The builders
Henri Nestlé
Henri Nestlé (until 1839, Heinrich Nestle) was a Swiss pharmacist and industrialist of German origin, born on 10 August 1814 in Frankfurt am Main and died on 7 July 1890 in Glion, above Montreux. Founder of the company that bears his name, he spent the end of his life as a wealthy landowner on the shores of Lake Geneva, dividing his winters in Montreux and his summers in Glion. It is to his generosity that Montreux owes its covered market. Today, the company he created keeps that bond with the Riviera alive by supporting its great musical events.
Henri Nestlé, a builder on the Riviera
From Frankfurt to the shores of Lake Geneva
Having built in Vevey one of the largest food companies in the world, Henri Nestlé retired to the shores of Lake Geneva. A wealthy landowner, he divided his winters in Montreux and his summers in Glion, where he died on 7 July 1890 (House of Switzerland).
The patron of the covered market
It was thanks to an 80,000-franc donation from Henri Nestlé that Montreux acquired, in 1891-1892, its covered market, the only all-metal market hall in Switzerland. The patron died, however, nine months before the building’s inauguration, and never saw it completed.
Nestlé and the music of the Riviera
More than a century later, the company born of his name keeps this local cultural tradition alive by supporting the great musical events of the Vaud Riviera, notably as a partner of the classical music festival Septembre Musical and of the Montreux Jazz Festival. The 2M2C congress centre, fully renovated and reopened in 2026, bears the trace of this patronage: a Terrasse Henri Nestlé, an Espace Henri Nestlé and Salles Henri Nestlé there carry the founder’s name. In 2026, for the company’s 160th anniversary, the Images Vevey biennial even spread a giant portrait of Grace Jones, by Anoush Abrar, across the façade of its Vevey headquarters, echoing the 60 years of the Montreux Jazz Festival.
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