Things to see and do Lutry

A beautiful square overlooking the lake, often transformed into a soccer pitch in summer. At the beginning of the ^13th century, Place des Halles was the area separating the old from the new town. Here, the Bishop of Lausanne had his tower (erected between 1221 and 1229), his house and his bread ovens. At the beginning of the ^15th century, the bishop's domination gradually gave way to the villagers, who built the halles to the south of the tower. At that time, the halles building was intended for the storage of merchandise, and probably for a covered market.

A tourist tour is offered by the city of Lutry, you can obtain a leaflet in this info point, on the edge of the lake (at the location of the bar).

Here's a very unusual discovery made in this town. In 1984, during the construction of the car park, twenty-three menhirs, lined up side by side over twenty meters and arranged in two rows, were discovered. They would date from 4500 to 4000 years BC and the largest would weigh 13 tons. An exceptional discovery and a unique alignment in the world, the significance of which is still being sought. The visit is quick but really worth a look!

The earliest buildings date back to the ^14th century, but the castle's current appearance is the result of enlargement work carried out in the ^16th century and renovation of the facades in 1729. The monumental staircase tower and the large portal in the western courtyard (1573-1576) bear the imprint of the Bodmer brothers, craftsmen from Vallesia (northern Italy). Bequeathed to the town of Lutry in 1854 by Juste-Charles-Antoine de Crousaz, a descendant of the family that had owned it since 1640, the château has housed the town administration since 1942. Tours available.

After passing through the imposing portal of the building, you can admire the beautifully frescoed vaulted ceiling inside. On the wall adjacent to the church, you can read the history of the parish (Lutry church and convent). Lutry's origins are attested by a few notes mentioning the existence of a castrum and a fishing village(lustriacum). However, the town really took off in the ^11th century, thanks to the establishment of a Benedictine convent. Originally very modest, it consisted of a simple claustrum to the south of the church; its buildings expanded in the ^13th and ^14th centuries to form a vast monastic complex. In 1577, the vaults of the church's nave and choir were completely covered with Mannerist paintings by the Flemish painter Humbert Mareschet. They represent one of the richest ^16th-century decorations in Switzerland. A rarity in Switzerland, especially after the Reformation, which prohibited and even demolished this type of painting. It is said that they were in fact offered to the parish by the authorities in exchange for the parishioners' acceptance of the Reformation. However, the painter avoided all religious and biblical figures, outlawed by the Reformation, and replaced them with zoomorphic figures: atlatls, satyrs, fauns and chimeras. A "grotesque décor" with scrolls and graceful animals, roosters, rabbits and cranes, as well as a masked putto (love) facing a turkey. A possible metaphor for the vanity of those who conceal their personality.