It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, as of December [update] , was 29, It is the second most important town in the Canton of Vaud. It is known for its thermal springs and is an important regional centre for commerce and tourism. The heights nearby Yverdon seem to have been settled at least since the Neolithic Age about BCE, as present archeological evidence shows.
The town was at that time only a small market place, at the crossroads of terrestrial and fluvial communication ways. People began to settle, at first in temporary huts at the water-front, for fishers and merchants, then in permanent dwellings. The imposing Castrum , or stronghold , called Castrum Ebredunense was the second largest in Switzerland and demonstrated the importance the Romans attached to Yverdon.
The port served as naval base for the barges supplying the defensive positions along the Rhine, which marked the North-Eastern border of the Empire. Thus the Roman " Vicus " of Eburodunum developed into a prosperous urban centre.
The sulphur springs were already used for a thermal spa , as attested by excavations. About a century after the first invasions of the Alemanni , when the "Vicus" had been completely destroyed, the Romans built a large military stronghold about CE. It covered about 5 acres 20, m 2 and was protected by gigantic ramparts and 15 masonry towers Castrum. The Barbarians invaded Italy in the 5th century, and threatened to assault Rome.
In a last desperate effort to save the city, all troops stationed North of the Alps were ordered back to Italy. The garrison and the Roman administration had to abandon the Yverdon camp.
