{"id":4234,"date":"2026-04-30T12:46:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T11:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/etoileblanche.ch\/?page_id=4234"},"modified":"2026-07-17T16:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:09:08","slug":"notre-histoire","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/etoileblanche.ch\/en\/notre-histoire\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4234\" class=\"elementor elementor-4234\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f080c9 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4f080c9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1fb651 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b1fb651\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Our Story<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f84b78f elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-read_more_3715\" data-id=\"f84b78f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"read_more_3715.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"rm-3715-wrapper\" data-read-more=\"Lire plus\" data-read-less=\"Voir moins\">\n            <div class=\"rm-3715-content rm-3715-short\">\n                <p style=\"text-align: left\">Nestled in the heart of the Saint-Pierre district, a stone's throw from the cathedral and Place de la Palud, L'\u00c9toile Blanche occupies one of Lausanne's most historic locations.<\/p>            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"rm-3715-content rm-3715-full\" style=\"display:none;\">\n                <p>Nestled in the heart of the Saint-Pierre district, a stone's throw from the cathedral and Place de la Palud, L'\u00c9toile Blanche occupies one of Lausanne's most historic locations. <br \/>Behind its shop windows lie over eighty years of life in Lausanne \u2013 of successive cafes, of regulars who met up, of a city in perpetual transformation, of which this establishment has been the silent and convivial witness.<\/p>            <\/div>\n            \n            <button class=\"rm-3715-btn\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                Read more            <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n        \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-198f0d4 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-vertical_timeline_d63f7b78\" data-id=\"198f0d4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"vertical_timeline_d63f7b78.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"vt-container-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-ed2acdf\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">1767<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Birth Benjamin Constant<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">Born in Lausanne on 25 October 1767, Benjamin Constant de Rebecque would become one of the great European liberal thinkers and one of the most significant intellectual figures of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The square that now bears his name pays tribute to him.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-f4a49c3\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">19th century<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">The Saint-Pierre district is taking shape<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">The Saint-Pierre district, one of Lausanne's oldest, develops around the Cit\u00e9 hill and its cobbled lanes. A crossroads of Lausanne's commercial and social life, it attracts bistros, artisans and shops that make it a centre of popular conviviality.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-d1592c8\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">1939<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Building construction <\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">The building that today houses L'\u00c9toile Blanche was erected in Place Benjamin-Constant.\nIts construction marked a strong anchor in the urban fabric of Lausanne's Saint-Pierre district. From that time on, the ground floor was dedicated to catering and bistro life, a vocation that has never wavered.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-0c2a258\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">1939 - 1970<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Major Davel<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">It all began in 1939, when a caf\u00e9 opened here under the name Major Davel, in homage to the hero of Vaudois independence. On this square, formerly called Place du Faucon, the caf\u00e9 quickly became a neighbourhood landmark, just a stone's throw from Saint-Fran\u00e7ois.\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-6748509\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">1970 - 1990<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Le Mao and Major Davel<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">This is the most rock'n'roll era of the house. Intellectuals, artists, students, and activists make it their headquarters and affectionately rename the caf\u00e9 \u00abLe Mao\u00bb, a nod to its Chinese owner. The place is alive and kicking, perhaps too much so: in October 1976, the police order its closure. No matter, Le Major Davel reopens in the spring of 1977, and life goes on.\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-abdd48f\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">1990 - 2020<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Of Portland, Quai des Brunes and The White Star<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">In the 90s, the venue reinvented itself and became \"le Portland\". Then came \"le Quai des Brunes\", an iconic bar-restaurant of Lausanne's nights in the early 2000s: a festive place, open to everyone, where people would gather for aperitifs and where evenings lasted until 2am. Ask around, many Lausanners still have memorable memories of it.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-c404f09\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">2021<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">Historic Pub Lausanne\"<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">The City of Lausanne awards the \"Historic Caf\u00e9 of Lausanne\" label to L'\u00c9toile Blanche,\namong 44 establishments selected for their age and authenticity. This label, initiated\nby the Municipality in partnership with GastroLausanne and Lausanne Tourisme, distinguishes\nplaces that are part of the city's living heritage and soul.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vt-item-d63f7b78 elementor-repeater-item-d373834\"><div class=\"vt-card-d63f7b78\"><div class=\"vt-date-d63f7b78\">2025<\/div><h3 class=\"vt-title-d63f7b78\">A new direction, the same spirit<\/h3><div class=\"vt-desc-d63f7b78\">The White Star is writing the current chapter of this long story. Coffee in the morning, generous brasserie fare at lunch and in the evening, with our cordon bleus acclaimed by Gault&amp;Millau, our lively terrace and lingering evenings: we cultivate exactly what has brought this establishment to life since 1939. Official recognition has come to confirm this: the City of Lausanne has awarded us its \u00abHistoric Caf\u00e9 of Lausanne\u00bb label, created in 2021 to distinguish emblematic establishments of its heritage.\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Notre histoire Nich\u00e9e au c\u0153ur du quartier Saint-Pierre, \u00e0 deux pas de la cath\u00e9drale et de la place de la Palud, L&rsquo;\u00c9toile Blanche occupe l&rsquo;un des emplacements les plus charg\u00e9s d&rsquo;histoire de Lausanne. Nich\u00e9e au c\u0153ur du quartier Saint-Pierre, \u00e0 deux pas de la cath\u00e9drale et de la place de la Palud, L&rsquo;\u00c9toile Blanche occupe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4234","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Notre histoire - Etoile Blanche<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Du Major Davel au Quai des Brunes jusqu&#039;\u00e0 l&#039;\u00c9toile Blanche : d\u00e9couvrez l&#039;histoire de notre caf\u00e9 historique de Lausanne, Place Benjamin-Constant.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/etoileblanche.ch\/en\/notre-histoire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Notre histoire - 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