Yverdon-les-Bains

Near Yverdon stands Switzerland’s most important megalithic site — 45 standing stones (menhirs) erected between 4500 and 4000 BCE. Many display carved human features. The two rows of stones are aligned at angles of 222° and 246°, forming sightlines that mark the moon’s position at its southernmost extremes during major and minor lunar standstills repeating every 18.6 years. The menhirs were hidden underwater for millennia, reappearing after the Jura Waters Correction (1868–1891) lowered Lake Neuchâtel by 2.7 metres.

The Celtic Helvetii named the place Eburodunum (likely yew-tree fortress). After Caesar’s conquest, the Romans developed a vicus from around 25 BCE. Emperor Constantine ordered a massive castrum around 325 CE, covering 2 hectares with 15 stone towers — the second-largest Roman fortress in Switzerland. In 401 CE, Emperor Honorius ordered the withdrawal of troops; the castrum was abandoned by 405 CE. Two remarkable Gallo-Roman boats were discovered: a 10-metre vessel (1984) and a 20-metre barge (1971).

In 1259–1260, Peter II of Savoy commissioned a quadrangular castle designed by master masons Jean and Jacques de Saint-Georges. The younger Jacques later became famous as Master James of St. George, the architect of Edward I’s great castles in Wales (Conwy, Harlech, Caernarfon, Beaumaris). Yverdon Castle is recognized as the first known carré savoyard — a revolutionary lowland fortress design with a square courtyard and round towers at the four corners — which was later exported to Wales.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), considered the father of modern pedagogy, established his most famous school in the Château d’Yverdon from 1804 to 1825. At its peak (1807–1809), it housed 165 pupils, 31 teachers, and 32 trainee teachers. Teaching methods were revolutionary: approximately 60 hours of instruction per week, with lessons frequently held outdoors. Students learned gardening, carpentry, and bookbinding alongside academics. One-third of pupils attended free of charge.

The Maison d’Ailleurs is the only public museum in the world dedicated exclusively to science fiction, utopia, and extraordinary voyages. Founded in 1976 when Pierre Versins (1923–2001) donated his lifetime collection to the city. The collection contains approximately 70,000 documents, including pieces dating back to the 16th century. In 2003, collector Jean-Michel Margot donated one of the world’s most important Jules Verne collections. The museum is housed in a former prison built in 1806.

In 2002, Yverdon-les-Bains hosted one of the five Arteplages of Expo.02, Switzerland’s national exposition. The theme was Moi et l’Univers (Me and the Universe). The centrepiece was a spectacular artificial cloud floating above the lake, generated by 31,140 water nozzles and 80 pumps. Expo.02 attracted over 10 million visits and catalysed major urban renewal in Yverdon, contributing to the town winning the Prix Wakker in 2009.

Fortunato Bartolomeo De Felice (1723–1789), an Italian nobleman who settled in Yverdon in 1762, edited and published the Encyclopédie d’Yverdon — 58 volumes published between 1770 and 1780. Less hostile to religion than Diderot’s Paris edition, it earned the nickname l’encyclopédie protestante. De Felice wrote over 800 articles himself and assembled more than 30 collaborators, including Leonhard Euler, Albrecht von Haller, and Joseph Jérôme de Lalande.

The Grande Cariçaie is Switzerland’s largest lakeside wetland — a 40-kilometre strip along the southern shore of Lake Neuchâtel covering nearly 3,000 hectares. It shelters approximately 800 plant species and over 10,000 animal species. The wetland appeared largely after the Jura Waters Correction lowered the lake. The Pro Natura Centre Champ-Pittet, inaugurated in 1985, features a 2-kilometre marsh trail and an ornithological observation post.