Montreux indoor market, Covered market hall in Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland.
Montreux indoor market, locally called marché couvert en la Rouvenaz, is a market hall built in 1891-1892 by architect Henri Chaudet with a donation of 80,000 francs from Henri Nestlé. Its entirely metal structure, the only such market hall in Switzerland, refers to Victor Baltard's Halles de Paris, and the steel came from the same workshop as the Eiffel Tower.
Built in 1891–1892 by architect Henri Chaudet with an 80,000-franc donation from Montreux resident Henri Nestlé, who died nine months before the inauguration. Its all-metal structure, the only such market hall in Switzerland, refers to Victor Baltard's Halles de Paris, and the steel came from the same workshop as the Eiffel Tower. In 1970 it became a car park, then regained its form with an underground car park; it was restored and enclosed in the 1980s, inaugurated 22 October 1988.
Locals call it marché couvert en la Rouvenaz, after the spot where it stands. The metal hall doubles as a venue: it can be set up as a banquet room for 800 guests or as a concert hall, as happened in 1982. The steelwork echoes Victor Baltard's Halles de Paris, whose pavilions were demolished in August 1971.
The hall sits at the Rouvenaz market square in central Montreux, a short walk from the lakefront. Its lower level holds an underground car park, so visitors arriving by car can leave the vehicle beneath the building. The 1980s restoration closed the hall with doors, ending the draughts that had bothered stallholders since 1892.
The steel for its frame came from the same workshop that supplied the Eiffel Tower, and the hall is the only fully metal market hall in Switzerland. It is modelled on Victor Baltard's Halles de Paris, demolished in 1971, while Montreux's pavilion, donated by Henri Nestlé, still stands.
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