Jalan2 ke Lausanne - SWISS

The Lausanne area was already settled in the fourth millennium BC. The Romans built a military camp, which they named Lousonna, on the site of a Celtic settlement in what is now the suburb of Vidy.

In the 7th century it became the seat of the bishopric of Lausanne. The town developed as an economic and religious centre in the Middle Ages, ruled by the bishop. It lay on the Via Francigena pilgrim route between Canterbury and Rome. Over the years the citizens, backed by the counts of Savoy, gradually won more freedoms.

The city lost much of its importance when Bern took it over along with the whole of what is now Canton Vaud in 1536, and ruled it until 1798. When Vaud became a separate canton in 1803, Lausanne became the capital.