Gland is a town and commune in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located on the shores of Lake Geneva, at the foot of the Jura, in front of the Alps, halfway between Geneva and Lausanne, 20 minutes from Geneva-Cointrin international airport. It is possible to settle and build in Gland under good conditions.

The City of Gland hosts, among others, the world headquarters of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), Swissquote and a major Data Center. The City of Gland is distinguished by an abundant associative, cultural and sporting offer. The city had 13,120 inhabitants at the end of 2018. Economically, it is home to some 1,000 companies, which offer around 5,500 jobs.

History
Gland is known to have been a prehistoric settlement. The first traces of civilization in Gland date back to the prehistoric era of the lakes. The name Gland has the same origin as the Friborg region of Glâne. It goes back to the Gallic word glana which means “limpid”. As often, the name of the locality designated first that of the river which crossed it.

The region has been occupied since prehistoric times. The first residents had settled near the lake as evidenced by the uncovered necropolis near the mouth of the Dullive. Gland is first mentioned around 994 -1049 as de Glans. Gland was merely a small farming village (essentially vineyards and cattle).

Then came the Romans. Their conquest north of the Alps began in Geneva and Nyon where the troops settled around 45 BC. AD The site of Gland was probably occupied by a villa whose remains have disappeared but which left its name: Villa Glannis. They come from the house of Cossonay to that of Prangins and again to that of Savoy.

Under the leadership of Bern
In 1536, the inhabitants of Gland – the croqueraves – saw the Bernese army pass and the representatives of the strong Republic settled. They reform, perhaps lose some freedoms but see their territory grow: the bailiff grants them the lands of Marcins, a deserted village east of Vich, which means that the current town has to touch Begnins at the same time. than at the lake.

At that time, the community once again depends on the house of Prangins and has nothing to complain about. From the middle of the 18th century, at the intelligent initiative of the “noble and generous Louis Guiguer”, baron of Prangins, the locality became healthier; the dilapidated hovels disappear, replaced by stone constructions: most of the farms that can still be seen today on the Grand’Rue and the rue du Borgeaud.

There are no local businesses yet, but a good number of cabarets! A bell was hoisted in 1739 to call for worship, sound alarms and ward off the danger of lightning. It still rings today for the school and the Town Council.

Municipality of Vaud
The Bernese left in 1798, Vaud becomes Lake Geneva Republic and Gland greets its first governor, Jean-Baptiste Bellay; then, in 1803, Vaud became a Swiss canton and Gland elected its first trustee, Jean-Marc Caboussat.

Consequently, the locality acquires its face of today; an evolution marked first by the first milestones of modernism: the train (1858), the post office (1869), the telephone (1896), electricity (1899), the Gland-Begnins tram (1906) and finally the pressurized water (1923).

In 1920, the population numbered 962 inhabitants including the former emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary who resided at the lake. This figure will now increase steadily before exploding as soon as the motorway opens in 1964.

Fortunately, the spirit of the village is watching. And if he is delighted with the development of the town, he cannot bring himself to imagine it reduced to the state of a ghost town. Development plans are carefully studied, Gland flourishes, transformed, but not distorted. Like the oak, its emblem, the City can look to the future with serenity and confidence.

Contemporary
In 1923 Gland provided the venue for the European Division meeting of the Seventh-day Adventists, where the German Adventist leaders said they regarded whether to serve as combatant in times of war was a matter which should be left to the conscience of individual members of their church. In the 1930s, the Toblerone line, a defensive line, was built along the western edge of Gland, stretching from Lac Léman towards the Jura mountains. Its purpose was to stop a tank invasion from the west.

Until the 1960s, Gland was just a simple farming villageand winegrowers. As soon as the A1 Geneva – Lausanne motorway was built, the population, looking for a quiet place, but still not too far from large urban centers, began to flock. As early as the mid -1980s, Gland began building shopping centers and developing local commerce. The opening of the highway linking Geneva with Lausanne brought many commuters to this once-quiet place. It is only since the mid-1980s that Gland has started to grow into a town with its own businesses and shopping centers.

Economy
Since it is located halfway between the cities of Geneva and Lausanne, many international companies and organizations have offices in Gland, among others Sun Microsystems, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the Ramsar Convention and World Wide Fund for Nature. The online brokerage and bank, Swissquote, has its headquarters in Gland.

As of 2010, Gland had an unemployment rate of 5.5%. As of 2008, there were 83 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 838 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 120 businesses in this sector. 3,857 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 403 businesses in this sector. There were 5,302 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.7% of the workforce.

In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 4,092. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 44, of which 42 were in agriculture and 2 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 794 of which 410 or (51.6%) were in manufacturing, 24 or (3.0%) were in mining and 313 (39.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 3,254. In the tertiary sector; 1,118 or 34.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 80 or 2.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 156 or 4.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 106 or 3.3% were in the information industry, 243 or 7.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 157 or 4.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 209 or 6.4% were in education and 336 or 10.3% were in health care.

In 2000, there were 2,833 workers who commuted into the municipality and 3,872 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 12.2% of the workforce coming into Gland are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 18.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.2% used a private car.

Religion
From the 2000 census, 3,565 or 36.9% were Roman Catholic, while 2,943 or 30.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 82 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.85% of the population), there were 10 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 970 individuals (or about 10.04% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 29 individuals (or about 0.30% of the population) who were Jewish, and 286 (or about 2.96% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 25 individuals who were Buddhist, 23 individuals who were Hindu and 20 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,656 (or about 17.14% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 519 individuals (or about 5.37% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education
In Gland about 3,413 or (35.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,620 or (16.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 1,620 who completed tertiary schooling, 43.1% were Swiss men, 25.1% were Swiss women, 17.2% were non-Swiss men and 14.6% were non-Swiss women.

In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,573 students in the Gland school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 1,249 children of which 563 children (45.1%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton’s primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 830 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 701 students in those schools. There were also 42 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.

As of 2000, there were 272 students in Gland who came from another municipality, while 451 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Gland is home to the Bibl. scolaire et communale de Gland library. The library has (as of 2008) 22,346 books or other media, and loaned out 41,248 items in the same year. It was open a total of 251 days with average of 51 hours per week during that year.

The La Côte International School, an international school, was previously in Vich, near Gland.

Tourism
The Toblerones path which follows the Toblerones line, a line of fortifications from the Second World War, is partly on the territory of the municipality. The historic path links the Château de Prangins to the Domaine de La Lignière. The villa Rajada is classified with its dependencies and its surroundings, like Swiss cultural assets of national significance. At the edge of the lake there is a small communal beach.

Historical trail
And if you took the paths of regional history by following in the footsteps of Baron Guiguer from the Château de Prangins in La Lignière. Fruit of the collaboration between the City of Gland, the Municipality of Prangins and the Swiss National Museum – Château de Prangins, the historical path allows you to travel the territory by discovering its heritage treasures. The historic path links the Château de Prangins to the Domaine de La Lignière. This course, marked by a marking recognizable by its blue and white bands, is punctuated by ten stations. Explanatory panels allow you to discover the history of the barony, its development until today, the rich heritage of the region and to create some time bridges between yesterday and today.

Villa of Rose
The “Villa Rose” fort is one of the last elements of the fortified line towards Lake Geneva. The Villa Rose, an infantry fort, is characterized by its architectural value and by the exceptional quality of its camouflage in the form of a villa with trompe-l’oeil windows. In October 1939, the first contracts for the construction of fortresses on the line were signed with civil engineering contractors. It protects the Swiss road, the main road between Geneva and Bern in 1940. This busy road was the main reason for the camouflage of the fort. The attic room, built for camouflage, was fitted out to be able to serve as a cantonment for the soldiers (infantry). Today it has been converted into the Soldier’s Home. The construction is entirely in reinforced concrete and the walls are 2.5 meters thick. The loopholes are reinforced with 10 cm steel plates. With the reform “Army 95” and the dissolution of the br fr 1, the fort lost its military value. It was bought by the Promenthouse Fortified Line Association, is undergoing restoration and has been rearmed in accordance with the 1940/1945 period.

Avouillons electrical plant
Powered by the Promenthouse and commissioned in 1900, the Avouillons hydroelectric power station has been producing electricity for over 100 years. It belongs to the Intercommunal Electricity Company of the Coast (SEIC). The Toblerones path, or the fortified line of the Promenthouse, passes in front of the Avouillons power plant, located along the Route Suisse. Walkers can also notice at Pont-Farbel, one kilometer north of the factory, a water reservoir that diverts part of the current from the Promenthouse to the factory via a cemented canal.

At the beginning of 20th century, the power plant Avouillons is built to supply electricity to the tramway Gland-Begnins, which runs from 1906 to 1954. The energy produced by the hydroelectric plant of Avouillons enough to the needs of surrounding communities until 1926. Today, its production covers only a very small part of the electricity distributed by the SEIC. The factory has been modernized over time, its century-old turbines being replaced by modern turbines coupled to a generator with a power of 200 kilowatts. Today, the plant produces half a million kilowatt-hours per year. It is certified “naturemade basic”, a label which distinguishes energy produced in a renewable manner.

Cultural events and festivals
In Gland, several annual meetings allow residents to come together around festive and cultural activities.

Open Air Cinema
The Open Air, the city of Gland’s summer meeting place, is a week of concerts and open-air cinema, in the courtyard of the Collège de Grand-Champ.

Visions of the Real
Visions du Réel, the Nyon International Film Festival promotes a form of cinema that explores the world without concealment or artifice. The Théâtre de Grand-Champ is a privileged partner and offers films from the Grand Angle section. Poignant, humorous or even musical, the films in the Wide Angle section, world premieres or acclaimed at prestigious festivals, aim to take the public on a journey.

Dance party
Now an annual event, the Fête de la danse à Gland revolves around the themes of sharing and transmission, with dance lessons, demonstrations and shows. The wealth of local partners, their enthusiasm, the desire to introduce as many people as possible to this discipline guides the program of the event.

La Côte Flûte Festival
A brand newcomer to the large family of festivals in our region, “La Côte Flûte Festival” offers ancient and modern classical music as well as jazz, around the transverse flute. This festival can count on a world-class program. It is also an opportunity to make unusual discoveries combining theater or sport with so-called classical music. The festival takes place in Gland, at the Grand-Champ theater and at the Temple as well as at the Moulin en Clarens in Vich, at the Temple de Bursins and at the 1306 club in Nyon. Concerts in small and large groups, in baroque, modern and contemporary repertoires are offered, as well as a large exhibition of flute makers, publishers, associations, schools and media from all corners of the planet.

Natural heritage

Walks Trail
Discover the City of Gland and its surroundings from a new perspective thanks to eight themed walks. Lasting 1 to 2 hours 30 minutes and forming a loop, they are accessible to all. You can follow the Toblerones trail, which runs along the walled Promenthouse line, for 17 kilometers. From the foot of the Jura to Lake Geneva via Gland, this educational trail winds through a privileged natural and historical setting. And if you took the trails of regional history by following in the footsteps of Baron Guiguer from the Château de Prangins in La Lignière or the historic Lavasson trail, a river to which freedom was restored in 2019 after being channeled during the World War II. For the more athletic, four Nordic walking routes allow you to practice this fast walking technique on pleasant and varied routes.

Picnic places
Several locations are equipped to allow residents and visitors to the Town of Gland to picnic in the open air. Picnic tables are available for free access near several public spaces in Gland: some playgrounds, the En Bord sports center, the communal beach. Ruyre’s old kennel has been converted into a picnic area. This land located next to the Vita course and not far from the En Bord sports center, offers a beautiful and easily accessible public space.

Playgrounds
Nine playgrounds are available to families in the Town of Gland. They are spread throughout the city, near schools, leisure facilities or in the heart of residential areas. The Municipality makes these places of conviviality and meeting available to children and residents.

Lavasson river
The Municipality of Gland revitalized the “Lavasson” in 2018. This had been channeled with the construction of the military fortification line east of Gland just after the Second World War. The stream is located in the towns of Gland and Dully. It was thus possible to restore biological functions, including fish migration, to replenish the old bed of the watercourse and to provide connections to terrestrial fauna. The place offers a secure and friendly pedestrian route decorated with educational signs all along the path. It also highlights the unique military and historical heritage of the site. Anyone can go there.

Beach
The communal beach of Gland is located below the Chemin de la Falaise, away from traffic. Children and adults alike can swim in the marked swimming area, swim to the raft or relax on the grass.