History of Leysin

400 to 1445: The Early Years

Beginning around 400 A.D. successive waves of germanic tribes overran the Roman fortifications at Lausanne and Geneva, toppling the moribund western Empire. Fleeing from bandits, who preyed upon the defenseless inhabitants of the Rhone valley during these lawless years, the original settlers of Leysin took refuge on a high plateau behind a small mountain at the eastern end of Lake Geneva.

Early in the 11th century, the Dukes of Savoy began extending their influence to encompass both shores of Lake Geneva and the surrounding trade routes. Leysin, which sits 1,263 meters above sea level and 4km northeast of Aigle on the southern slope of the Tour d’Aï, came within the jurisdiction of the Duchy of Savoy and remained so until the last quarter of the 15th century.

Located in the canton of Vaud, Leysin during the middle ages was considered a parish or “quartier” of Aigle and paid its taxes there. In fact, the first written historical record of the community is a tax document from 1276 concerning an act of redemption of dues.

In 1301, the Duke of Savoy leased the mountain of Tour d’Aï to his subjects in Leysin. 144 years later, in 1445, Leysin was granted permission to build its own church. Religion, like taxes, was at this time within the jurisdiction of Aigle and so each week a priest hiked up from the valley to preach and to bless cattle. That church remains the main village church today.

Swiss rule in the 15th and 16th centuries

In 1475, Bernese troops defeated an alliance between Savoy and Charles the Bold of Burgundy and conquered the Vaud, taking control of Leysin in the process.

The new rulers freed the people of Leysin from personal servitude and granted them the right of free settlement in 1485. Further change came as slowly under Bernese rule as it had under French, the next significant one not occurring until 1520 when the inhabitants were granted the right to elect their own general council of 12 men, a lieutenant, two mayors and two advisers. Not long after, in 1536, and because Bern had accepted the Reformation, Protestantism became the religion of the region. The church in Leysin, however, remained dependent on a minister from Aigle.

The 18th Century: Initial reviews are positive

As the community grew, so too did its institutions. Records of births and deaths began in 1702; of marriages in 1703. The following year, 1704, Leysin became an independent parish with its own pastor. Despite this growth the village of Leysin remained isolated and nearly self-sufficient, cut off from major trade routes, its economy based on agriculture and dairy farming, and practically unknown for almost another century.

In 1789, the English political economist Thomas Malthus published his book “Essays Upon the Principles of Population” in which, over the course of six pages, he compared the average life expectancy of the people of Leysin (then 61 years) to the shorter life-spans of other Europeans. His conclusion was that Leysin’s lack of trade, which protected it from communicable disease, and it’s climate accounted for the remarkable health and longevity of the population. This positive press had little initial impact on the village itself, in part because the only way to reach it was by a steep 4km footpath through the Veyges. However, by the 1820s parents living in the surrounding region began sending their sick children to Leysin, believing the climate would help cure them.

Health and Tourism: the late 19th and early 20th centuries in three parts

The growth of infrastructure

Although accommodations remained primitive — most homes were heated by the large kitchen fireplace and adjoined cattle barns — Leysin increasingly found itself host to the valley’s unwell come in search of treatment. In January of 1873 the first tourist arrived, a young tuberculotic German looking to improve his health.

Leysin’s period of idyllic isolation was coming to a close. The road from the valley to le Sépey was extended to Leysin in 1875 and health tourism began to grow, enabling Mademoiselle Cullaz to open the first lodging house in 1878. In 1897 the cog railway was constructed from Aigle to Leysin, joining the village, by way of the railways, to the rest of Europe. With these economic changes came a need for more formal education and more modern governance. The first school was built, at the western end of Leysin, in 1896. In 1902 the general council was replaced with a communal council.

As early as 1903 attempts were made to capitalize on the unparalleled recreational appeal of Leysin’s location. So successful, however, was the “Licht und Luft” (light and air) cure at attracting the afflicted, that attempts to draw holiday makers floundered. At least at first.

In 1915 the cog railroad was lengthened again and in 1923 the Leysin Development Association was formed. By 1930 there were 5,698 people residing in Leysin and the economy was no longer an agrarian one. A mere 244 of this population were farmers while 3000 were tuberculosis patients. The village enjoyed a period of unprecedented economic vibrance based on the curative properties of fresh air and sunlight. Leysin seemed a boom town. Until a cure was found and, like a boom town when the gold runs out, business moved on.

The rise and fall of tuberculosis clinics

Since the days of Hippocrates and Galen medical experts have praised the curative effects of fresh air and sunlight. Leysin, by virtue of its elevation and location, has plenty of both. In 1892 the first clinic, the Grand Hotel, was constructed to accommodate 120 patients. But true international fame came in 1903 with the arrival of the “Sun Doctor,” Dr. August Rollier. His combination of spiritual therapy, handcrafts, and of course plenty of sunshine and fresh air was an amazing success. Dr. Rollier eventually operated 37 clinics as tuberculosis sufferers from all over the world flocked to Leysin.

But the demand for sanatoria, spas, and clinics offering a cure, or at least the hope of remission, was already waning. The rate of European deaths from tuberculosis in 1850 was 1 out of every 200 people. With improvements in public health during the first half of the twentieth century that number declined to 1 in 2,000. Then, in 1946, streptomycin, the first successful antibiotic treatment for the disease, was discovered. The bottom fell out of the market and one by one the clinics closed their doors.

The rise of tourism

The clinics closed and the sick went home. Was this the end of Leysin’s moment of glory, pan-European recognition, and economic security? Hardly.

With the opening of the Leysin Tours Company and the arrival of Club Med in 1956 Leysin quickly re-defined itself as a premier sports resort and summer holiday destination — the tourism industry had begun in earnest. In the summer of that year the Grand Hotel re-opened, this time as a hotel for vacationers, and soon other clinics were doing the same. In January of 1957 the Aï-Berneuse ski lift was constructed and Leysin became a major destination for Alpine skiing.

Looking forward

In 1961 The American School, offering secondary and university education with the standards of an American education to students from around the world, opened in Leysin with 79 students.

By 1969, Leysin could accommodate approximately 5,000 tourists and today hosts an average of 7,000. By 1994 Leysin had 2,700 inhabitants, half of them arriving from over 80 nations. Today it is home to an ever growing number of residents and a large number of educational institutions: Leysin American School; Kumon Leysin Academy of Switzerland; Schiller International University; American College of Switzerland; Swiss Hotel Management School; CP Language Institute; and the Vox Lingua Language Center. Meanwhile new developments continue to broaden the scope of recreational activities and tourist appeal. These include a new multifaceted sports complex, two new four-star hotels, and a revolving restaurant on the top of Leysin’s original ski slope, the Berneuse. In high season Leysin can accommodate more than 10,000 people and Leysin continues to grow and develop into the 21st century.

Leysin has undergone many metamorphoses in its long history of growth, but one thing is true: Leysin remains a small community with a big heart, a place where everyone is welcome and life is good.