Château Eveche (Lausanne)

The Château Eveche was the "strong house" of the Bishops of Lausanne before they settled in Saint-Maire Castle. The name of Evêché (Bishop) has remained. The bishops lived there until 1431. The invasion from Bern starting in 1536 introduced the Reformation. Their Excellencies from Bern installed a bailiff in Saint-Maire and left the city to the bishop. From 1708, and especially in 1716 and 1717, Pierre Duvoisin and Charles Péclard converted the castle into a hospital for French refugees, who had already occupied the central residential building since 1687 and which was only closed in 1800. At that time, the use of the building as a cantonal hospital was considered. In 1816, a mutual instruction school was established there. The building soon became too small. In 1823, it was decided to raise the building by one floor. This created a large hall for five hundred students. In 1835, the school moved to an old timber warehouse in Boverat. In the following years, cells were built in the castle and the second floor was converted into a courtroom. From 1880 to 1883, an annex for the court was added. Thus, the old bishop's castle served as a prison for Lausanne until the beginning of the 20th century, when a new one was built in Bois-Mermet (1902). In 1882, an old "Molasse" turret, located in the southeast of the wing, was still standing and was then demolished.

A radical restoration of the wing followed the evacuation of prisoners from the bishop's castle. The work was carried out by architect Otto Schmid from 1909 to 1917. The restoration included, in addition to repairs and more or less skillful renovations, the construction of a double-ramp staircase, the creation of a large hall under the old roofs, the repair of the spiral staircase, and the renewal of most of the window frames. Another restoration, now concerning the main building, was led by the same architect and completed in 1929 and 1930. The ground floor was also renovated and the floors that had been added around 1824 were removed.