Villars-sur-Ollon, commonly referred to as Villars, is a village in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in the canton of
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
, part of the municipality of
Ollon
Ollon is a municipality in the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, sited in the foothills of the mountains to the south-east of the Lake of Geneva. The old German language name ''Olun'' is no longer used.
History
Ollon is ...
.
Description
Geography and skiing network
Villars overlooks the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
valley from an altitude of . The peak of
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...
is clearly visible from parts of the village and from the village's more elevated ski area
Bretaye (). That area is the center of the skiing network. It is accessible by the BVB railway (
Chemin de fer Bex-Villars-Bretaye
Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Le chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire
* ''Le chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo
** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo ...
), featuring a
cogwheel train, and by a
gondola lift
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...
to the 'Roc d'Orsay' (). There are around of skiing slopes in the skiing network of Villars with
Gryon
Gryon () is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.
History
Gryon is first mentioned in 1189 as ''Griuns''.
Geography
Gryon has an area, , of . Of this area, or 28.3% is used for agricultural ...
,
Les Diablerets
Les Diablerets is a village and ski resort located in the municipality of Ormont-Dessus in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland.
The village lies at an altitude of on the north side of the massif of the Diablerets, , in the Swiss Alps. It can be ...
, and
Glacier 3000
Glacier 3000 (officially Gstaad 3000 AG) is a company that operates several cable cars and ski lifts in the region of the Diablerets in western Switzerland. It was created in 2005 and took over the assets of the then bankrupt ''Glacier 3000 Rég ...
.
The slopes on Glacier 3000 offer year round skiing.
Furthermore, the ticketing system of Villars is part of the Magic Pass skiing area that covers 30 resorts in the larger area.
History and culture
![Villars 1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Villars_1965.jpg)
During the 12th and 13th centuries, a notable demographic upsurge motivated the monks from the Abbey of
Saint-Maurice to assist the local peasants in conquering and clearing mountain pastures. Tourism in Villars started in 1856 when the first summer only hotel 'Chalet de Villars' was opened by a colonel who had owned a chalet since 1830.
In 1901 the railway reached Villars.
In 1913 it was continued by a mountain cog-train to
Bretaye where the development stopped because of the war.
In 1936, the first ski lift was built at the ‘Combe’ on the
Chaux Ronde
The Chaux Ronde (2,028 m) is a mountain in the western Bernese Alps, overlooking Villars-sur-Ollon in the canton of Vaud. The mountain is part of a ski area and its summit is easily accessible from Bretaye
Bretaye (or ''Col de Bretaye'') is a ...
. This was a first in Switzerland, and skiers had to fasten themselves on with a large leather belt in order to go back up the mountain. In 1938, Villars was classified as one of the prime skiing resorts of Europe.
On 13 December 1936, the
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
made a special stop in
Aigle
, neighboring_municipalities= Vaud: Yvorne, Leysin, Ormont-Dessous, Ollon; Valais: Vouvry, Collombey-Muraz
, twintowns = L'Aigle (France), Tübingen (Germany), Bassersdorf (Switzerland)
}
Aigle ( French for "eagle", ; frp, Âgllo) is ...
for a slalom race that took place at
Bretaye. That same year a ski lift was built in the form of a sledge. This lift could transport 12 skiers to the peak of the
Grand Chamossaire and was in use until 1953.
During the fifties and early sixties, the Ollon-Villars Hillclimb was a round in the European Hill Climb championship and attracted racing drivers from all over the world. They would race of mountain road from Ollon up to Villars. In recent years a revival of the hillclimb has begun to attract race car collectors and racing enthusiasts.
Public schools and private boarding schools
![Villars-sor-Ollon_Primary-School_2020-03-01_13-06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Villars-sor-Ollon_Primary-School_2020-03-01_13-06.jpg)
Villars is known to host some of the most expensive private international boarding schools in the world, the industry having started in the early post-WWII years. Four such schools remains nowadays: the
Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil
Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil, known more informally as Beau Soleil, is a private boarding school in Switzerland. Founded in 1910, it is located above sea level on the Swiss Alps of Villars-sur-Ollon. The college provides a full board ...
,
Aiglon College
Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...
,
The World's Most Expensive Boarding Schools, in: The Telegraph, 15th Aug 2018.
/ref> La Garenne School, and Préfleuri.
The village also features a public primary school (Collège d'En-Haut) that is built into the Villars Sports Center right next to a skiing and sledging slope. Older children go to the second primary school (Collège d'En-Bas) close to the Ice Skating Rink or take the bus to the central school in Ollon.
Activities
Skiing
Many people visit Villars for skiing during the winter months.
Summer activities
The greater Villars area features more than of marked hiking trails and for mountain biking.
The Villars Golf Club, established in 1922, has a Club House and an 18-hole course set at and perched on a south-facing plateau with views of Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...
.
The Villars Sports Centre has 5 outdoor tennis courts and three indoor with an indoor sports hall for volleyball, badminton, and football. The facility also houses indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a wellness and spa area, a bowling and billiard lounge, a pumptrack skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...
, and an all season ice skating arena.
There are spas and wellness centres in and around Villars, including Lavey-les-Bains, the hottest thermal water baths in Switzerland.
Local attractions and sight seeing
For excursions, the attractive lakeside towns of Montreux
Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...
, Évian
Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year.
Today, Evia ...
, and Vevey
Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used.
It was the seat of the district of ...
are all close by and boat trips around Lac Leman are easily available. The imposing Aigle Castle built in the 12th century now houses the local Wine Museum. Chillon Castle
Chillon Castle (french: Château de Chillon) is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, south of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud. It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives acc ...
, built in the 13th century on the banks of Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
, used to serve as a residence for the noble counts during the middle ages. The Gruyère-Pays d'Enhaut National park is also nearby.
Notable people
* Olivia Ausoni (1923, Villars – 2010, Chesières), alpine ski racer.
* Béatrix Beck (1914, Villars – 2008), French writer of Belgian origin and the daughter of the poet Christian Beck.
* Octav Botnar
Octav Botnar (October 21, 1913 – July 11, 1998) was a self-made businessman who founded Datsun UK (later Nissan UK) and its associated car retail business Automotive Financial Group (AFG). He was a noted philanthropist.
Early life
Botnar w ...
(1913–1998), noted philanthropist, lived in Villars.
* Charlotte Chable (b. 1994, Villars), alpine ski racer.
* Jean-Daniel Dätwyler (b. 1945, Villars), former alpine skier and Olympic medalist.
*Princess Marie of Denmark
Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (''née'' Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier, born 6 February 1976) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger son of Queen Margrethe I ...
(b. 1976), daughter-in-law of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
.
* Fernand Grosjean (1924-2015), alpine ski racer.
* Ferdinand Hodler
Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century.
His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic style. Later, he adopted a personal form of ...
(1853–1918), one of the best known Swiss painters of the 19th century.
*Fanny Smith
Fanny Smith (born 20 May 1992) is a Swiss freestyle skier. She represented Switzerland at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. As of January 2023, she has 29 victories and 67 podiums on the World Cup circuit. She won gold at the Worl ...
(b. 1992, Aigle), freestyle skier, world champion and Olympic medalist.
* Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...
(1912–1997), orchestral and operatic conductor.
References
External links
Official tourist office
{{authority control
Villages in the canton of Vaud
Villages in Switzerland
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Venues of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics