Nyon

Sister cities

• Nyons

History

Nyon is first mentioned around 367–407 as civitas Equestrium id est Noiodunus (in the "Notitia Galliarum"). In 1236, it was mentioned as Neveduni and in 1292 as Nyons. It grew to be one of the most important Roman colonies in modern-day Switzerland, with a forum, a basilica and an amphitheater that was discovered only recently, in 1996, when digging for the construction of a new building. At Roman contact, the country round the town was held by the Helvetii. The town's importance is reflected in its numerous mentions in ancient sources. The Antonine Itineraries place the town on the road from Geneva to Lacus Lausonius (near Lausanne). It is first mentioned by Pliny (H.N., iv. 7), and then by Ptolemy (ii. 9), who assigns it to the Sequani. Pliny and Ptolemy simply name it Equestris; and so it is named in the Itineraries. On some inscriptions it is called Civ. Equestrium (short for Civitas Equestrium), and Col. Julia Equ. (short for Colonia Julia Equestris) from which some have concluded that it was founded by Julius Caesar. In the Notitia it is called Civ. Equestrium Noiodunum (short for Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum). The district in which Nyon stands is called Pagus Equestricus in a document of the year 1011; and it is said that the people of the country as of the 18th century still called this district Enquestre. (D'Anville, Notice, &c.; Walckenaer, Géographie, &c., des Gaules, vol. ii. p. 316.) Noviodunum was part of a loose network of settlements that radiated out from Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France) and helped to control the Rhone Valley. It served, along with other Roman colonies in the area, to control the Helvetii who were settled in the area against their will after their defeat at the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC. A rectangular grid pattern divided the…

Geography

Nyon has an area, , of . Of this area, or 39.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 7.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 54.1% is settled (buildings or roads). Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 27.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 14.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 4.6%. Out of the forested land, 5.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 25.9% is used for growing crops and 4.7% is pastures, while 8.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. The municipality is located between the Jura Mountains and Lake Geneva. The old core of Nyon, on the right bank of the Asse, is divided into the upper city (which was built on the Roman ruins on a hill) and the lower city along the water. Along the main thoroughfare a residential section developed to the east of the old city, and an industrial sector to the west.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  5,401
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,618
• gray wolf

  Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  3,600
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,496
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,335
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,134
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,957
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,874

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-01-12
  4 km SSW of Les Houches, France
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 3.3 — 2022-09-25
  7 km ESE of Ar?ches-la-Frasse, France
• M 4.5 — 2022-03-12
  3 km S of Faverges, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-10-05
  10 km SSW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 3.4 — 2020-06-23
  11 km ESE of Samoëns, France