Lausanne is located as the crow flies The municipality of Lausanne has a population of about ,, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland after Basel , Geneva , and Zurich , with the entire agglomeration area having about , inhabitants as of January Initially a Celtic and Roman settlement on the shores of the lake, Lausanne became a town at the foot of Notre Dame , a cathedral built in the 12th century. In the 20th century, Lausanne became a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee which has recognized the city as the "Olympic Capital" since , [ 12 ] the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations.
With its station metro system , Lausanne is the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system. The Romans built a military camp, which they called Lousanna , at the site of a Celtic settlement, near the lake where Vidy and Ouchy are situated; on the hill above was a fort called Lausodunon or Lousodunon The "-y" suffix is common to many place names of Roman origin in the region e.
Prilly , Pully , Lutry , etc. By , it was civitas Lausanna , and in it was mentioned as Losanna. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , insecurity forced the residents of Lausanne to move to its current centre, a hilly site that was easier to defend. The city which emerged from the camp was ruled by the Counts of Savoy and the Bishop of Lausanne.
From to , the initially relatively small town belonged to the kingdom of Upper Burgundy. During the 11th century, Lausanne developed into a political, economic and religious center. The city became the center of the secular rule of the bishops. In the period that followed, especially in the 12th and 13th centuries, Lausanne flourished.
It was invaded by forces from the canton of Bern and remained under their domination from to The iconoclastic Bernese stripped the Lausanne cathedral of its Roman Catholic trappings, and a number of its cultural treasures, including the hanging tapestries in the cathedral, were permanently removed.
