Glion

Origin of the name Glion

The origin of the name Glion is not explained by the sources consulted. The oldest mention found dates from 1693, as a tithe district. The inhabitants are called Glionnais.

Founding of Glion

Glion is a village on a hill above Montreux, between the town centre and Caux, at an altitude of about 700 metres. It was part of the municipality of Les Planches until 1961 and has since belonged to the municipality of Montreux (Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district). The sources consulted say nothing about its creation; it is mentioned as a tithe district in 1693. The hamlet only developed from the mid-19th century, when its position above Lake Geneva and the nearby Chauderon gorge made it a well-known climatic resort.

History of Glion

1693. Glion is mentioned as a tithe district.

mid-19th century. The hamlet begins to develop as a climatic resort (fresh-air cure).

20 August 1883. Opening of the Territet-Glion funicular, the second water-ballast funicular in Switzerland after the Giessbach.

1890. Henri Nestlé, founder of the Nestlé company, dies in Glion, where he spent his last years.

1892. Opening of the Glion-Caux-Rochers-de-Naye rack railway.

4 August 1905. Founding of the Valmont clinic by Dr Henri-Auguste Widmer (1853-1939), in an Art Nouveau building by the architect Henri Verrey.

1909. Opening of the Montreux-Glion railway line.

1914. At its peak, Glion and Caux together have five churches and fourteen hotels.

1923-1926. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke stays four times at the Valmont clinic, where he writes poems in French and many letters.

29 December 1926. Rainer Maria Rilke dies at the Valmont clinic.

1962. A former grand hotel houses the Centre international de Glion, a hotel school; Glion now belongs to the new municipality of Montreux.

28 September 1974. Last run of the water-ballast Territet-Glion funicular; the installation is then converted to electric operation.

Historic sites in Glion

Territet-Glion funicular. Opened on 20 August 1883, about 550 metres long, then 508 metres after the profile correction of 1890-1891, with a maximum gradient of 57 %. It worked by water ballast: the upper car, filled with water, pulled up the lower one. It was electrified after 28 September 1974.

Valmont clinic. Former sanatorium founded in 1905 by Dr Henri-Auguste Widmer, in an Art Nouveau building by the architect Henri Verrey whose original tiles and stained-glass windows are preserved. Rainer Maria Rilke stayed and died here in 1926.

Centre international de Glion. Hotel school opened in 1962 in one of the village's former grand hotels.

Santos-Dumont fountain. Memorial fountain dedicated to the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, in the heart of the village.

Chauderon gorge. Gorge near the village, whose proximity contributed to Glion's tourist appeal in the 19th century.

Sources

• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Glion »
• Wikipédia (FR), « Glion »
• Wikipedia (EN), « Glion »
• Structurae, « Standseilbahn Territet-Glion »
• Swiss Medical Network, historique des 100 ans de la Clinique Valmont (PDF)
• Commune de Montreux, « Glion »
• Wikipedia (EN), « Montreux »
• Statistique Vaud, « Population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025 »

Other villages near Glion

• Territet (VD)
• Montreux (VD)
• Veytaux (VD)
• Caux (VD)
• Chernex (VD)