Author: Maarten Koning

The name Aubonne is derived from the Celtic word Albunna, meaning “white water”, because of the river’s wild character. The source of the Aubonne rises in the Jura mountains of the Monts de Bière.

The village’s history is linked to the castle. At the beginning of the 12th century, the region’s inhabitants sought protection at the foot of the castle. The castle was the residence of the Sires of Aubonne.

In 1234, a charter with the title “Franchises d’Aubonne” laid down the rights and duties of the lord and inhabitants of the town.

The Lords of Aubonne, the House of Savoy, the Lords of Grandson and the Count of Gruyère lived in the castle from the 12th to the 17th century. They rebuilt the original simple tower into a citadel and fortified castle.

The people of Aubonne lived without war for centuries, which may be called exceptional. Agriculture, viticulture and crafts sustained trade and the standard of living.

The arrival of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689), the diamond dealer of the King of France (Louis XIV) and great traveller, and Henri, Marquis Duquesne (1652-1722), eldest son of Louis XIV’s admiral, transformed the village into a dynamic centre. The famous round tower is a souvenir of Tavernier’s travels in the Orient. Duquesne built the courtyard with arcades.

These two Huguenots, exiles from France, turned the Château d’Aubonne into a comfortable and noble residence. From 1701, Aubonne became the seat of the bailiff of Bern until the French invasion in 1798. Protestant Bern had conquered Vaud in 1536.

Today, the castle on the hill is a beautiful complex overlooking the town with its picturesque streets.

The church is also an interesting monument. In the Middle Ages, the parish church stood in Trévelin, a kilometre away. However, Aubonne demolished the abandoned Catholic church in Trévelin in 1577 and used the materials to build the Protestant church (le temple) and its Gothic choir and wooden ceiling in the nave.

Source and further information: Commune d’Aubonne

For centuries, French-speaking Geneva has been a haven for refugees, aristocrats and royal visitors, bankers, watchmakers, chocolatiers, and (religious) reformers.
The city is not only the global centre of Calvinism, but since the nineteenth century, it has also been the world capital of multilateralism, arbitration, diplomacy, international aid and international organisations.

Collège Calvin

Today, the city is home to more than 700 international organisations, diplomatic missions and NGOs. The United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and the Red Cross are the best-known examples. More than 50,000 people are employed in this sector. The city hosts 3,230 international conferences every year.

Maison de la Paix

However, Geneva (over 200,000 citizens) is more than a multilateral and cosmopolitan city. It is the capital of one of the 26 cantons of the Swiss Confederation.

Moreover, it is not just any canton, but a canton with only one mountain, the 516-metre Arales east of the canton. Mountains on all sides surround the canton, and even Mont Blanc is visible, but they are in France. Only Canton Basel-Stadt has just one mountain, the Chrischona, 522 metres high.

Canton Basel-Stadt has only three municipalities (Basel, Riehen, and Bettingen) and is a canton without a significant countryside, rather an urban canton. On the other hand, Geneva Canton (over 500,000 inhabitants) has more than 50 communes with rural areas and villages, the unknown side of Geneva.

Cologne-Bellerive was governed until 1536 by the Dukes of Savoie, the Lords of Vaud. Bern occupied Cologne in 1536 and imposed Protestantism. However, Collonge became Catholic again in 1598 and joined the Protestant canton of Geneva in 1815-1816.

Le village de Cologny au bord du lac

The church of Collonge-Bellerive

Collonge, like the other Catholic villages in the canton, experienced the ‘Kulturkampf’. This movement originated in Germany and advocated control of the Catholic Church by the Protestant state. Geneva confiscated the churches in 1872.

The Catholics of Collonge retreated to a temporary chapel in the buildings of Rivollet’s farm (now the Municipal Centre), which became the “Chapel of Persecution”. They were able to practice their religion in the church again in 1894.

These villages are not only on the shores of Lake Geneva but also inland. Genevois Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed his passion for nature in this rural region.

Despite its small size, the canton of Geneva is Switzerland’s third-largest wine-producing canton! The first botanical garden was created in 1793. To showcase the canton’s winemaking tradition, a vineyard was created in 2019 on the site of the first botanical garden, in the heart of the city. This municipal vineyard serves as a reminder of Geneva’s urban-rural connection.

It characterises Switzerland that the countryside is never far from an urban centre. Even the world’s multilateral capital is surrounded by them, not to mention Lake Geneva and the beautiful parks in the city of Geneva.

(Source and information: Canton et République de Genève)

The artist Balthus (1908-2001), pseudonym of Balthasar Klossowski, bought the famous ‘Grand Chalet’ in the village of Rossinière (canton of Vaud, le Pays-d’Enhaut) in 1976. Since his death, the house has been called Chalet Balthus. The chapel, a little further away, has been the visitor centre dedicated to this artist since 2007.

The Balthus Chapel Chapelle Balthus Association 

The house with beautiful texts was built between 1754 and 1756 by Jean-David Henchoz (1712-1758), a farmer, cheese merchant, notary, judge/arbitrator, and village lawyer. The colossal size of the building was mainly to produce and store his cheese.

In 1860, the house was converted into a hotel. The hotel hosted famous guests, including Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935).

The Romanesque church Maria Magdalena dates from the 12th century. Since 1555, the church has been Protestant after Bern had taken over Le Pays-d’Enhaut from the bankrupt Counts of Gruyère. The parish house was built in 1770.

The village also has many authentic old homes and other buildings. Near the village, in the Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut nature park, lies the reservoir Lac de Vernex.

Source and further information: Commune de Rossinière (rossiniere.ch)