Nyon

Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Leman and is the seat of the district of Nyon. The town has (as of December 2014) a population of 19,738. It is connected to the rest of Switzerland by way of the Route Suisse, the A1 Motorway and the railways of the Arc Lémanique.

Name

Nyon derives from one of the names used by the Romans for the town, Noviodunum or Noiodunum. Other names for the town, particularly of colonies placed there, are Colonia Iulia Equestris or Colonia Julia Equestris, Colonia Equestris Noiodunum, Equestris, Civitas Equestrium, and Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum.

History

Nyon is first mentioned around 367-407 as civitas Equestrium id est Noiodunus (in the "Notitia Galliarum"). In 1236 it was mentioned as Neveduni and in 1292 as Nyons.

Pre-Roman settlements

A few, scattered neolithic items were discovered in the 19th Century. North of the city some bronze rings and the ruins of a Bronze Age settlement were discovered.