Swiss Review 2/2020

18 Swiss Review / April 2020 / No.2 Report STÉPHANE HERZOG The mountain resort is connected to the valley by rail and by road. South-facing, it is sheltered from the northwind. Its inhabitants are a mix- ture of ‘montagnards’, those brought up here and accustomed tomountain life, and expats from every corner of the world. Some of them have settled permanently in the village at 1,300 metres in altitude. This is Leysin: a village that won its place on the world map in the 19th century through the Swiss entrepreneurs who had heard of its sun-soaked ledges and pure mountain air. The local economy was built on the fight against tuberculo- sis, and numerous hotel-hospitals were erected on the steep mountain- side overlooking the village. The ar- rival of penicillin marked the end of this period, and after lying empty throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the sanitoriums were eventually trans- formed into private schools. “It’s not just somewhere you pass through, it’s somewhere you come on purpose,” remarks Christoph Ott, a native of the region with dual nation- ality, who heads the Leysin American School (LAS) with his brother. This school for the children of well-off families – fees are CHF 100,000 per year – was founded by their grand- parents, who had come over from North Dakota. In total, young people of foreign origin represent around 25% of the 4,000 or so residents of Leysin: 57.7% international residents, but the village remains sheltered from the world The municipality of Leysin holds the biggest proportion of foreign nationals in Switzerland. With its former sanitoriums turned into international schools, the ski resort is an oasis of cultural diversity. Higher, further, faster, more beauti- ful? In search of the somewhat different Swiss records. Today: The Swiss mu- nicipality with the highest proportion of foreign nationals. Typical Leysin – foreign students account for a quarter of the population. Photos: Niels Ackermann Leysin. They are spread among the village’s three large international schools: LAS, the Japanese Kumon Leysin Academy of Switzerland (KLAS), and the Swiss Hotel Manage- ment School (SHMS). Jean-Daniel Champagnac, leader of the Social Democrat group in the municipal council describes these 1,000 stu- dents as “long term tourists”. Mayor Jean-Marc Udriot estimates that their presence generates approximately 25% of the commune’s GDP. A student life behind closed doors Asian, African, Arab, Russian, An- glo-Saxon… students of all nationali- ties who hardly mix with the wider e tremes Swiss