TavelTavel, just above Clarens, is one of the small villages that make up this constellation of places known as Montreux.Tavel, just above Clarens, is one of the small villages that make up this constellation of places known as Montreux.
Tavel is first and foremost a tiny village, but it doesn't want to be inward-looking. Its association does everything it can to increase contacts, not just between its own residents, but with friends from all over the Municipality of Montreux and beyond.
Every year, on the Saturday before the Swiss National Fast, it organises a bread-baking event in its renovated oven. This provides an opportunity to welcome guests to a small party in the village square, complete with live music. Around forty tables are set up. The "Association des intérêts de Tavel" still organises a large village festival every five years, with plenty of entertainment.
These two events are not the only opportunities for contact. Sometimes, a school choir comes to sing in the village square; on other occasions, the association offers to share a friendly glass.
In the 19th century, Tavel was little more than a hamlet, gardens and meadows. Since then, the village core has remained unchanged. The houses are the same, renovated, of course, and much more comfortable. Housewives no longer do their washing at one of the two fountains. When were these houses built? We don't know. We do know, however, that the first written records of Tavel date back to 1250. The origin of the name is also an enigma.
Today, the meadows and gardens on the outskirts of the village have given way to large residential areas. Broadly speaking, the boundaries of the village are the Baye de Clarens (river), Avenue des Brayères, Chemin de Muraz, the vineyards under Colondalles and Planchamp. When the villages levied taxes and took on tasks now devolved to the commune, these boundaries were crucial. Now they are of historical interest only.
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