Treaty of Lausanne
The Château d'Ouchy in Lausanne was the site of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which marked the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Château d'Ouchy · · 🏛️ Legendary
Discover 60 curated stories about Lausanne in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland — covering hidden gems, dark history, legends, weird facts and funny anecdotes.
The Château d'Ouchy in Lausanne was the site of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which marked the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Château d'Ouchy · · 🏛️ Legendary
The first official NASA event in Europe took place at the Comptoir Suisse in Lausanne's Palais de Beaulieu in 1962.
Palais de Beaulieu · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Peak Walk suspension bridge at Glacier 3000 is the only bridge in the world that links two peaks, offering breathtaking views of the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Matterhorn.
Glacier 3000 · 🤯 Weird
Beneath the city streets, two hidden rivers, the Louve and the Flon, flow secretly, with a porthole in the La Riponne car park offering a glimpse into the tunnel where the Louve river flows.
La Riponne car park · 🔍 Hidden gems
The pharmacy Morin and Bonstein, located in Lausanne, served as a secret hideout for the Délivrance, a sionist organization that helped Jews escape the Nazi regime during World War II.
Pharmacy Morin and Bonstein · · 💀 Dark history
Herbert Bonstein's family, who lived in Lausanne, had a remarkable history of helping Jews escape persecution, with his father Nahum founding the Délivrance and his ancestor Mordechaï Krasenstein bei…
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
In the Chemin du Calvaire area of Lausanne, a 'Banc de la honte' (Bench of Shame) was installed, sparking controversy and amusing reactions from locals. Initially, a single chair replaced a tradition…
Chemin du Calvaire · 😂 Funny
In the 1940s, the Hôtel de la Paix's basement hosted a cabaret called 'Coup de Soleil', where Edith Piaf performed and Gilles wrote his anti-Nazi song 'Mille ans ! Déjà !'.
Hôtel de la Paix · · 🏛️ Legendary
During the 1985 snowstorm, the city of Lausanne was paralyzed for over a week, with no flights able to land at Cointrin airport from Saturday evening to Tuesday morning.
Cointrin Airport · · 🤯 Weird
In 2018, a Nigerian man named Mike Ben Peter died after being restrained by police in Lausanne, leading to widespread protests and a subsequent investigation that uncovered racist chats among police…
Lausanne Police Station · · 💀 Dark history
A man pulled a gun on teenagers in the Prélaz neighborhood during the 2023 unrest, sparking widespread outrage and an immediate police investigation.
Prélaz · · 💀 Dark history
Lord Byron wrote 'The Prisoner of Chillon' in this house in June 1818. This historic event took place in a building where the famous poet stayed, leaving a lasting mark on Lausanne's literary history.
Lord Byron's House · · 🏛️ Legendary
The 'Pierre à sabot LaSallaz' is a stone marker that reminds charretiers to put a sabot under their vehicle's wheel when driving downhill to protect the roads. The inscription on the stone, which inc…
Pierre à sabot LaSallaz · · 🤯 Weird
Lausanne is famously linked to Mary Shelley, who is rumoured to have composed her novel Frankenstein in the city in 1816, adding a dark layer to its history.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Lausanne Cathedral was stripped of its Roman Catholic trappings by the Bernese in the 16th century, and many of its cultural treasures, including hanging tapestries, were permanently removed and…
Lausanne Cathedral · · 💀 Dark history
The Cathédrale de Lausanne was the site of a significant event in 1536 when the Bernese took control of the prinicipality and organized a theological dispute, leading to the cathedral's conversion to…
Cathédrale de Lausanne · · 💀 Dark history
The Cathédrale de Lausanne suffered significant damage during the Reformation, including the destruction of the cloister and the sale of precious artifacts, such as the statue of the Virgin Mary, whi…
Cathédrale de Lausanne · · 💀 Dark history
The Cathédrale de Lausanne was the site of the inauguration of the antipope Felix V in 1440, a significant event in the history of the Catholic Church.
Cathédrale de Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Château Saint-Maire in Lausanne has a hidden stairwell that was used by Bishop Sébastien of Montfalcon to escape in 1536 when Bern captured the city.
Château Saint-Maire · · 🔍 Hidden gems
The Palais de Rumine in Lausanne was the site of the Treaty of Lausanne signing on July 24, 1923, a landmark event in international history.
Palais de Rumine · · 🏛️ Legendary
During World War II, the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne was used to detain prisoners of war.
Palais de Beaulieu · · 💀 Dark history
The Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1989, a major international event.
Palais de Beaulieu · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 1798, the green flag of the independent Vaud canton was raised for the first time on the Place de la Palud, marking a significant event in Lausanne's history.
Place de la Palud · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Château d'Ouchy, a castle in Ouchy, was the setting for the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne in 1912.
Château d'Ouchy · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 1972, the people of Lausanne rejected a proposal to build a 53-meter-high hotel-tower in Ouchy, with 14,820 voting against it and only 7,016 in favor.
Ouchy · · 😂 Funny
The Le Prieuré building in Pully, Lausanne, was originally a priory court and later served as a wine cellar and vineyard house under the Bernese. During excavations, a Roman-era villa was discovered,…
Le Prieuré · · 🔍 Hidden gems
The Olympic Museum in Lausanne has a unique temporary exhibition space that was once set up on a boat, the Helvétie, during the museum's renovation between 2012 and 2013.
Olympic Museum · · 🤯 Weird
The Olympic Museum in Lausanne was built with a $20 million donation from Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, which raised concerns about corruption within the International Olympic Committee.
Olympic Museum · · 💀 Dark history
A train derailment occurred at Lausanne's main train station in 1994, with three tanker cars containing toxic chemicals overturning on the tracks. The quick response of the Lausanne firefighters prev…
Lausanne Train Station · · 💀 Dark history
The Rolex Learning Center at EPFL in Lausanne was the site of a historic press conference in 2015, where Federica Mogherini and Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the Iranian nuclear programme.
Rolex Learning Center · · 🏛️ Legendary
Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the IOC, was awarded an honorary gift of 10,000 RM by Adolf Hitler in 1936, despite Coubertin's initial reservations about the Nazi regime.
Lausanne · · 💀 Dark history
Major Davel, a Swiss soldier, was beheaded in 1723 at Vidy for calling for Vaud's independence from Bern. His execution site is now marked by a stele in Louis Bourget Park. Every year on April 24th,…
Vidy · · 💀 Dark history
Frédéric-César de La Harpe, the tutor of Tsar Alexander I, lived in Lausanne and played a significant role in the Swiss Revolution, influencing the country's transition to the Helvetic Republic.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
De La Harpe's connections to the Russian royal family and his influence on Tsar Alexander I helped shape the country's foreign policy, including its relationship with Switzerland.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
Edward Gibbon proposed marriage to Suzanne Curchod, the daughter of the pastor of Crassy, but was rejected due to his father's disapproval and Curchod's reluctance to leave Switzerland.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
In Lausanne, Edward Gibbon met Suzanne Curchod, with whom he became engaged, but the engagement was broken off by his father, leading Gibbon to remark 'I sighed as a lover, obeyed as a son'.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
The villa of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, called La Vedette, was surprisingly demolished in 1975, the European Year of Architectural Heritage.
La Vedette · · 🤯 Weird
In 1938, the Lausanne Hockey Club moved to a new artificial ice rink in the Montchoisi neighborhood, which was nicknamed 'The Temple' due to its unique atmosphere. The rink was initially without a ro…
Montchoisi · · 🏛️ Legendary
Just a few days after its opening, a ceiling collapse occurred at the vaudoise aréna, injuring three workers and causing a brief disruption to the Lausanne HC's schedule.
Vaudoise Aréna · · 💀 Dark history
In the 15th century, Ulrich von Lommis, a Bürger and Ratsherr in Zürich, was killed in the Schlacht bei St. Jakob an der Sihl, a battle that took place on July 22, 1443. According to legend, he used…
St. Jakob an der Sihl · · 🏛️ Legendary
Voltaire, the famous French writer and philosopher, stayed at the Villa Mon-Repos in 1757. This historic villa is now part of the Parc de Mon-Repos, a beautiful English-style garden.
Parc de Mon-Repos · · 🏛️ Legendary
Lausanne Cathedral's watchman has been calling out the hours from 10 pm to 2 am since 1405, a tradition that initially served as an early warning system for fires.
Lausanne Cathedral · · 🤯 Weird
The Bel-Air Tower, built in 1931, was the first skyscraper in Switzerland and was initially criticized for its height, with some fearing it would surpass the Cathedral.
Bel-Air Tower · · 🤯 Weird
The Grand Pont, completed in 1844, was a groundbreaking bridge with two tiers of arches, but the lower tier was later buried when the Flon valley was filled in.
Grand Pont · · 🔍 Hidden gems
At the Lausanne Cathedral, a watchman named Alexandre Schmid climbs 153 steps to the belfry every night to call out the hour, a tradition that has been preserved for centuries. Despite having no prio…
Lausanne Cathedral · · 🔍 Hidden gems
In the Riponne square, one of the 142,430 cobblestones has a pair of pliers trapped in the concrete, sparking speculation about its origin and purpose since its discovery in 1973.
Riponne square · · 🔍 Hidden gems
In La Riponne square, one of the 142,430 paving stones has a pair of pliers stuck in the concrete, sparking theories about its origin, including a clumsy workman or a hidden murder weapon.
La Riponne square · · 🤯 Weird
At Lac de Sauvabelin, visitors can find woolly pigs, a unique and unusual species, alongside other endangered Swiss animals like the Rätisches Grauvieh and the Appenzeller hens.
Lac de Sauvabelin · 🤯 Weird
The Languedoc hillside in Lausanne is home to an urban vineyard with around 600 vines, offering a peaceful retreat from the city with stunning views of the lake and the Alps.
Languedoc hillside · 🔍 Hidden gems
The Lausanne metro is the smallest city in the world to have a fully automatic metro system, with the M2 line featuring a unique glass pane where the driver would normally stand.
Lausanne Metro · · 🤯 Weird
The 'Promenade de la Ficelle' is a stroll on top of the metro line from Délices to Ouchy, following the path of the old funicular railway that once connected the city to the lake.
Promenade de la Ficelle · 🔍 Hidden gems
The Château du Signal in Sauvabelin was once the residence of international star David Bowie, who lived there for 15 years.
Château du Signal · 🏛️ Legendary
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, shook off journalists by going for a bike ride along the lakeside in Lausanne, during negotiations about Iran's nuclear program in 2015.
Lakeside · · 😂 Funny
The Eglise de Lausanne St François has a unique chœur à quatre pans, a rare architectural feature where the choir has four sides, due to the church's construction being tied to the city's medieval wa…
Eglise de Lausanne St François · · 🤯 Weird
The Délivrance, a sionist organization founded by Nahum Bonstein in Lausanne, worked with the Armée du Salut to help Jews escape the Nazi regime during World War II.
Lausanne · · 🔍 Hidden gems
Mordechaï Krasenstein, an ancestor of Herbert Bonstein, was a pioneer in Palestine and died of malaria in 1900, after establishing a prosperous farm in Tantura.
Tantura, Palestine · · 💀 Dark history
Nahum Bonstein, the founder of the Délivrance, was a key figure in helping Jews escape the Nazi regime during World War II, and his legacy continues to inspire people in Lausanne today.
Lausanne · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Eglise Saint-Paul in Lausanne's avenue de France has been a hub for multiculturalism, with the first Vietnamese evangelical community in Switzerland finding a home there in the 1980s.
Eglise Saint-Paul · · 🏛️ Legendary
Pastor Nguyen Cong Huan, a victim of communist persecution in North Vietnam, found refuge in Lausanne's Eglise Saint-Paul, where he continued his ministry until his death in 2009.
Eglise Saint-Paul · · 💀 Dark history
The Grand-Pont in Lausanne originally had two levels with 19 arches on top and 6 arches below, but the lower level was filled in during the 1874 valley filling, leaving only the upper level visible t…
Grand-Pont · · 🔍 Hidden gems
💀 Dark history · 😂 Funny · 🔍 Hidden gems · 🏛️ Legendary · 🤯 Weird
Discover hidden stories, legends, and quirky facts about your current location in Zurich
Facts are sourced from various open websites and may have been edited. Copyright of original content belongs to their respective owners.
Finding your location…