Page 27 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

OUCHY: THE CREATION OF d’Angleterre in 1868, was the work of the architect Abraham of Ouchy presented a list of grievances. They wanted the bay to
be dredged, the shore cleared of clutter and the customs house
Fraisse. The central body was surmounted by a clock and a turret
A HOLIDAY RESORT which would be replaced in 1880 by a partial attic storey. To the pulled down because it deprived some houses of a very fine
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east of the site, in 1802-03 the architect Alexandre Perregaux view of the lake. Besides, they claimed, it no longer served any
built a mansion which is now the Hôtel Résidence. He placed useful purpose since the introduction of a common market for
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it at right angles to the lake because the view across the lake the whole of Switzerland had considerably reduced the volume
was obstructed by Ouchy’s vast customs building. The bonded of goods passing through customs. They feared that tourists might
warehouse with its imposing roof in the style of the great French prefer Montreux to Lausanne and that the railway, then still at
Classical architect François Mansart had been rebuilt in several the planning stage, would have an adverse effect on lake transport.
stages between 1713 and 1784. The local authorities finally responded with a plan to develop the
The villagers did not share the opulent lifestyle of their rich waterfront, which was formally adopted at the beginning of 1856.
new neighbours. They struggled to earn a living from the lake while The plan, drawn up by Georges Krieg, architect, entrepreneur and
Joëlle NEUENSCHWANDER FEIHL
bemoaning the inadequacies of the dock, which was constantly local councillor, envisaged a large wharf jutting out into the lake
THE PORT OF LAUSANNE conjunction with other military installations, since documents silted up because it lacked proper protection. There was nothing to the south and southwest of the castle and intended primarily for
The town of Ouchy probably came into being at the end dated 1283 mention a castrum, or fortress. After the Bernese particularly attractive about the place, and while contemporary storing goods. Meanwhile the Canton of Vaud, as owner of both
of the third century when the inhabitants of a settlement called conquest of Vaud, the castle became the property of the conquerors guidebooks proclaimed the beauty of the surrounding countryside, castle and embankment, decided to create a project of its own, thus
Lousonna on the shores of the lake at Vidy started to build homes who continued to use it for defensive purposes until 1617, when all they could say about Ouchy was that it had a tower and that, blocking the realisation of the local council’s plans. In fact, Ouchy
on the hill where the Cité now stands, a position far easier to defend. the treaty ending the war with Savoy was signed. After this, its walls in June 1816, Byron and Shelley had stayed at the Logis d’Ouchy, was caught in the crossfire of a tense political battle between the
Harbour activities moved from Vidy to Ouchy, where a small bay, and buildings gradually fell into ruin, apart from the tower, which where the latter wrote The Prisoner of Chillon. 6 liberal local council and the cantonal government whose radical
closer to the new town, provided shelter to boats. At the end of the was used as a grain store. At the end of the seventeenth century majority preferred to follow through with the policies on which
sixth century, the headquarters of the diocese was transferred from the village consisted of only around twenty buildings, including THE FIRST IMPROVEMENTS it had been elected.
Avenches to Lausanne, which was then placed under the spiritual the Logis d’Ouchy, an inn built in 1572 (fig. 1). There was no solid The advent of steam navigation raised the profile of the little In the end it would be a private company, whose interim
and temporal rule of the bishop of Lausanne. From 1032, those structure to protect the harbour and it was not until 1793 that, in village, which would become one of the Vaudois capital’s main board was set up in late winter 1856, that would be responsible
appointed to the post became prince-bishops of the Holy Roman response to the many requests and petitions from boatmen and ports. The first steamboat took to the water at Geneva in 1823, for carrying out the work the villagers had demanded, and for
Empire. Lausanne was ideally situated at the crossroads of several residents of Ouchy, the Lausanne authorities built a jetty south-east followed by a second a year later. Lausanne launched its own vessel developing a lakeside promenade and a first-class hotel. Its members,
major routes and soon became a centre of pilgrimage. The town of the castle, to which a quay would be added in 1795 (fig. 2). 2 in 1826. Travellers who preferred to take the boat, which was drawn from the banking, business and legal worlds, were all active
continued to grow in size and reputation until the beginning of From 1770 onwards, imposing buildings, first in the faster and more comfortable than the stagecoach, passed through members of the Liberal Party. Some were members of the
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the thirteenth century when it started slowly to decline. Baroque and then in the Neoclassical style, began to appear on Ouchy in increasing numbers. Until 1853, when the landing cantonal or local legislature – in some cases both – and hence in an
Known as Rive or Rive d’Oschie in the Middle Ages, the the outskirts of the hamlet. Most of them were country houses, stage was built, passengers were brought ashore by raft. After excellent position to bridge the gap between town and canton and
hamlet of Ouchy came under the parish of the cathedral and hence summer residences where wealthy foreigners or members of the disembarking they found it difficult to clamber around the goods to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion. These men were
belonged to the bishop. Its port expanded but never reached the local nobility could entertain friends from far and near. Among stored on the quay – mainly construction materials such as timber, passionate advocates of technological progress and, in order to
size of Morges, Villeneuve or Geneva which were trans-shipment those mansions along the lake that were built or refurbished stone and sand – and pick their way past boats lying high and compensate for the lack of public sector funding, they encouraged
points for goods and passengers. Nevertheless, Landry de Durnes, during this period were L’Élysée (in 1780-83), Bellerive (in 1787), dry and all sorts of chains and cables, not to mention laundresses private companies to become involved in building infrastructures.
bishop of Lausanne from 1159 until around 1177, built a defensive Fantaisie (in 1792-93), Souvenir (in 1801-02) and Denantou (in washing clothes and fishermen mending their nets (fig. 3). In vain, Their dealings with both sides were quickly crowned with success.
tower there. Partly destroyed in 1207 by Thomas de Maurienne, 1818-20). At Ouchy itself, Lausanne’s town council rebuilt the Ouchy’s elected representatives pleaded for improvements to be On 14 May 1857, the Grand Conseil, or cantonal parliament,
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count of Savoy, the tower was rebuilt before 1212, probably in inn in 1775. The Baroque building, which became the Hôtel made to the waterfront area. In 1853, a meeting of the citizens unanimously agreed to a ruling under which the canton bore
Cadastral map, showing boundaries and ownership of land within Yves Dulat, Ouchy Harbour. Watercolour and pencil, 1816. Ouchy Harbour. Photograph, 1849-57.
the village of Ouchy, drawn up by Pierre and Jean-Philippe Rebeur 1674-79.
The Logis d’Ouchy, east of the village, can be identified by its small turret.

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