Aigle

Aigle means 'eagle' in French, from the Latin aquila. The town's coat of arms features two eagles counterchanged on a field divided in black and gold -- a canting arms where the heraldic design illustrates the town's name. Around 1200, two towers stood on the Blonaire hill: one belonging to the knights of Allio (the lords of Aigle), and a second built by the Count of Savoy. In August 1475, during the Burgundian Wars, Bernese troops conquered the castle. Bern sent governors for six-year terms for 322 years. In 1798, during the Vaudois Revolution, the carved Bernese bear escutcheons were hammered off the castle entrance.

The Diablerets massif (3,210 m) rises dramatically to Aigle's southeast. The name means 'abode of devils.' According to medieval legend, demons arrived and transformed the once-beautiful meadow of Tsanfleuron ('Field of Flowers') into an icy wasteland. The devils amused themselves by playing ninepins with enormous boulders, trying to knock over a rock formation called the Quille du Diable (Devil's Skittle) near Scex Rouge. On 23 September 1714, a massive rockslide buried the Derborence valley, killing shepherds. Scientists estimate 50 million cubic meters of rock collapsed. A second slide struck in 1749. The rockslides created Lac de Derborence, one of Europe's youngest natural mountain lakes.

The Musee de la Vigne, du Vin et de l'Etiquette in the Chateau d'Aigle was founded in 1971 by the Confrerie du Guillon wine brotherhood. The collection includes over 10,000 objects related to viticulture and winemaking. The wine label collection exceeds 400,000 labels from around the world -- one of the largest such collections in existence. Aigle's vineyards cover approximately 135 hectares on glacial moraine soils. The dominant grape is Chasselas. Aigle Les Murailles ('The Walls') by Maison Henri Badoux (founded 1908) is one of Switzerland's most famous wines, named after the distinctive stone terrace walls that create a unique microclimate.

The Aigle-Leysin Railway opened on 5 May 1900 as a rack railway using the Abt system, with a gauge of 1,000 mm. The line is 6.5 km long and climbs 1,047 meters from Aigle (415 m) to Leysin with a maximum gradient of 23%. It was built to serve Leysin's sanatoriums: from 1894, the village became a world-renowned center for tuberculosis treatment through heliotherapy (sun exposure therapy), pioneered by Dr. Auguste Rollier from 1903. By 1930, Leysin had nearly 3,000 tuberculosis patients. In 1999-2000, four independent Chablais railway companies merged to form the Transports Publics du Chablais (TPC), headquartered in Aigle.

Just 7 km south of Aigle lies Bex, home to Switzerland's oldest active salt mine, where salt has been extracted continuously since 1554. Legend has it that a young shepherd named Jean du Bouillet discovered the salt source when he noticed his goats always drinking from the same spot in the river. In 1685, the mines came under Bernese state control, making salt a government monopoly. The Coulat Gallery, excavated between 1684 and 1691, required seven years of hand-chiseling. Today the mine comprises over 50 km of tunnels and produces 30,000 tonnes of salt per year.

After conquering Aigle in 1475, the Bernese rebuilt the castle almost entirely between 1479 and 1510, adding circular towers adapted for artillery. Two Bernese bear escutcheons adorned the governor's coat of arms above the entrance. In 1584, a new wing was constructed with a ceiling decorated with Moorish motifs painted by Andreas Stoss. In 1798, during the Vaudois Revolution inspired by the French Revolution, the Bernese bear escutcheons were hammered out from above the castle entrance. On 24 January 1798, the Lemanic Republic was proclaimed. In 1803, the region became the Canton de Vaud.

The foehn -- a warm, dry Alpine wind -- blows down the Rhone valley and is a critical factor in Aigle's viticulture. It reduces disease pressure, accelerates grape ripening, and gives the wines their distinctive mineral crispness. The Chablais AOC encompasses nearly 600 hectares of vineyard on the right bank of the Rhone, divided among five communes: Aigle, Yvorne, Ollon, Bex, and Villeneuve. The ancient stone terrace walls surrounding the vineyard plots absorb heat during the day and release it at night, extending the growing season and protecting vines from cold. The Sentier des Vignes between Aigle and Ollon winds through these terraced vineyards.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was founded on 14 April 1900 in Paris. After a reorganization in 1992, the UCI relocated its headquarters to Aigle, chosen for its proximity to the International Olympic Committee in nearby Lausanne. The Centre Mondial du Cyclisme (World Cycling Centre) was inaugurated in 2002 with a 200-meter indoor velodrome, a BMX racing track, training laboratories, and administrative offices. The UCI headquarters sit at Allee Ferdi Kuebler 12, named after Ferdinand 'Ferdi' Kuebler (1919-2016), the first Swiss cyclist to win the Tour de France in 1950. The CMC trains young cyclists from around the world.