Hendrick Jan van Oyen in Morges

4 May 2020

The Independence Park (Parc de l’Indépendance) in Morges (canton of Vaud) owes its name to the independence of Vaud (Le Pays de Vaud) on 24 January 1798, after the long domination of Bern (since 1536).

Citizens proclaimed the République lémanique on this date  in Lausanne (Place de la Palud). This republic was shortlived, however. The Republic was dissolved a few weeks later by Napoleon, who founded the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803).

The first horticultural exhibition was held in 1872. The park was transformed into an English garden in 1882. The park officially became the Parc de l’ Indépendance in 1889. The park organizes the annual Festival des Tulipes (Tulip Festival).

Some monuments recall the history of Vaud’s independence and the memory of the Dutch count Hendrick Jan van Oyen (1771-1850),  who was a general in Napoleon’s army and became a Swiss citizen in 1825.