Vevey

Sister cities

• Locarno
• Müllheim im Markgräflerland
• Carpentras

History

A piloti 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. In the 1660s, several of the English regicides fled to Switzerland, and many of them settled in Vevey under the protection of the Bernese government. Vevey lived through a period of prosperity after the Vaud Revolution of 1798. In the 19th century industrial activities included mechanical engineering at the Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey, food (Nestlé) and tobacco (Rinsoz & Ormond). Vevey is a major center of the Swiss chocolate industry since the 18th century. The Cailler factory was founded in 1819. Milk chocolate was also developed there by Daniel Peter in 1875.

Geography

Vevey has an area, , of . Of this area, or 2.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 4.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 89.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 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.