prince bishopric · Germany and Central Europe

Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne

1011 CE – 1536 CE · capital Lausanne

A Swiss prince-bishopric on Lake Geneva whose bishops ruled Lausanne and its surroundings until Bern conquered Vaud and introduced the Reformation.

Origins

The bishops of the Avenches area moved their seat to Lausanne around 600. In 1011 King Rudolf III of Burgundy granted Bishop Henry the county of Vaud, establishing the bishop as a temporal lord. After 1032 the bishops became princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

Rule and society

The prince-bishops ruled Lausanne and estates such as Lavaux, famous for vineyards, while the counts of Savoy dominated the rest of Vaud. The Gothic cathedral of Lausanne was consecrated in 1275 in the presence of Pope Gregory X and King Rudolf I. The townspeople gradually won rights of self-government.

Decline and legacy

In 1536 Bern conquered Vaud from Savoy, took Lausanne and expelled the bishop, introducing the Reformation after the Lausanne Disputation in which Calvin and Farel spoke. Vaud remained Bernese until 1798 and became a Swiss canton in 1803.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-lausanne
MLA
“Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-lausanne. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-lausanne.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-lausanne (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻