Lausanne Cathedral

Lausanne Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Lausanne) crowns the hill of the old town in the canton of Vaud and is widely regarded as Switzerland's finest Gothic building. It belongs to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Vaud, and today it serves as a place of worship, a concert venue and a major sight.

How old is the cathedral?

Work began around 1170 in the Romanesque manner, but the design soon turned to early Gothic. The main construction was finished around 1235, and the building was consecrated in 1275, with some sources giving 20 October. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and Pope Gregory X and Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg attended. After the Reformation reached the city in 1536, the church became Protestant. In the 19th century it underwent a large restoration led by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

What should you look at?

• The Painted Portal on the south side, dated to roughly 1225-1235. Few portals in Europe still carry such substantial traces of their original colour.
• The Montfalcon Portal on the west front, now the main entrance. Bishop Aymon de Montfalcon moved the principal access to the west in the early 16th century, and the sculptor Raphaël Lugeon rebuilt the doorway's sculpture between 1892 and 1909.
• The interior, with a lofty nave and stained glass, including the rose window in the south transept. City information says the rose window and its glass will be out of view until spring 2027 while the vaults are renovated.

Who is the cathedral night watchman?

Since 1405 a watchman has kept lookout from the bell tower, originally to spot fires in a city of timber houses. The tradition survives: every night from 10 pm to 2 am he calls out the hour from the tower. In 2021 a woman took over as stand-in for the first time. The climb to the watchman's post is 153 stone steps, and the tower is about 40 metres high.

How do you visit the tower, and when should you come?

Tower tickets start at about 4 CHF. The cathedral is open to visitors during the day, and from April to September the hours are generally 9 am to 7 pm. Check the cathedral's website for the rest of the year and for tower access rules. The night visit with the watchman requires a phone reservation in advance. From the top you see the old-town roofs, Lake Geneva and the Alps.

The cathedral stands in the upper town, so reaching it from the lower districts means a climb by stairs or lanes. You can walk from the railway station, and the metro covers part of the way.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lausanne Cathedral Catholic? No. It has been Protestant since the Reformation in 1536 and belongs to the Reformed Church of Vaud.

When was it consecrated? In 1275, in the presence of Pope Gregory X and Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg.

How many steps lead up the tower? There are 153 stone steps up to the watchman's post.

When can you hear the watchman? He announces the hour from the tower every hour between 10 pm and 2 am.