ABSTRACT
When in 1688 Pierre de Montenach was ordained bishop of Lausanne, a long lasting conict was about to be settled. Ever since the conquest of Lausanne by Bern’s troops in 1536 the question where the bishop was to reside remained unanswered. Although it had been decided ocially in 1613 that the episcopal see was to be transferred to Fribourg on a temporary basis, the town’s council showed a deep-rooted unwillingness to accept an ecclesiastical prince to reside in their town. e very fact that new bishops were usually handpicked clients of the Duke of Savoy, who was guardian of Lausanne’s ecclesiastical property, made the situation even more complicated. It was close to impossible to nd a compromise between the council and the distrusted dukes.1
