Grandson

Grandson is a commune in the canton of Vaud, in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois, on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel, 4 kilometres north of Yverdon-les-Bains. Its territory covers 7.86 square kilometres, two-thirds of it agricultural land. The commune had 3,390 inhabitants on 31 December 2024, a density of 431 inhabitants per square kilometre; its population grew by 11.4% between 2010 and 2023, against 18.6% for the canton and 9.4% for Switzerland.

The town's name first appears in writing between 1087 and 1092, as Grantione. In the 15th century, Grandson belonged to Louis de Chalon, a vassal of Charles the Bold, who held his castle at the centre of the town. Swiss militias seized it on 30 April 1475; on 2 March 1476, the Battle of Grandson saw the victory of the Confederates, allied with Louis XI of France, over Charles the Bold.

Grandson Castle receives around 30,000 visitors a year. The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, founded as a priory of the Benedictine congregation of La Chaise-Dieu, preserves a 15th-century entombment sculpture and was restored in 2007. A four-metre Neolithic menhir stands beside the road to Fiez. On 12 December 1289, Othon I of Grandson obtained Pope Nicholas IV's authorisation to found the Cordeliers convent, eventually built around 1308 on the lakeshore.

Since 2016, Grandson has belonged to the Most Beautiful Villages of Switzerland association. Since 13 December 2015, its railway station has been the terminus of lines S1 and S5 of the Vaud RER. Capital of the Grandson district from 1803 to 2007, the town was attached to the new Jura-Nord vaudois district following the 2003 reform of the Vaud constitution.

Why this place is remarkable

Grandson owes its renown to the Battle of 2 March 1476, in which Confederate troops defeated Charles the Bold on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel — a founding episode of Swiss historiography. From that era the town keeps its medieval castle, still at the centre of town, and a church founded as a Benedictine priory that preserves a 15th-century entombment sculpture. Since 2016, its built fabric has earned Grandson membership in the Most Beautiful Villages of Switzerland association.

History and origin

In the 15th century Grandson belonged to Louis de Chalon, a vassal of Charles the Bold. On 30 April 1475, Swiss militias captured its castle; on 2 March 1476, the Battle of Grandson saw Charles the Bold defeated there by the Confederates, allied with Louis XI of France. Earlier, in 1289, Othon I of Grandson had obtained Pope Nicholas IV's authorisation to found the Cordeliers convent, eventually built around 1308 on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel rather than on the banks of the Arnon as first planned.