Author: Maarten Koning

The Fête des Vignerons (Unesco World Heritage) is a tradition organised from generation to generation since the 18th century in the canton of Vaud, in a region stretching from Pully to Lavey near Valais.

Press conference the day after, l’abbé and Daniele Finzi Pasca (right) 

The twelfth edition took place from 18 July till 11 August 2019.

This collage gives an impression of this great festival with more than one million visitors, a temporary stadium with around 20 000 seating places, five thousand volunteers, hundred professionals and ten years of preparation.

Chapeau Vevey, the organisation, the visitors and Switzerland.

Model of the stadion. Collection: Musée de la Confrérie des Vignerons

What does  “the grandeur of Switzerland” mean?  The many Grand Hotels, the mountain landscape, the lakes,  the beautiful cities or (direct) democracy? All true, but the real treasure and grandeur of the country are its people and Swiss civil society.

From the late Middle Ages onwards, in a process over the centuries, the citizens  created a well-functioning state of four languages, and various religions, cultures and economic regions.

The area of present-day Switzerland has always been an integral part of the European trade system and of European political, cultural and economic developments.

The Fête des Vignerons in Vevey symbolises the commitment of the citizens.

This Fête is not an exception, but the rule. The Fête des Vignerons shows the grandeur of the country and the centuries-old commitment of its citizens.