Villars-sur-Ollon

Villars-sur-Ollon, commonly referred to as Villars, is a village in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, part of the municipality of Ollon. Accommodation in the village consists largely of chalets. It is also known for its boarding schools, especially for Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil and Aiglon College, two of the most expensive schools in the world.

Villars is served by the Chemin de fer Bex-Villars-Bretaye (BVB) railway, featuring an Abt rack system leading from the town center to a ski piste network.

The Village of Villars overlooks the Rhône Valley from altitude of 1300 m and views of Mont Blanc are clearly visible from parts of the village and the local ski area of Bretaye. Bretaye is linked to Villars by the BVB railway. There is also a gondola lift connecting the village to Roc d'Orsay, 200 metres above Bretaye.

There are around 270 km of pistes for all skiing and snowboarding abilities that link over to the slopes of Gryon and to the next resort of Les Diablerets, Isenau and Glacier 3000. There is also a snow park called '1984' that allows freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

The GivenGain Foundation has its headquarters in Villars-sur-Ollon.

Back in the 12th and 13th centuries a notable demographic upsurge motivated the monks from the Abbey of Saint-Maurice to assist the local peasants in conquering and clearing the mountain pastures. Once conquered, these pastures were seen as real treasures and defended against encroaching neighbors.

In 1750, the mountain "dixains" (Villars, Chesières, Huémoz) requested to form a separate town and in 1889 the town became one indivisible entity.

The mountain cog-train to Bretaye was built in 1913. In 1936, the first ski lift was built at the ‘Combe’ on the Chaux Ronde. This was a first in Switzerland, and skiers had to fasten themselves on with a large leather belt in order to go back up the mountain.

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Wikipedia