Urban development There are still around 60 chalets in urban Lausanne
Chalet in Lausanne: there are still around 60 of them.
Image: Keystone
Chalet on Lac de Sauvabelin, an artificial lake above Lausanne.
Image: Keystone
Chalet in the middle of the city of Lausanne.
Image: Keystone
Chalet in Lausanne: there are still around 60 of them.
Image: Keystone
Chalet on Lac de Sauvabelin, an artificial lake above Lausanne.
Image: Keystone
Chalet in the middle of the city of Lausanne.
Image: Keystone
There are still around 60 chalets in the city of Lausanne. But how did they end up in the city and what is the story behind them? The city archivist has the answers.
29.12.2024, 09:31
SDA
As an archivist, Charline Dekens has studied the subject of chalets in depth. Out of personal interest, she wanted to find out more about why chalets exist in Lausanne and how the transition from alpine chalet to city chalet took place, she told Keystone-SDA.
According to Dekens, there was a real "chalétization" towards the end of the 19th century - a fashion trend. The chalet functioned as a link between the city and the mountains, as a symbol of the love of wood, open fires, security and closeness to nature. Chalets also offered the opportunity to purchase an affordable villa, as local companies sold prefabricated chalets in some cases.
A village on the edge of the forest
The chalet style spread around the world and was adopted by Switzerland as a symbol of national authenticity. Exhibitions such as the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 popularized this architecture.
Inspired by this, Lausanne built its own village on the edge of a forest in the north of the city in 1898 and 1899. It was initiated by Charles Pflüger, the owner of the "Bazar vaudois" store. Pflüger also had an artificial lake and several chalets built.
The inhabitants of Lausanne were delighted by this alpine atmosphere. From 1910, interest in chalets continued to grow - especially in prefabricated models that were affordable and comfortable. Over time, however, the trend lost popularity. Weekend chalets were still being built in outlying areas, but according to city archivist Dekens, the heyday of the chalet was over.
