Fountain of the Signal

A few metres from this basin, there is the traffic in both directions of the Rue Centrale with the regular passage of the TPC trains, the public transport of the Chablais, today in the middle of the road, numerous shops as well, two small car parks nearby, the BCV, and of course just on the other side of the road, the Town Hall of Bex, with its beautiful arcades, its classy restaurant, its splendid terrace and its meeting rooms, including the one of the Municipal Council.

This area is therefore quite crowded, but it should be noted that it has always been so, especially since the 18th century.

What a story this Town Hall had when it was built between 1746 and 1749! It must be said that since the beginning of the 18th century, the town of Bex, still under the control of Bern, had become very prosperous and attracted many merchants. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes had passed and many French Protestants came to settle in what would become the canton of Vaud. Trade took place mainly at the old Place de l'Orme, where the buildings of the town hall were located, along with the market and a butcher's shop.

It was on this spot that the new town hall was built to meet the needs of the time. However, this project divided opinion and even caused a "real scandal" in the town, if we are to believe the words of the former headmaster René-Albert Houriet, in his famous book "Bex, du régime bernois à la révolution vaudoise".

But not everything disappeared at once. For example, the communal slaughterhouses remained in this corner, on the other side of the road, until 1834, when the order was given to move them to the banks of the Avançon river.

Subsequently, businesses were set up in this area of the Hôtel de Ville de Bex, notably the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise in 1983, which succeeded the famous Morier bakery. Just next door, the late Gérald Fleuti's hardware store was the last business of its kind until the beginning of this century.

• See the bibliography at the end of the last step.