1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Montreux

MONTREUX, the general name applied to the villages situated along the shore at the east of the Lake of Geneva in Switzerland, from Clarens to Veytaux: sometimes the name is specially given to Vernex only. These villages form part of 3 communes, those of Le Châtelard (including Clarens and Vernex) and of Les Planches (including Territet), while a bit (not Chillon) of that of Veytaux is alone included. The total population of this “agglomeration” was 14,144 in 1900, mostly French-speaking, while there were 9730 Protestants to 4301 Romanists and 55 Jews. There are railway stations at Clarens (15 m. south-east of Lausanne), at Vernex (1/2 m. on), and Territet (1 m. on, or 3/4 m. from Veytaux, which is 11/4 m. north of Villeneuve), as well as an electric tramway along the shore of the lake, and frequent communication over the lake by steamer. From Territet there is a mountain railway past Glion and Caux nearly to the top of the Rochers de Naye (6710 ft.), while from Vernex the Montreux-Bernese-Oberland railway mounts past Les Avants, pierces the ridge of the Col de Jaman by a tunnel, and so reaches (14 m.) Montbovon in the Gruyére portion of the upper Sarine valley. At first foreigners were attracted by the cheapness and good air of the region, added to the grape cure. As the delights of clear, cold weather in winter and of tobogganing (here called “luging”) and skiing became appreciated, the higher hotels (such as Les Avants, Caux, Glion) were frequented at that season, as well as at other times. It is stated that in 1902 31,473 foreigners (in 1903, 39,493) visited Montreux, 7634 being Germans, 7327 English, and 5651 French. Montreux was not a Roman settlement, but otherwise its history is similar to that of Vevey.