Veytaux

Canton of Vaud · District: Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut · 1'008 inhabitants (31.12.2025)

Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Legends Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Veytaux

The name Veytaux is first attested in 1332 in the form "Veytour", in archives linked to the fortified settlement of Chillon. The exact etymology remains uncertain: the commune itself mentions, as a popular explanation not confirmed by any cross-checked scholarly source, a possible link with "vieille tour" (old tower) (to be cross-checked). The inhabitants were traditionally nicknamed in the local dialect the "Revertchaux" (or "Revertsé"), a nickname the commune links to the fact that the sun reaches this shady side of the valley late; this explanation comes from a single source and should be cross-checked against studies of Vaud place names.

Founding of Veytaux

Veytaux has no identifiable founder or founding charter: the village developed gradually as a rural, wine-growing community dependent on the lordship of Chillon, held by the Counts of Savoy from the 12th century (first written mention of the castle in 1150). A fortified settlement had grown up at the foot of the castle in the Middle Ages (about 66 houses along a main street in 1332), but this settlement of Chillon was decimated by the plague of 1348-1349, then gradually abandoned, disappearing at the beginning of the 16th century. The village of Veytaux, distinct from the settlement, inherited this local population. The communal archives of Veytaux have been kept since 1340. In the 16th century the administrative status was still shared, in the form "commune of Chillon and commune of Veytaux"; Veytaux became a fully autonomous commune in 1693.

History of Veytaux

Bronze Age. Traces of Bronze Age occupation have been found on the rock on which Chillon Castle now stands, showing a very early human presence on the site, long before any mention of the village.

1150. First written mention of Chillon Castle, then owned by the Counts of Savoy, who from this strategic point controlled the passage along Lake Geneva on the road to the Great St Bernard Pass.

1268-1285. Under Count Peter II of Savoy, the castle is turned into a comital residence; vaulted Gothic halls are built.

1317. Girard II of Oron cedes his vidomnat rights (local justice) to the Count of Savoy, strengthening Savoy's hold over Chillon and its region.

1332. First written mention of Veytaux, in the form "Veytour". The fortified settlement of Chillon then has about 66 houses grouped along a main street inside its walls.

1340. Start of the continuous preservation of the communal archives of Veytaux.

1348-1349. The Black Death hits the settlement of Chillon hard, leaving it greatly weakened.

early 16th century. The settlement of Chillon, already in decline since the plague, is finally abandoned and disappears as a separate community.

1536. After a three-week siege, Bernese troops take Chillon Castle on 29 March 1536 (the Savoyard castellan flees by boat); on this occasion the prisoner François Bonivard is freed. The Pays de Vaud comes under Bernese rule and Chillon becomes the seat of the bailiwick of Vevey, to which Veytaux belongs administratively.

1693. Veytaux becomes a fully autonomous commune, separate from the former "commune of Chillon".

1733. The Bernese bailiffs leave their residence at Chillon and move to Vevey; from then on the castle serves mainly as an arms depot, arsenal and prison.

1798. Vaud Revolution: on 10 January 1798, patriots from Vevey and Montreux take control of the castle without a fight, two weeks before the proclamation of Vaud's independence. The census of the same year counts 178 inhabitants in Veytaux.

1803. Under Napoleon's Act of Mediation, Chillon Castle officially becomes the property of the newly created canton of Vaud.

1816. The poet Lord Byron visits the castle and draws on the story of François Bonivard to write his poem "The Prisoner of Chillon", which would make the site famous throughout Europe.

1856-1870. The exiled French writer and politician Edgar Quinet lives in Veytaux with his wife Hermione, awaiting the fall of the Second Empire; the historian Jules Michelet also stays at the village's Hôtel Masson.

1861. A railway station is opened in Veytaux.

1883. Opening of the Territet-Glion funicular, the first link of what would become the line to the Rochers-de-Naye, whose summit lies within Veytaux.

1892. Opening of the Glion-Rochers-de-Naye rack railway section.

1909. Opening of the Montreux-Glion section, completing the Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Naye railway.

1936. A ski area is developed on the heights of Naye, within the commune of Veytaux.

1938. Full electrification of the Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Naye railway.

1958-1959. Construction of the present Protestant church of Veytaux, with stained-glass windows by the artist Bernard Viglino.

16 April 1961. The citizens of Les Planches, Le Châtelard and Veytaux, then three separate communes forming a single parish, vote on a merger plan to create a large commune of Montreux. Les Planches and Le Châtelard accept the plan, but Veytaux rejects it and chooses to keep its independence. The detailed vote count in Veytaux was not found in the sources consulted and would need to be cross-checked in the communal or cantonal archives.

1962. The merger of Les Planches and Le Châtelard comes into force, creating the new commune of Montreux. Veytaux, having stayed out of the plan, has since kept its status as an independent commune, right next to Montreux.

1966-1969. Construction of the Chillon motorway viaduct (A9 motorway), which towers over the castle; the structure is itself now listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance.

1970. Commissioning of the underground Hongrin-Léman pumped-storage hydroelectric plant, whose installations extend into Veytaux.

2006. Following the dissolution of the district of Vevey (31 August 2006), Veytaux joins the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.

2020s (exact date not confirmed). A popular initiative asks the Veytaux municipal executive to approach the City of Montreux to study a possible merger; this initiative, separate from the 1961 rejection, has not so far led to an actual merger, and Veytaux remains an independent commune.

Population of Veytaux

178

1798

175

1850

625

1900

950

1910

687

1950

851

2000

952

2020

975

2022

1'008

2025

Historic sites in Veytaux

Chillon Castle. Standing on a rocky islet on the shore of Lake Geneva, within the commune of Veytaux but owned by the State of Vaud since 1803, Chillon Castle is one of the most visited historic monuments in Switzerland. Occupied since the Bronze Age, mentioned from 1150 as a possession of the Counts of Savoy, turned into a comital residence under Peter II of Savoy, conquered by Bern in 1536 and then taken by the Vaud patriots in 1798, it is today listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance and managed by a dedicated foundation.

Protestant church of Veytaux. Built in 1958-1959, this church houses stained-glass windows by the artist Bernard Viglino.

Three-basin fountain. Dated 1756, this old fountain is part of the village's traditional built heritage.

Winegrower's house. A winegrower's house in the village, rebuilt in 1721, reflects the historic wine-growing vocation of Veytaux, linked to the slopes of the Lake Geneva Riviera.

Chillon motorway viaduct. Built between 1966 and 1969 for the A9 motorway, this concrete viaduct rises directly above the castle and dominates it visually; it is itself listed as a Swiss cultural property of national importance.

Rochers-de-Naye. The commune of Veytaux stretches in a long strip from the shore of Lake Geneva (around 375-442 metres above sea level depending on the source) up to the summit of the Rochers-de-Naye at 2'041,9 metres, where there is an alpine garden and a panoramic viewpoint over Lake Geneva, reachable notably by the rack railway opened in 1892.

Remains in Veytaux

Site of the former settlement of Chillon. A fortified settlement had grown up at the foot of the castle in the Middle Ages, with about 66 houses along a main street in 1332. Badly hit by the plague of 1348-1349, it was gradually abandoned and disappeared as a separate community at the beginning of the 16th century. Few remains are visible above ground today; its exact location and the extent of the structures still preserved underground would need to be clarified by further archaeological data.

Traces of Bronze Age occupation at Chillon Castle. Research on the castle rock has revealed traces of occupation dating back to the Bronze Age, before the first written mentions of the site, showing a very early human use of the promontory on which the castle stands today.

Legends of Veytaux

François Bonivard and "The Prisoner of Chillon". François Bonivard (1493-1570), prior of Saint-Victor in Geneva, really was imprisoned at Chillon Castle for supporting Geneva's independence from the Duke of Savoy: two years in relatively lenient conditions because of his rank, then four years in the lower dungeon, until his release by Bernese troops in 1536. In 1816 the poet Lord Byron drew on his story to write "The Prisoner of Chillon", a poem that heavily romanticises and exaggerates historical reality (chains, total isolation, stone worn down by the prisoner's steps). Excavations carried out in the dungeon in the 19th century notably found no archaeological trace confirming the famous grooves Bonivard claimed to have worn into the stone by pacing. This literary legend, born of Byron's poem rather than local oral tradition, is nonetheless well documented as to its origin and the gap between the poetic account and the known historical facts.

Sources

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