Swiss Plateau - History of Settlement

History of Settlement

The first areas to be settled in the Neolithic were the watersides of lakes and rivers. Major oppida were built after the Celts appeared in the 3rd century BC. Urban settlements with stone houses were built during the Roman Empire. The Swiss Plateau became a part of the Roman Empire 15 BC when the Romans occupied the land of the Helvetii under the reign of Augustus and it remained Roman until the end of the 3rd century. The most important Roman cities in the Swiss Plateau were Auenticum (today Avenches), Vinddonissa (today Windisch), Colonia Iulia Equestris or, by its Celtic name, Noviodunum (today Nyon) and Augusta Raurica (today Kaiseraugst). They were well connected by a net of Roman roads. After the retreat of the Roman Empire, the western Swiss Plateau was occupied by the romanized Burgundians, the central and the eastern plateau by the Alamanni, thus emerging the language border.

During the Middle Ages many towns were founded, especially in the climatically more favoured lower plateau. In 1500, there were already 130 towns, connected by a dense road network. With the raise of the industrialisation in the early 19th century, the cities became more and more important. In 1860, a drastic population growth of the cities started which lasted for about 100 years. In the 1970s, however, an outmigration from the cities started. Therefore, the municipalities surrounding the cities grew disproportionately, whereas the cities themselves lost inhabitants. In the recent times, the outmigration has moved farther away from the cities.