Château-d'Œx () is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.

History

Château-d'Œx is first mentioned in 1115 as Oit, Oyz, Oix and Oyez.

Château-d'Œx was the first community chosen to host the injured prisoners because its letter offering to help was the first one received by the Swiss government. Over the following two years many resort communities, devastated as tourism vanished during the war, experienced growth as internees were housed in empty resorts and as their loved ones visited.

Geography

thumb|View of Château-d'Œx and the surrounding mountains

thumb|Aerial view (1964)

Château-d'Œx has an area, , of . Of this area, or 44.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 35.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 2.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.0% is either rivers or lakes and or 15.6% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.2%. Out of the forested land, 30.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures and 34.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.4% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 9.3% is unproductive vegetation and 6.3% is too rocky for vegetation.

The municipality is the largest in land area in the canton. It is located in the upper Saane valley. In the 14th to 18th Centuries, the seven établées of Sous le Scex, Mont, Village, Frasse, Entre deux Eaux, Monteiller and L'Étivaz merged into the municipality. It consists of the villages of Château-d'Œx, L'Étivaz, Les Moulins and Les Granges, 35 hamlets and 22 alpine herding camps.

Climate

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, a tower embattled Or, a wall embattled of the same in the dexter, surmounted by a crane Argent.

Demographics

thumb|L'Étivaz village

thumb|Château-d'Œx

thumb|Château-d'Œx at night

Château-d'Œx has a population () of . , 19.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009) the population has changed at a rate of 5%. It has changed at a rate of 8.8% due to migration and at a rate of −3.6% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population () speaks French (2,611 or 88.5%), with German being second most common (105 or 3.6%) and English being third (71 or 2.4%). There are 19 people who speak Italian.

, there were 1,350 private households in the municipality and an average of 2.1 persons per household.

, a total of 1,302 apartments (57.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 871 apartments (38.5%) were seasonally occupied and 90 apartments (4.0%) were empty.

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bar:1803 from:start till:2001 text:"2,001"

bar:1850 from:start till:2054 text:"2,054"

bar:1860 from:start till:2259 text:"2,259"

bar:1870 from:start till:2511 text:"2,511"

bar:1880 from:start till:2741 text:"2,741"

bar:1888 from:start till:2674 text:"2,674"

bar:1900 from:start till:3025 text:"3,025"

bar:1910 from:start till:3567 text:"3,567"

bar:1920 from:start till:3464 text:"3,464"

bar:1930 from:start till:3840 text:"3,840"

bar:1941 from:start till:3336 text:"3,336"

bar:1950 from:start till:3381 text:"3,381"

bar:1960 from:start till:3378 text:"3,378"

bar:1970 from:start till:3203 text:"3,203"

bar:1980 from:start till:2872 text:"2,872"

bar:1990 from:start till:3110 text:"3,110"

bar:2000 from:start till:2949 text:"2,949"

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Notable people

140px|thumb|David Niven, 1973

  • M. C. Escher (1898–1972), a Dutch graphic artist of woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints; lived in Château d'Œx 1935–1937
  • Kitty Muggeridge (1903 in Château d'Œx–1994), a British writer and translator
  • David Niven (1910–1983 in Château d'Œx), an English actor, memoirist and novelist, lived in Château d'Œx from 1960
  • George Rudolf Hanbury Fielding (1915–2005 in Château d'Œx), a Major in the SOE in WWII; brought up in Château d'Œx and lived there again in his later years
  • Françoise Roch-Ramel (1931 in Château d'Œx–2001), a Swiss pharmacologist
  • Mike Horn (born 1966) a South African-born professional explorer and adventurer, lives in Château d'Œx

Sport

  • Bruno Leuzinger (1886 in Château d'Œx – 1952), a Swiss ice hockey player, competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and the 1924 Winter Olympics
  • Madeleine Berthod (born 1931 in Château d'Œx), a Swiss former alpine skier, gold medallist at the 1956 Winter Olympics
  • René Berthod (born 1948 in Château d'Œx), a retired Swiss alpine skier, competed in the 1976 Winter Olympics
  • Edmond Plawczyk (born 1971), a Swiss speed snowboarder, lives in Château d'Œx

Heritage sites of national significance

Les Ciernes-Picat, a Mesolithic shelter, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of L'Étivaz is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Sights

155px|thumb|upright|Balloon festival

155px|thumb|Breitling Orbiter

The International Hot-Air Balloon Festival has been held each year since 1979 in January. Up to 100 balloonists gather for the festival each year. The Breitling Orbiter 3, the first hot air balloon to circumnavigate the Earth, took off from Château-d'Œx on 1 March 1999.

A museum dedicated to Montgolfier type balloons is located in the centre of the town.

Music Festival

The popular annual Le Bois qui Chante music festival is held every year in the month of October.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.23% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (18.37%), the SP (16.21%) and the LPS Party (14.68%). In the federal election, a total of 854 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 41.6%.

Economy

, Château-d'Œx had an unemployment rate of 2.3%. , there were 234 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 97 businesses involved in this sector. 252 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 54 businesses in this sector. 1,012 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 173 businesses in this sector.

, there were 238 workers who commuted into the municipality and 266 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.3% used a private car., however the La Braye ski area was closed in 2017 owing to financial difficulties.

In 1922 and 1924, the Hockey Club Château d'Œx was the Swiss champion in its ranks with a local international player in the person of Edouard Mottier who participated in the 1924 Olympic Games in Chamonix.

In 1997, the Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Château d'Œx.

On 1 March 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones took off from Château d'Œx and made the first non-stop around the world with a Rozière balloon, landing 21 March in Egypt after 20 days and .

References

  • Château-d'Œx & Pays-d'Enhaut Tourist Office.
  • WikidOex ~ News and views from Château-d'Œx
  • Balloon Museum Château-d'Œx