Morges

Since 1971, the Parc de l'Indépendance has hosted the Fête de la Tulipe. Today approximately 150,000 tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths of some 350 varieties bloom each spring, drawing nearly 300,000 visitors and earning comparisons to the Keukenhof in the Netherlands. In 2024, the festival won Best Public Festival at the World Tulip Summit in The Hague. The park was renamed Parc de l'Indépendance in 1898 during celebrations marking 100 years of Vaudois independence from Bernese rule.

The Château de Morges, built in 1286 by Louis I of Savoy in the 'carré savoyard' plan with four round corner towers, today houses four museums: the Musée militaire vaudois, the Musée suisse de la figurine historique (with 10,000 figurines in nearly 50 dioramas), the Musée de l'artillerie (covering 500 years of Swiss artillery), and the Musée de la gendarmerie vaudoise. The castle served as the Bernese bailiff's residence for 262 years after the 1536 conquest of the Pays de Vaud. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), the virtuoso Polish pianist and statesman, made Morges his home for over four decades. In 1897, he rented the Villa Riond-Bosson, a 26-room estate overlooking Lac Léman and Mont Blanc. In 1919, he became Prime Minister of newly independent Poland, leading the delegation to the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles. Today the Musée Paderewski within the Château de Morges preserves his photos, letters, scores, and personal objects.

Jean Daniel Abraham Davel (1670-1723), known as Major Davel, is the great patriotic hero of Canton de Vaud. On 31 March 1723, using the pretext of a military parade, Davel marched 600 troops into Lausanne and presented a manifesto of grievances to the municipal council. He was arrested the next day, tortured twice, and beheaded on 24 April 1723. He maintained throughout that his mission was divinely inspired by a figure he called 'La belle inconnue.' His sacrifice is commemorated every 24 April. His memorabilia are held in the Morges castle museum.

The Bière-Apples-Morges (BAM) railway, a metre-gauge line, was first discussed on 26 September 1875 and opened on 1 July 1895. It connects Morges to the villages of Apples and Bière, with a branch to L'Isle (opened 12 September 1896). Originally steam-powered, it was electrified in 1943. Since 2017, the line is served by modern Stadler trainsets nicknamed 'Le Joran' after the cold north wind. The line also carries military traffic to Swiss army installations near Bière.

Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) lived for thirty years at La Paisible ('The Place of Peace'), an 18th-century farmhouse in Tolochenaz, just 2 km from Morges. Hepburn and her first husband Mel Ferrer purchased the property in 1963. She tended her vegetable garden, visited the Morges market on the Grand-Rue, and raised her family. She died at La Paisible on 20 January 1993 and was buried in the Tolochenaz cemetery. The Morges tourist office offers a walking itinerary 'In the Footsteps of Audrey Hepburn.'

Several prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements have been found along the Morges lakefront. The largest, Grande-Cité, dates from the late Bronze Age, with wooden objects dendrochronologically dated to 1031 BC. The settlement Les Roseaux dates from the Early Bronze Age and is rich in bronze axe-edge strips and fine ceramics. Both sites are part of the UNESCO World Heritage serial property 'Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.'

The CGN (Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman), founded in 1873, serves the Morges landing stage with both modern vessels and historic Belle Époque paddle steamers. The CGN named one of its ships 'Morges.' Louis I of Savoy founded the town in 1286 on a flat stretch of lakefront. On 24 January 1798, the Vaudois Revolution threw off Bernese rule, briefly forming the République lémanique. The Parc de l'Indépendance was renamed in 1898 to celebrate 100 years of Vaudois freedom.