Summary
Cassandre Berdoz is a Swiss event organizer and the first woman to serve as Watchman of Lausanne Cathedral.
Cassandre Berdoz | |
|---|---|
| Guette de la Cathédrale Notre Dame de Lausanne | |
| Assumed 19 August 2021–present | |
| Preceded by | Renato Häusler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland |
| Education | University of Neuchâtel |
| Occupation | event planner watchman |
Biography edit
Berdoz was born and raised in Lausanne.[1][2]
While a student at the University of Neuchâtel, Berdoz wrote letters to Lausanne city officials requesting they consider hiring a woman for the Cathedral watchman.[1] A few years later, when the recruitment process began for a new watchman, Berdoz applied.[1][3] After two rounds of interviews and an audition, Berdoz was selected as watchman, becoming the first woman to ever hold the position.[1][4] She assumed the role on 19 August 2021.[5]
As Watchman of the Lausanne Cathedral, she is assigned to post three to five nights a month, keeping watch from the bell tower.[1][6] On the nights of her post, from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM, Bersoz stands at each corner of the tower and calls out: “C’est la guette, il a sonné vingt-deux heures!”[1][7]
Berdoz also works in event management.[1] She is a project manager for a communications agency, helping organize the annuel Nuit des Musées.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Woman at the Top of the Tower". 9 November 2021.
- ^ "In Switzerland, Feminism Advances from the Top of a Bell Tower".
- ^ "Avec Cassandre Berdoz, Lausanne tient sa première guette". Le Temps. 26 August 2021.
- ^ Minder, Raphael (28 January 2022). "After 600 Years, Swiss City at Last Has a Woman on Night Watch". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Lausanne tradition carrying on in female form".
- ^ "After 600 years of night watchmen, Lausanne gets first watchwoman". 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Europe's first female night watch keeps vigil over Lausanne".