Lausanne, city in western Switzerland, capital of Vaud Canton, on Lake Geneva, near Geneva. An important rail junction and lake port, the city is the trading and commercial center of a rich agricultural region and is also an important resort city. Lausanne has only light industries, including food processing and the manufacture of printed materials and precision instruments. The city is the seat of the supreme court of Switzerland, the Federal Tribunal. It is the site of the University of Lausanne, founded as a seminary in 1537 and made a university in 1891. One significant building is the 13th-century Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Lausanne, settled in ancient times, later became a Roman military camp. It was a Roman Catholic bishopric from the late 6th century to 1663. After World War I (1914-1918) the peace treaty between Turkey and the Allies was signed here in 1923, and it was the site of a conference on the payment of German reparations in 1932. After World War II (1939-1945) Lausanne became an international financial center. Population (1998) 114,161.
