Montreux, music and déjá vu

Montreux time: Residents relax in Montreux, reportedly the inspiration for the Queen song “A Winter’s Tale”.Sometimes you visit a place without knowing anything about it. It is only after you leave that the many things you experienced suddenly seem connected to that place.

That is what happened when I recently agreed to accompany a friend to visit the hilly, sleepy town of Montreux in Switzerland.

My friend studied for two years at a school for hoteliers in the city 15 years ago. She invited me to tag along while she zipped down memory lane.

Most parts of the town remained the same, my friend said.

She explained everything about the alpine town, including its popular Chateau de Chillon (Chillon Castle) and most of Switzerland’s famed attributes, from picture-perfect mountains and creamy milk chocolates to stylish watches – but not Freddie Mercury.

Wait. Is this the Freddie Mercury from the legendary rock band Queen?

Yep. The late Queen frontman is depicted in a three-meter-tall statue holding a microphone while overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux, which is at the foot of the Alps around an hour and a half train ride from Geneva.

We saw the statue, took a picture of it and left the city, but the question remained, nagging: Why on earth was his statue there?

Legend: A three-meter-tall statue of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury stands lakeside in Montreux, Switzerland.After the visit I googled it and found that the statue was carved by sculptor Irena Sedlecka and unveiled on Nov. 25, 1996, and it was indeed special for both the late music genius as well as locals.

Mercury has a special place in the hearts of people in Montreux, not only after it became the home of Mountain Studios, bought by the band in 1978 and used when Queen recorded their album Jazz, but also because the quiet town was Freddie’s final haven, where he was able to escape from the press and spend his last months recording.

The municipality was reportedly the inspiration behind the 1995 single “A Winter’s Tale” on Made in Heaven. The song was reportedly recorded two weeks before Mercuty’s death on Nov. 24, 1991, at the age of 45.

Starting in 2003, fans from around the world come to the city to pay tribute to the singer as part of Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day the first weekend of September.

It seems music is really in the air of this scenic site home to fewer than 25,000 people. But the city bustles when more than 200,000 music lovers flock the area to attend one of the most prestigious music festivals in the world in early July.

The Montreux Jazz Festival was organized by Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel in 1967. It was first held at the Montreux Casino and lasted for three days, featuring exclusive jazz artists including, among others, Bill Evans, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald.

The event was originally pure jazz but later opened up to artists from other genres in the 1970s to perform during the two-week fiesta. The festival changed even more in the 1980s, as it included an even wider variety of musical styles like rock and pop, although jazz remains the emphasis.

Miles Davis came to Montreux several times, as did British hard rock band Deep Purple, who were invited as headliners five times. Santana returned in 1980.

But music is not the only thing the city has to offer beyond its picture-postcard scenery.

The alpine town also has the 1,000-year-old Chateau de Chillon.

Excavations carried out at the end of the 19th century affirm that the site has been occupied since
the Bronze Age.

The current structure, situated on a rocky islet, is the result of several centuries of constant building, renovation and restoration. The islet was known both as natural protection and a strategic location to control passage between northern and southern Europe.

Picture perfect: Montreux boasts scenic views of the Alps.More than a month after my visit, I was brought back to the alpine town when I accidentally found Queen’s “A Winter’s Tale” in my collection while shaking the dust off my stash of CDs.

I hadn’t even realized I owned it.

Listening to the lyrics brought me back to the city, and I felt a bit of regret.

What if I knew more about the place before my visit?

So quiet and peaceful
Tranquil and blissful
There’s a kind of magic in the air
What a truly magnificent view
A breathtaking scene
With the dreams of the world
In the palm of your hand

— Queen’s “A Winter’s Tale”

— Photos by Damar Harsanto