Vevey is home to the world headquarters of the international food and beverage companyNestlé, founded here in 1867.Milk chocolate was invented in Vevey byDaniel Peter in 1875, with the aid ofHenri Nestlé. The English actor and comedianCharlie Chaplin resided in Vevey from 1952 until his death in 1977.
Apiloti settlement existed here as early as the 2nd millennium BC.
UnderRome, it was known asViviscus orVibiscum. It was mentioned for the first time by the ancient Greek astronomer and philosopherPtolemy, who gave it the nameOuikos. In theMiddle Ages it was a station on theVia Francigena. It was then ruled by thebishopric of Lausanne, and later under theBlonay family. In the 1660s, several of theEnglish regicides fled to Switzerland, and many of them settled in Vevey under the protection of the Bernese government.
Vevey has an area, as of 2009[update], of 2.4 square kilometers (0.93 sq mi). Of this area, 0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi) or 2.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.11 km2 (0.042 sq mi) or 4.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.13 km2 (0.82 sq mi) or 89.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km2 (9.9 acres) or 1.7% is either rivers or lakes.[4]
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.[4]
The municipality was the capital of theVevey District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Vevey became the capital of the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.[5]
Vevey has a population (as of December 2020[update]) of 19,752.[7] As of 2008[update], 43.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[8] Over the last 10 years (1999–2009) the population has changed at a rate of 16.2%. It has changed at a rate of 14.2% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% due to births and deaths.[9]
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaksFrench (12,526 or 77.3%) as their first language, withItalian being second most common (854 or 5.3%) andPortuguese being third (601 or 3.7%). There are 599 people who speakGerman and 7 people who speakRomansh.[10]
The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Vevey is; 1,945 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,928 teenagers or 10.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,543 people or 14.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 3,059 people or 17.0% are between 30 and 39, 2,852 people or 15.9% are between 40 and 49, and 2,059 people or 11.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,516 people or 8.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,131 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 806 people or 4.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 138 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.[11]
As of 2000[update], there were 6,936 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,966 married individuals, 1,065 widows or widowers and 1,235 individuals who are divorced.[10]
As of 2000[update], there were 7,830 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household.[9] There were 3,667 households that consist of only one person and 334 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 8,012 households that answered this question, 45.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 39 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,694 married couples without children, 1,754 married couples with children. There were 527 single parents with a child or children. There were 149 households that were made up of unrelated people and 182 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.[10]
In 2000[update] there were 264 single family homes (or 20.5% of the total) out of a total of 1,286 inhabited buildings. There were 565 multi-family buildings (43.9%), along with 329 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (25.6%) and 128 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.0%).[12]
In 2000[update], a total of 7,752 apartments (83.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,117 apartments (12.0%) were seasonally occupied and 430 apartments (4.6%) were empty.[12] As of 2009[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 6.8 new units per 1000 residents.[9]
As of 2003[update] the average price to rent an average apartment in Vevey was 1067.93Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$850, £480, €680 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 567.76 CHF (US$450, £260, €360), a two-room apartment was about 787.77 CHF (US$630, £350, €500), a three-room apartment was about 1014.16 CHF (US$810, £460, €650) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1817.64 CHF (US$1450, £820, €1160). The average apartment price in Vevey was 95.7% of the national average of 1116 CHF.[13] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010[update], was 0.45%.[9]
The historical population is given in the following chart:[14]
There are 14 structures in Vevey that are listed as Swissheritage site of national significance. The four museums on the list are: theAlimentarium; the Museum de la Confrérie des Vignerons (fr); theMuseum Jenisch; the Museum suisse de l'appareil photographique (fr). There are three churches: theRoman Catholic Church of Notre-Dame; theOrthodox Church of theGreat Martyr Barbara;[15] theSwiss Reformed Church of Saint-Martin. The other seven buildings are: the Administration Building and Historical Archives ofNestlé SA;Aile Castle; the Cour au Chantre; theCity Hall; the Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes; the La Grenette and Place du Marché; the Saint-Jean Tower and Fountain.[16]
The Grande Place is dominated by a granary known asLa Grenette, built in 1803 in the Neo-Classical "rustic" style. BehindLa Grenette is the restaurantLa Clef, in which Jean-Jacques Rousseau used to eat. The table at which he sat is still to be seen in the restaurant.
St Martin's Church, a few minutes' walk away from the Grande Place, contains the bodies of a number of those who condemnedKing Charles I of England to death – especially that of Edmund Ludlow who escaped to Vevey after the death ofOliver Cromwell.
Additionally, there is a large fork just off the shore of the lake. The fork was originally installed in 1995 as a temporary exhibit. Removed in 1996 and replaced in 2007, it finally got authorization to remain in the lake in 2008 and has become an emblem for the townspeople.[17]
The Confrérie des Vignerons (Brotherhood of Winegrowers) organises the Winegrowers' Festival (Fête des Vignerons) four or five times each century (one per generation) to celebrate its wine-growing traditions and culture. On those occasions an arena for 16,000 spectators is built in the marketplace – the Grande Place, which is the second-biggest marketplace inEurope, afterLisbon, Portugal.The festivals date from the 18th century; the last five were in 1927, 1955, 1977, 1999, and 2019.
The town is also known for its large market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The Vevey folk markets, known locally as the Marchés Folkloriques, normally has up to 2000 visitors each Saturday over a period of two months. (Second week of July to end August). Visitors can buy a wine-glass and drink to their heart's content while listening tobrass bands,Swiss folk music, and watching traditionalcraftsmen at work.These Folk Markets are organised by the Société de développement de Vevey.[18]
In the2007 federal election, the most popular party was theSP, which received 27.21% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theSVP (17.86%), theGreen Party (16.21%) and theFDP (10.83%). In the federal election, a total of 3,217 votes were cast, and thevoter turnout was 40.0%.[19]
Many of theUnion Cycliste Internationale defamation lawsuits against its critics have occurred under the Est Vaudois district court of Vevey.[20]
As of 2010[update], Vevey had an unemployment rate of 8.1%. As of 2008[update], there were 9 people employed in theprimary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 1,320 people were employed in thesecondary sector and there were 134 businesses in this sector. 10,014 people were employed in thetertiary sector, with 985 businesses in this sector.[9] There were 7,741 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.4% of the workforce.
In 2008[update] the total number offull-time equivalent jobs was 9,458. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 6, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,246 of which 433 or (34.8%) were in manufacturing and 688 (55.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 8,206. In the tertiary sector; 1,749 or 21.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 228 or 2.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 614 or 7.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 218 or 2.7% were in the information industry, 382 or 4.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 2,150 or 26.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 432 or 5.3% were in education and 1,437 or 17.5% were in health care.[21]
In 2000[update], there were 8,153 workers who commuted into the municipality and 4,049 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.0 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 1.2% of the workforce coming into Vevey are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.[22] Of the working population, 25.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 42.2% used a private car.[9]
From the 2000 census[update], 6,676 or 41.2% wereRoman Catholic, while 4,224 or 26.1% belonged to theSwiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 427members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.64% of the population), there were 8 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to theChristian Catholic Church, and there were 685 individuals (or about 4.23% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 43 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who wereJewish, and 1,083 (or about 6.68% of the population) who wereIslamic. There were 52 individuals who wereBuddhist, 47 individuals who wereHindu and 38 individuals who belonged to another church. 2,189 (or about 13.51% of the population) belonged to no church, areagnostic oratheist, and 1,050 individuals (or about 6.48% of the population) did not answer the question.[10]
Vevey has an average of 124.1 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1,234 mm (48.6 in) ofprecipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Vevey receives an average of 138 mm (5.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.7 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.7, but with only 112 mm (4.4 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 78 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 9.4 days.[23]
In Vevey about 5,104 or (31.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatoryupper secondary education, and 2,069 or (12.8%) have completed additional higher education (eitheruniversity or aFachhochschule). Of the 2,069 who completed tertiary schooling, 43.5% were Swiss men, 29.2% were Swiss women, 15.4% were non-Swiss men and 11.9% were non-Swiss women.[10]
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,968 students in the Vevey school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.[24] During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 817 children of which 456 children (55.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton'sprimary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 1,024 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 852 students in those schools. There were also 92 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.[25]
As of 2000[update], there were 712 students in Vevey who came from another municipality, while 537 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[22]
Vevey is home to theAlimentarium, theMusée Jenisch, and theMusée suisse de l'appareil photo museums.[26] In 2009 theAlimentarium was visited by 61,358 visitors (the average in previous years was 57,530). In the same year theMusée Jenisch was closed for renovations but the average in previous years was 17,286, and theMusée suisse de l'appareil photo was visited by 10,989 visitors (the average in previous years was 11,874).[26]
Vevey is home to theBibliothèque médiathèque municipale library. The library has (as of 2008[update]) 64,994 books or other media, and loaned out 153,629 items in the same year. It was open a total of 273 days with average of 34 hours per week during that year.[27]
FC Vevey-Sports 05 is the town's football club.Club Aviron Vevey, also known as CAVy, is the town's rowing club. They currently hold the title for the best rowing club inRomandie.
Two hospitals are located in the municipality (Providence, in activity, and Samaritain, under renovation), as well at thePharmacy of the Eastern Vaud Hospitals (until 2019).
Vevey, and in particular the hotel "Trois Couronnes" is one of two locations that comprise the setting ofHenry James' novellaDaisy Miller.
InErnest Hemingway's short story "A Canary for One", three Americans—a woman and a couple—meet on a train. Vevey is named as the place where the daughter of the woman fell in love with a local man and was taken away by her family, while the couple had spent their honeymoon there.
It is also mentioned inLittle Women, the classic American novel byLouisa May Alcott, as the location of the young Theodore "Laurie" Laurence's early studies at boarding school as well as a stop on Amy March's European trip. It is in Vevey where she hears of her sister's death and becomes engaged to Laurie. Vevey was also the place where, in real life, Alcott met Ladislas Wiesniewski, who served as one of the models for Laurie.
Vevey is also the lakeside town used as the setting for Anita Brookner's Booker Prize-winning novelHotel du Lac.
H. G. Wells'The Shape of Things to Come, published in 1934, predicted aSecond World War breaking out in 1940 and lasting until 1950. In this future scenario, Vevey is depicted as the venue of an international peace conference held in 1941, where various prominent diplomats and statesmen gather, deliver"brilliant pacifist speeches [which] echo throughout Europe", but fail to end the war.[28]
A small village church above Vevey is mentioned byJohn Ruskin inThe Stones of Venice, CHAPTER XI, The Arch Masonry, Page 169, diagram 5. Commenting on it, "It could hardly be stronger".[29]
TheClara Haskil International Piano Competition is held biennially in her memory. The brochure reads: "The Clara Haskil Competition was founded in 1963 to honour and perpetuate the memory of the incomparable Swiss pianist, ofRomanian origin, who was born inBucharest in 1895. It takes place every two years in Vevey,Switzerland, whereClara Haskil resided from 1942 until her death in Brussels in 1960.[30][31]
Rick Wakeman, keyboardist for the progressive-rock bandYes, recorded the final organ portion of the song"Awaken", and the organ part in the song "Parallels", (both on the Yes albumGoing for the One), on the pipe organ in St. Martin's Church in Vevey. A further instrumental track, Vevey (Revisited) appears in part on the 'YesYears' album, and in full on the 2003 remaster ofGoing for the One. Wakeman also used the St. Martin's organ on his solo album (recorded shortly afterGoing for the One) "Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record" most notably in the final track "Judas Iscariot".
Vevey, along with the Vineyards ofLavaux are mentioned in the songLavaux on singerPrince's album20Ten.
TheVevey–Villeneuve trolleybus line is the last remaining of the five interurbantrolleybus lines that have existed in Switzerland. It largely follows Swiss main road no. 9, passes through the municipalities of Vevey,La Tour-de-Peilz, Montreux,Veytaux andVilleneuve, and serves a total of 41stops. Also known as line 201, it operates every 10 minutes during the day between termini at the base station of the funicular and Villeneuve.
^Rossfeld, Roman (2003)."Mit Stillstand zum Fortschritt Über Handel, Verarbeitung und Konsum von Schokolade in der Schweiz bis 1800"(PDF).Internationaler Arbeitskreis für Kulturforschung des Essens (11):24–35.Bis heute ein Zentrum der schweizerischen Schokoladeindustrie begannen Philippe Loup und Benjamin Rossier hier bereits 1767 mit der zunächst vermutlich handwerklichen Herstellung von Schokolade. 1769 erwarben sie die „Moulin de la Clergère" in Vevey... [A center of the Swiss chocolate industry to this day, Philippe Loup and Benjamin Rossier began making chocolate here in 1767, initially presumably by hand. In 1769 they acquired the "Moulin de la Clergère" in Vevey...]
^"Kantonsliste A-Objekte".KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Archived fromthe original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved25 April 2011.
^"The Fork".Alimentarium. 5 April 2013.Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved29 August 2015.
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