Towns & landscapes
Chernex
- Type
- Riviera village
- Address
- 1822 Chernex, sur les hauts de Montreux
Perched in the hills above Montreux, Chernex owes its name, tradition says, to a shrub, the hornbeam (charme). Above all it owes its reputation to its beauty and its balcony setting, which gives it the air of a terrace over Lake Geneva. In 1831, back from a journey to Italy and unwell, the composer Felix Mendelssohn came here for the pure air: “What a lovely country” he wrote to his family. “One feels almost moved to tears at the sight of this corner of the world.” It is also said that Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, the Geneva scientist who offered the reward for the conquest of Mont Blanc, stopped at Chernex just to admire the view.
A musical balcony
The Chernex-Montreux male choir
The village is home to the Chœur d’hommes de Chernex-Montreux, still sometimes called “La Jeune Harmonie”. Founded on 30 December 1908, it organised the first Riviera singers’ gathering (giron) back in 1946. Its thirty-five singers have several times ranked among the canton’s best male choirs (cantonal festivals of Orbe 2005, Payerne 2013, Echallens 2017, Gland 2023) and won the Young Jury’s First Prize at the Fribourg Choral Competition in 2009. Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings, under the direction of Andrea Longo.
Mendelssohn in Chernex
In 1831, back from Italy and unwell, the young Felix Mendelssohn came to take the pure air at Chernex. “What a lovely country,” he wrote to his family; “one is almost moved to tears at the sight of this corner of the world.” From there, the walking composer reached the Dent de Jaman and the Pays-d’Enhaut, a route now followed by the “In Mendelssohn’s footsteps” trail.
A balcony over Lake Geneva
A terraced village on the heights of Montreux, Chernex is reached on foot or by the MOB railway. Its lanes and vineyards overlook the lake; it is also the neighbour of Liboson, the hamlet where the young Claude Nobs, future founder of Montreux Jazz, grew up. From the Chernex terrace, a single glance takes in the whole Riviera that made the festival’s history.
Related artists :Felix Mendelssohn