Territet is located between the city center of Montreux and the village of Veytaux, within the municipality of Montreux, on the lake Geneva shore.
History
Territet unites several formerly separate hamlets. While the lower part (below the main road) was always called Territet, there were two other localities on the higher ground called Collonge and la Veraye.
While the very first hotel of the region was opened in neighbouring Veytaux in 1829, other hotels were soon built in Territet, like the "Chasseur des Alpes" in 1840 which became in 1855 the Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel. The current Montreux city centre consisting of rich farmland was developed only later, which is why the Orient Express train would stop in the Territet station and not in Montreux. Foreign tourists started to stay in Territet from 1848 onwards and their numbers picked up from 1861 when the train station was opened. A number of VIPs visited Territet in the following years, among whom emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1893 and his wife Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Empress Sissi) who came on her own four times.[1]
In 1879 the first phone to be installed in Switzerland was installed in à Territet. Territet also had the first tennis court in Switzerland. It was created in 1894, exclusively for the use of the English tourists (Swiss or other nationalities weren't allowed to access this tennis court!). The Territet–Glion funicular railway, one of the oldest in Switzerland, was opened in 1883.[2]
In 1931 representatives of two branches of exiled Spanish Borbons signed in Territet a draft agreement, intended to mend the dynastic feud; named Pact of Territet, it has never been implemented.
Monuments
Territet is home to three museums, the Swiss national audiovisual museum (French: musée national suisse de l'audiovisuel), the new Ruzo museum and the carriage museum (French: musée de la calèche). There are several important monuments, among which the French: Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel which is listed as a cultural property of national significance in Switzerland, an Anglican Church, St. John’s Montreux (built 1875-78) and a statue of Empress Sisi of Austria created by Italian sculptor Antonio Chiattone [de] in 1902.
Gilbert de Montmollin, Le Grand-Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes de Territet, Audiorama Musée suisse de l'audio-visuel, 1994, 10 pages
Dave Lüthi, Le Grand-Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes à Territet (1840–1975): Reflet du développement de Montreux au XIXe siècle : Historique et description, Musée du Vieux-Montreux, 1998