Aigle

Infobox Swiss town
subject_name = Aigle
municipality_name = Aigle
municipality_type = municipality
imagepath_coa = Aigle-coat of arms.svg|pixel_coa=


languages = French
canton = Vaud
iso-code-region = CH-VD
district = Aigle
lat_d=46|lat_m=19|lat_NS=N|long_d=6|long_m=58|long_EW=E
postal_code = 1860
municipality_code = 5401
area = 16.36
elevation = 415|elevation_description=
population = 7712|populationof = December 2003 | popofyear = 2003
website = www.aigle.ch
mayor = Frédéric Borloz|mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
mayor_title = |list_of_mayors =
places = Le Cloître, Vers Pousaz, Fontanney
demonym = Les Aiglons
neighboring_municipalities= Vaud: Yvorne, Leysin, Ormont-Dessous, Ollon; Valais: Vouvry, Collombey-Muraz
twintowns = L'Aigle (France), Tübingen (Germany), Bassersdorf (Switzerland)|

Aigle is the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The town has a population of 8,100 people.

The name of this municipality in French means "eagle".

Geography

Aigle lies at an elevation of 415 m. about 13 km south-southeast of Montreux. It is on the east edge of the Rhône valley, at the foot of the Swiss Alps.

In 1997, about 24 percent of the municipality was residential, 38 percent forested, 35 percent agricultrual, and 3 percent mountainous.

Aigle includes the villages of Le Cloître, Vers Pousaz, and Fontanney. The surrounding municipalities are Yvorne, Leysin, Ormont-Dessous, and Ollon in the canton of Vaud, and Vouvry and Collombey-Muraz in the canton of Valais.

History

The municipality was settled very early. Burials and ceramics from the Bronze Age have been discovered. During Roman times, Aigle lay on the road from the Great Saint Bernard pass via "Viviscus" (Vevey) to "Aventicum" (Avenches), the Roman capital. The Romans had a number of names for Aigle: "Ala" ("Wing"), "Alena" ("Little Wing"), "Aquilegia" and "Aquilas" ("Eagles).

The first medieval mention of the municipality occurs in 1150 under the name of "Alium"A mention in 1153 gives the name as "Aleo". Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV gave the territory of Aigle in 1076 to the house of Savoy. The Abbeys of Great Saint Bernard and Saint-Maurice also had holdings in Aigle, and the latter established a priory, from which the village of Le Cloître takes its name.

In 1231, Aigle was made a market town by Thomas I of Savoy, and in 1314 it was raised to a free city by Amadeus V of Savoy.

It became an important commercial center because of its location on the road to Italy.

It had a common parish with Leysin (until 1702) and with Corbeyrier and Yvorne (until 1831). SInce the 14th century, it had a treaty with Sembrancher in Valais, that committed the two communities for mutual aid in case of war or natural disaster. In 1475, Aigle was conquered by the canton of Bern, as were also Ollon, Bex, and Les Ormonts. Aigle was thus the first of the French-speaking parts of Switzerland to become subject to Bern and became the seat of the "Gouvernement Aigle", which included all of the present district except Villeneuve. In 1528, the Reformation was first preached in Aigle by Guillaume Farel.

From 1798 to 1803, Aigle belonged to the canton of Léman in the Helvetic Republic, which was transformed into the canton of Vaud with the mediation of Napoleon.

Culture

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is based in Aigle.

Transportation

Aigle SBB/CFF is the mainline train station with connections for the ski resorts of Leysin, Les Diablerets, and Villars.

Gallery

References

External links

*http://www.aigle.ch
*HDS|2276
* [http://aigle-webcam1.rcv.ch/ Webcam on the Rue de la Gare]