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Chateau d'Hauteville

Chateau d'Hauteville

A Global Hub for Leadership and Learning

Nestled in the hills above Vevey, Switzerland, with unparalleled views of Lake Geneva and the Swiss, Italian, and French Alps, the historic Château d'Hauteville will serve our Pepperdine community on this stunning international campus.

 

Providing students with a world-class educational facility for transformative study-abroad experiences that will function as a venue for international conferences, events, retreats, and lectures, the château will create countless opportunities for meaningful global connections and cultural exchange.

Once fully renovated, this 18th-century estate will have the capacity to accommodate 84 undergraduate students and 45 graduate students per semester on average—increasing Pepperdine's current undergraduate international program in Lausanne by 18 students. Château d'Hauteville is slated to open its doors to its first group of students in the fall of 2023, ultimately replacing the Lausanne facility altogether.

The Château d'Hauteville is one of Switzerland's finest castles, a unique European gem, and I am incredibly proud that Pepperdine University was entrusted to own and care for it for the coming generations. I look forward to the autumn of 2023 when we open the gates of the château to welcome students to one of the most life-changing years of their lives!

— Ezra Plank, Lausanne Program Director

A Look Around Château d'Hauteville

 

This majestic estate was held by the Grand d'Hauteville family from the time it was built in the 1760s until its purchase by Pepperdine in November of 2019. One of the largest and most prestigious properties in the region, the château features 58,547 square feet of living space. The château's estate comprises approximately 90 acres (or 36.7 hectares). Of those 90 acres, 67 acres is the approximate size of the farmland on the estate; there have been significant discussions about the farmland over the years due to the regulatory scheme that applies to this land, as well as our partnership with our farmers. Hundred-year-old trees, picturesque pathways, vineyards, French-style formal gardens, stone-carved fountains, and woodland forests surround the grounds.

The crown-jewel château is one of the finest in all of Switzerland and has been given the country's highest protected designation as a Class 1 Historic Monument. There is no other historic castle with an accompanying estate in such a remarkable location in all of Switzerland—the Hauteville property truly stands alone. 

The University is committed to preserving the heritage and historic character of this breathtaking manor, while upgrading the infrastructure and creating modern living accommodations for our students, faculty, and campus visitors. All of the château renovations are being guided by a commission of historic remodeling experts, as well as experts in sustainable restoration practices and techniques. The history of this magnificent estate, and the family who occupied it, will provide our students and educators with countless examples—across a wide range of disciplines—of the artistic, philosophical, religious, and political forces that shaped much of the modern world.

 

The Renovation Process

 

The château held its official grand opening in July 2023 and opened to undergraduate students in the fall of 2023.

 

 

The first phase of renovations began in the spring of 2020 and is devoted to the restoration of the estate's two primary buildings: the château and the orangerie.

The main building of the historic château will become a living and learning center for our undergraduate students. It will include classrooms, study areas, recreational and community spaces, a small dining room, an administrative center, and a faculty apartment on the ground floor (with additional community rooms on the lower level). The student bedrooms, along with more study spaces, will be located on the second and third floors.

Adjacent to the château, the orangerie (a dedicated building where the estate's orange and fruit trees were protected during the winter) will be renovated to include a professional full-service kitchen, a grand dining hall, single-occupancy bedrooms for graduate students, and a graduate faculty apartment.



For more information on naming and funding opportunities contact Kathy Walecki, executive assistant to the chancellor, at 310.506.4443 or kathy.walecki@pepperdine.edu