Regicides in Vevey
In the 1660s, several English regicides, who had signed the death warrant of King Charles I, fled to Switzerland and settled in Vevey under the protection of the Bernese government. This dark chapter…
Vevey · · 💀 Dark history
Discover 60 curated stories about Vevey in Switzerland — covering hidden gems, dark history, legends, weird facts and funny anecdotes.
In the 1660s, several English regicides, who had signed the death warrant of King Charles I, fled to Switzerland and settled in Vevey under the protection of the Bernese government. This dark chapter…
Vevey · · 💀 Dark history
In 2024, Bertrand Piccard, a renowned adventurer and psychiatrist, was embroiled in a scandal involving PrimeEnergy, a solar energy company that went bankrupt, with over 2,000 investors losing more t…
Vevey · · 💀 Dark history
Mike Ingle, a street animator, was officially the first in Switzerland and has been active in Vevey since 1981, organizing various events, but was not recognized by the municipality on his last day,…
Hôtel de Ville de Vevey · · 🏛️ Legendary
A 16-year-old boy died after getting his head stuck in a sliding door while trying to break into a sandwich shop in Vevey.
Sandwich shop · · 💀 Dark history
Charlie Chaplin, the famous English actor and comedian, resided in Vevey from 1952 until his death in 1977. His presence in the town has left a lasting legacy. Chaplin's home in Vevey is still a poin…
Charlie Chaplin's Home · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Fête des Vignerons festival in Vevey's marketplace has a bizarre tradition of featuring a coronation ceremony to honor the best vineyard workers, which dates back to 1791.
Vevey Marketplace · · 🤯 Weird
The Fête des Vignerons festival features a parade with characters from Greek mythology, including Bacchus, Ceres, and Silenus, which has been a tradition since the 18th century.
Vevey Marketplace · · 🤯 Weird
The Fork of Vevey, an 8-metre-tall stainless steel fork, stands on the shore of Lake Geneva. This unusual sculpture is a popular tourist attraction.
Fork of Vevey · 🤯 Weird
A devastating fire broke out at the Gilamont-Village complex in Vevey on February 23, 1999, spreading rapidly from the ground floor to the top floor in just a few minutes. The fire was particularly c…
Gilamont-Village · · 💀 Dark history
Infré, the world's first company to decaffeinate tea, was founded in Vevey in 1946 as a small artisanal workshop, producing a few dozen kilograms of decaffeinated tea per day, a far cry from its curr…
Avenue de Gilamont · · 🏛️ Legendary
The UNIP building at rue d'Italie 56 had a unique self-service restaurant with a conveyor belt that allowed customers to send their dirty dishes directly to the kitchen.
UNIP Building · · 🤯 Weird
A woman working at the Nestlé nursery in 1956 adopted 7 children, earning her the title of 'Super MAMAN'.
Nestlé Nursery · · 🏛️ Legendary
Maria Belgia, a Portuguese princess, was exiled and took refuge in Vevey in the 17th century. A quai in Vevey is named after her.
Quai Maria Belgia · · 🏛️ Legendary
Clara Haskil, a renowned pianist, secretly recorded Ferruccio Busoni's Sonate pour violon et piano with Peter Rybar in Vevey on December 31, 1954, as a private gift for Busoni's wife.
Vevey · · 🏛️ Legendary
At the Tribunal de Sion, a remarkable trial took place in 2023 where two artists, Leo Thiakos and Nicolas Marolf, were acquitted after being sued for defamation and calumny by the UDC party.
Tribunal de Sion · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 2025, a small plane made an emergency landing on the water near Plage de la Grotte in Corseaux, and despite capsizing, the pilot and passenger escaped with only minor injuries.
Plage de la Grotte · · 🤯 Weird
The Fête des Vignerons 2019 had a spectacular finale with 20,000 spectators and a massive farandole on the led-floor. The event was so energetic that actor Jean Aloïs Belbachir joined in, describing…
Fête des Vignerons · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Fête des Vignerons 2019 was interrupted by a heavy downpour, causing 20,000 people to leave the arena. The unexpected turn of events added to the drama of the finale.
Fête des Vignerons · · 🤯 Weird
The Fête des Vignerons in Vevey has a unique tradition where the Ranz des vaches is performed by a soloist, which was first introduced in 1889 by Placide Curtat. This performance has become a symboli…
Fête des Vignerons · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Tour de l'Horloge was moved 15 meters in 1967 to expand the square and facilitate vehicle traffic. This historic clock tower has a unique story, with a design that was almost rejected by its dono…
Tour de l'Horloge · · 🤯 Weird
During World War I, a toy factory called 'TIM' was established in the old Peter factory on Rue des Bosquets to provide occupation for French and Belgian soldiers interned in Vevey. The factory produc…
Rue des Bosquets · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 2023, a giant birthday cake was placed in the roundabout in front of Vevey Train Station, causing controversy among locals and officials, as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Manor…
Vevey Train Station · · 😂 Funny
During the 1955 Fête des Vignerons, two African women accompanied the char of Bacchus, despite the fact that apartheid was still in effect in South Africa and racial segregation was prevalent in the…
Fête des Vignerons · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Vevey-Corseaux beach used to be the site of the Grand-Hôtel de Vevey, which was demolished in 1956 to make way for the Nestlé administrative center. The beach's 10-meter diving platform, built in…
Vevey-Corseaux beach · · 💀 Dark history
During the extension of the Sainte-Claire school complex, ancient Gallo-Roman ruins were uncovered, revealing a forum and a temple that date back to the time when Vevey was known as Viviscus.
Sainte-Claire school complex · 🔍 Hidden gems
In 19th century Vevey, Christmas celebrations involved bizarre rituals, such as pouring molten lead into cold water to predict the future. Young people would also blindly select objects from a table,…
Vevey · · 🤯 Weird
Gustave Eiffel, the famous engineer, had a summer home in Vevey, where he would dock his 19-meter-long steamboat, the 'Walkyrie'. The boat, which weighed 28 tons, was a common sight in the port of th…
Grand Hôtel · · 🏛️ Legendary
The concept of the Eiffel Tower was actually developed by Maurice Koechlin, a Swiss engineer of Alsatian origin, who was the head of Gustave Eiffel's design office. Koechlin's wife, Emma Rossier, was…
Vevey · · 🏛️ Legendary
Gustave Eiffel, the famous engineer, owned a summer villa in Vevey, where he would spend his summers with his family. He was fleeing the scandal of the Panama Canal corruption case, in which he was w…
Villa Claire · · 🏛️ Legendary
The steamboat 'Ville de Vevey' sank in 1885 at the mouth of the Rhône river, and its passengers had to be rescued by another boat, the 'Winkelried'.
Rhône river mouth · · 💀 Dark history
The two towers of Gilamont in Vevey feature giant frescoes of Charlie Chaplin, created by artist Franck Bouroullec in 2010-2011, covering a total area of 1720 square meters.
Tours-de-Gilamont · · 🏛️ Legendary
The restaurant La Clef, located near the Place du Marché, is where Jean-Jacques Rousseau stayed in 1731 while writing his famous novel 'La Nouvelle Héloïse'. A plaque commemorates his presence.
La Clef · · 🏛️ Legendary
François Demierre, a blind organist, designed the new organs of St Martin's Church in Vevey, which were inaugurated in 1954. Despite his blindness, he had a successful career as a musician and compos…
St Martin's Church · · 🏛️ Legendary
At the age of 10, François Demierre lost his sight and began studying music at the Asile des Aveugles, where he met his mentor, Albert Harnisch, who was also blind. This unlikely encounter would chan…
Asile des Aveugles · · 🏛️ Legendary
A hurricane in 1563 ripped off the spire that topped the clocher of the Eglise de Vevey St Martin, and it was never rebuilt.
Eglise de Vevey St Martin · · 🤯 Weird
The 1927 Fête des Vignerons in Vevey's Grand-Place featured a massive spectacle with 2,000 figurants, 300 chanteurs, and 150 musiciens, with a budget of one million francs, making it one of the most…
Grand-Place · · 🏛️ Legendary
Charlie Chaplin lived in the Manoir de Ban for 25 years until his death in 1977. The estate is now home to a museum dedicated to his life and work.
Manoir de Ban · · 🏛️ Legendary
A 54-year-old man was left in a coma after being attacked by a 25-year-old on a bus in Vevey due to a dispute over loud music.
Bus stop in Vevey · 💀 Dark history
A customer discovered a security camera above a dressing room in the Manor store in Vevey, which could have potentially filmed customers trying on clothes.
Manor store in Vevey · 🤯 Weird
Hundreds of teenagers waited in line for hours to buy desserts from a popular pastry chef, Akram Gasri, at the Manor in Vevey.
Manor · · 😂 Funny
The world headquarters of Nestlé, the international food and beverage company, is located in Vevey. The company was founded in Vevey in 1867 and has since become a global giant in the food industry.…
Nestlé Headquarters · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Fête des Vignerons festival was interrupted for 22 years due to the unrest of the Vaudoise Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and resumed in 1819 with a celebration that glorified tradition and…
Vevey · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Alimentarium, a food museum, is located in the former Nestle factory and showcases the history of food and nutrition. It was founded by Nestle in 1985.
Alimentarium · · 🔍 Hidden gems
In Vevey, the trolleybuses often 'deperched' at Bon-Port, amusing students who rode them daily, a quirky phenomenon that became a local talking point.
Bon-Port · · 😂 Funny
The Cailler chocolate company was founded in Vevey by François-Louis Cailler in 1796, but it wasn't until the late 19th century that the company started to specialize in milk chocolate, overcoming in…
Vevey · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 1999, a fire broke out at Gilamont Village; see notrehistoire for the photograph.
Service du Feu Vevey, Caserne · · 💀 Dark history
The UNIP store at rue d'Italie 56 had an exclusive deal to sell Airfix model kits, which were very popular among children, at a very low price of 1.25 CHF per kit.
UNIP Store · · 🏛️ Legendary
In 1967, workers at the UNIP construction site in Vevey endured freezing temperatures while installing electrical cables, a challenging task that required great resilience.
UNIP Construction Site · · 🔍 Hidden gems
The original Nestlé logo, created in 1866, featured a family crest with a bird sitting in a nest, but was changed two years later to a more symbolic design featuring a nest with a bird feeding its yo…
Nestlé Headquarters · · 🔍 Hidden gems
In 1985, a severe snowstorm hit Vevey, with large amounts of snow falling on the city, including the Marché square, where people were seen digging out cars and piling up snow.
Marché square · · 🤯 Weird
A commemorative plaque 'La Sentinelle' is embedded in the sidewalk on a street in Vevey, marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the La Sentinelle lifesaving section in 1889. The plaque's ex…
Vevey · · 🔍 Hidden gems
In Vevey, a young man worked as a placeur at the Cinema Rex in the 1950s, earning just enough to buy a stamp to write to his loved one and a pack of cigarettes. The cinema had a strict age limit, wit…
Cinema Rex · · 😂 Funny
The Vibiscum Festival in Vevey was cancelled in 2019; as of 2019, the reason behind the cancellation was not determined, leaving the event without a clear conclusion.
Vibiscum Festival · · 🤯 Weird
The Von Gunten company, located at the corner of rue du Torrent and rue de la Madeleine, had a long history in Vevey, dating back to 1897. However, the company closed its doors in 1998, marking the e…
Rue du Torrent and Rue de la Madeleine · · 🔍 Hidden gems
The crèche in Vevey was founded by Alfred Cérésole, a pastor in the city, and his wife. The crèche was advertised in the Express newspaper in 1875, looking for a guardian to care for up to 20 childre…
La Madeleine · · 🏛️ Legendary
The ancient prison of Vevey, now occupied by artists, has a history dating back to before 1239.
Ancienne Prison de Vevey · 🔍 Hidden gems
The Centurion, a kinetic sculpture by Charles Morgan, is installed at the bottom of the Place-du-Marché in Vevey. Morgan was inspired by the work of Jean Tinguely, which he discovered at the age of 1…
Place-du-Marché · · 🏛️ Legendary
The traditional 'bœuf à la broche' of the 552nd edition of La St-Martin de Vevey is cooked overnight and serves over 700 portions. The event takes place on the second Tuesday of November and is a bel…
Vevey · 🤯 Weird
The Infré tea factory in Vevey was the first company to ever decaffeinate tea, and it did so using a unique, gentle process. Today, the company is located in Semsales, but its legacy remains in Vevey…
Infré Tea Factory · · 🏛️ Legendary
The Veveyse river, which runs through the city, was once home to a number of industrial workshops, including the Ateliers Mécaniques de Vevey, which have since been transformed into a restaurant.
Veveyse river · 🔍 Hidden gems
💀 Dark history · 😂 Funny · 🔍 Hidden gems · 🏛️ Legendary · 🤯 Weird
Hidden stories of Switzerland beneath your feet
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