planned commuter rail network for the cities of Lausanne and Geneva in west Switzerland.- Réseau Express Vaudois :...
commuter rail system. It has frequent trains to Blonay
Blonay
Blonay is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Blonay is first mentioned in 861 as Blodennaco. In 1108 it was mentioned as Bloniaco. During the 13th Century it was known as Blonay, Blonai and Blunai.-Geography:Blonay has an area, ,...
, Lausanne
Lausanne railway station
Lausanne railway station is the main intercity and regional railway station for the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. It is often known as Lausanne CFF to distinguish it from others in the town....
, Geneva
Gare de Cornavin
Genève-Cornavin is Geneva's main railway station, located in the centre of the city...
, Montreux
Montreux railway station
Montreux railway station is the largest of the railway stations serving the municipality of Montreux, in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.All of the SBB-CFF-FFS standard gauge passenger trains operating on the Simplon railway line call at this station, which is also the western terminus of the...
and Villeneuve
Villeneuve, Vaud
Villeneuve is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.-Geography:Villeneuve has an area, , of . Of this area, or 26.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 55.2% is forested...
, among others.
The number 1 bus is run every 10 minutes during day and goes from the Funicular to Villeneuve
Villeneuve, Vaud
Villeneuve is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.-Geography:Villeneuve has an area, , of . Of this area, or 26.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 55.2% is forested...
. The number 13 bus goes up to Châtel-Saint-Denis
Châtel-Saint-Denis
Châtel-Saint-Denis is a municipality and district capital of the district of Veveyse in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.The bog and Lac de Lussy are a nature preserve.-External links:* /...
and Bossonnens
Bossonnens
Bossonnens is a municipality in the district of Veveyse in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. This French-speaking village, with a population of around 1,153, is near a sports facility which includes squash, tennis and football...
. These also late night Petit Prince buses.
Vevey is also well connected on the lake with boats going to all the major harbours like Le Bouveret
Le Bouveret
Le Bouveret is a town in the commune of Port-Valais in the Swiss canton of Valais. Situated at the southernmost end of Lake Geneva and close to the French border, Le Bouveret is very much tourism-oriented with several amusement attractions, including the Swiss Vapeur Parc and the water amusement...
, Saint Gingolph, Evian
Évian-les-Bains
Évian-les-Bains or Évian is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France...
, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
and more.