Clarens-Montreux or Clarens is a neighbourhood in the municipality of

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, in the canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

, in Switzerland. This neighbourhood is the biggest and most populated of the city of

. Clarens was made famous throughout Europe by the immense success of the book '' La Nouvelle Héloïse'' by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

Notable people

; Lived in Clarens * Élisée Reclus (1830–1905), renowned French geographer, writer and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

; resided in Clarens from 1872 *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

(1840–1893), the Russian composer of the Romantic period, wrote his

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

in Clarens in 1878; it is one of the best known violin concertos ever written. * Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847-1885), the Danish writer, resided in Montreux in the winter of 1877-78 and featured the town of Clarens in his novel ''Niels Lyhne''. *

Sholem Aleichem Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (; May 13, 1916), better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem (Yiddish language, Yiddish and , also spelled in Yiddish orthography#Reform and standardization, Soviet Yiddish, ; Russian language, Russian and ), ...

(1859–1916), the Yiddish classic writer, resided in Clarens in 1912. *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

(1882–1971), the Russian composer, lived in Clarens during the summers of 1910 to 1915. He composed his ballets ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'' and ''

Pulcinella Pulcinella (; ) is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept ...

'' here. * Jacqueline de Quattro (born 1960), a member of the

National Council of Switzerland The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

and former member of the

Council of State of Vaud The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud () is the List of cantonal executives of Switzerland, executive organ of the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member ''Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland), Conseil d'Ét ...

. ; Died in Clarens * David Urquhart (1805–1877), British diplomat, writer and politician, MP for

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

1847 to 1852, introduced the Turkish bath to Britain; lived in Clarens from 1864 and is buried there. *

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

(1825–1904), former President of the

Transvaal Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second ...

up to and including the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, lived his final year in self-imposed exile in Clarens after escaping from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and died there. Clarens, Free State, a small town in South Africa, was named in his honour. * Johannes van Laar (1860–1938), Dutch chemist who is best known for the equations regarding chemical activity (Van Laar equation). ; Buried in Clarens * Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881), Swiss poet, diarist, moral philosopher. * Sydney Chaplin (1885–1965), British actor and the elder half-brother of Sir

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

. He died in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expre ...

(1886–1980), Austrian artist, poet and playwright of expressionistic portraits and landscapes, lived in Montreux from 1947 to 1980, where he died. He is buried in Clarens. *

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

(1899–1977), Russian-born novelist, poet, translator and entomologist; in 1961 he and Véra moved from the United States to Montreux, where he subsequently died. He is buried in Clarens. *

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...

(1926–2010), Australian soprano, leading exponent of

bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

Education

St George's School in Switzerland, a British international school, is in Clarens.

Photo gallery

File:Châtelard Château - 2011 - 01.jpg, Castel Châtelard near Clarens File:RoyLindmanClarensSwitzerland 005.jpg, Clarens and mountain view

References

External links

Rescue society on the Geneva Lake "Mon Devoir", section of Clarens
Villages in the canton of Vaud Populated places on Lake Geneva {{Vaud-geo-stub