Author: Maarten Koning

140 Years of Rowing with the Société Nautique de Neuchâtel

The year is coming to an end, but a 140-year-old organisation deserves to be mentioned in 2025. The Société Nautique de Neuchâtel (SNN) was founded in 1885. The SNN was a club for various water sports, especially rowing, shallop outings, and sailing. Today, it is only a rowing club, but the name has remained unchanged. The word “Avrion” (rowing) appears only on the website.

Francis Ballet, Vice-President of the SNN, on 21 September 2025. Photo: Charlotte Donzallaz 

Shortly after the founding of the SNN, the Swiss Rowing Federation “Swiss Rowing” was established in 1896. The SNN and four other rowing clubs from western Switzerland immediately joined this federation.
The numerous regattas in Switzerland and the competition venue at Rotsee near Zurich now enjoy an excellent reputation. In 2026, the Swiss Spectator will publish an article about rowing in Switzerland and the Swiss Rowing Federation.
Let us return to the SNN. Until the Second World War (1939–1945), touring rowing with large boats was the main activity. The excursions led across Lake Neuchâtel to the lakes of Bienne/Biel and Morat/Murten via the Broye and Thielle canals or to other places and rowing clubs around Lake Neuchâtel. In addition, there were and still are many visits to rowing clubs in Switzerland and abroad.
After 1945, competitive rowing and rowing in single sculls or other small boats became increasingly popular. The SNN began a collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel. In the following decades, the club counted several internationally renowned competitive rowers, including Olympic, European, and World Championship medal winners.
Rowing on Lake Neuchâtel is a privilege, not only because of the view of the Alps, the three Bernese peaks (Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau), and sometimes even Mont Blanc, but also because of the clarity of the water, the view of the Jura, the Laténium, the vineyards, and the many beautiful villages and small towns. The SNN is also a member of the Association Romande d’Aviron (ARA).
(Source and further information: Société Nautique de Neuchâtel)

Photo: Charlotte Donzallaz 

The Mont Terri Rock Laboratory near Saint-Ursanne

Switzerland is known for its excellent research institutes, scientific research and universities. The topics and themes range from climate change, glaciers, medicine and pharma, and CO2 reduction to technologies and other fields. The country is one of the world’s champions of innovation and patents. They have one thing in common: they occur at or above the Earth’s surface.

The Collégiale of Saint-Ursanne

Who would have thought that more than fourteen hundred years after the arrival of Saint-Ursanne, one of the most advanced research projects would be taking place three hundred metres underground near the monastery?

However, 300 metres below the earth’s surface, close to Saint-Ursanne (Canton Jura), is an innovative research project. The Mont Terri Rock Laboratory celebrated its 25th birthday in 2021. What began in 1996 as a small research facility in the Opalinus Clay of the Mont Terri motorway tunnel is now an internationally renowned research laboratory.

The Mont Terri visitor centre provides a well-documented overview of the kilometres of underground passages and the many fascinating experiments carried out at a depth of 300 metres for almost 25 years. There are also guided tours of the ‘laboratory’ for groups of at least ten people.

The railway station of Saint-Ursanne (canton of Jura) is located on the mountain near the Mont Terri underground laboratory project (Laboratoire souterrain Mont Terri/Felslabor Mont Terri. This unique international and intergovernmental project, initiated and supervised by swisstopo (a body of the Swiss Federation), has existed for several decades.

The monastery’s first known abbot (Bourquard of Burco, 1119-1139) and the last (Jean-Jacques Keller, 1789-1793) would have been proud.

The abbot from 1119 tot 1793

Opalinus Clay

The Opalinus clay was formed in the Jurassic period, some 180 million years ago. A subtropical sea then covered the region. The underground water still contains salt for this reason. The clay is almost impervious, making it an interesting material for storing radioactive materials and CO2.

The last 25 years have demonstrated that claystones, such as the Opalinus Clay, can safely contain radioactive waste over extremely long periods. Claystones and mudstones serve as a confinement function, also preventing gases such as CO2 from penetrating the biosphere from deeper layers.

The website provides an excellent overview of the history of the past 25 years, the development of the Mont Terri rock laboratory, the experiments and their results, and an outlook on future research priorities. 

The Mont Terri Rock Laboratory has a total length of 1,280 meters. It began in 1996 with small niches and continued to expand until 2018. 

Organisation

More than 500 people from 22 partner organisations, including governments, universities, and research institutes, from Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Two petroleum companies are also involved.

The Project has three main objectives: to research and develop new methods that can be applied in claystone such as the Opalinus Clay, but which are also transferable to other argillaceous formations worldwide, to characterise the Opalinus Clay, which means to acquire knowledge of the physical, chemical and biological properties of this clay formation, and to carry out demonstration experiments. Young scientists from around the world contribute to numerous experiments. 

The latter primarily demonstrates the long-term behaviour (hundreds of thousands of years) and the feasibility of constructing a disposal system. The main question is always the same, whether for radioactive waste or CO2 storage: is a deep repository system safe, in that it does not threaten the operators in the short term and the geosphere and the biosphere in the long run? 

Legal basis and funding

The legal basis between the research partners and the Swiss operator Swisstopo defines the rights and obligations of the Project Partners. The Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo is the geo-information centre of the Swiss Confederation.

Since 2010, Swisstopo has operated the Mont Terri Visitor Centre in collaboration with NAGRA (National Cooperation for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste/Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle) and ENSI (Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate/Eidgenössisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat).

As the facility owner, the Canton of Jura supervises the operator SWISSTOPO and grants it annual authorisation to conduct the experiments. The Canton of Jura has established a monitoring commission, known as the Commission de suivi. 

To date, around 180 experiments have been performed in the rock laboratory. Of these, 75% have been completed, analysed and published. Currently, approximately 45 experiments are running. The Swiss government covers around 40% of the budget.

To illustrate the subtropical sea from 175 million years ago, the project also offers many fossils and geological strata from that period and later.

Research and experiments

The research and development sector is concerned with matters of testing and further development of investigative technologies, e.g. drilling and excavating technologies, continual sampling of pore water, geochemical and microbiological experiments, earthquakes, ascertaining ground pressure, development of suitable hydro-tests in highly impermeable formations, measurement of geological changes in host rock and pore water in a deep storage system, methodologies for long-term monitoring.

Future

The Project is a so-called rock laboratory. It means that it is used exclusively for research. There will never be a deep geological repository. A key feature is that partners can choose their research priorities. The central theme will remain a repository for the long-term storage of radioactive waste. However, the laboratory will also increasingly make an essential contribution to energy strategies and CO2 reduction experiments.

(Source and further information: www.mont-terri.ch).

Silent Night, Holy Night, the Basler Liedertafel and the Münster

The eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in April 1815 caused a significant cooling of the Earth. It was the largest recorded eruption, killing 90,000 people and sending about 150 cubic kilometres of dust and ash thirty kilometres into the atmosphere. The force was equal to 170,000′ Hiroshima bombs’.

The cooling was also felt in Switzerland and other countries of Central Europe. It snowed in the valleys and rained continuously in the summer months. 1815 and 1816 were years without a summer, and the times around 1818 were particularly challenging, following the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815).

Floods, poor harvests, and a great famine resulted. This period lasted until 1819, when average temperatures returned to normal. It also marked the last great famine in Switzerland, particularly in the northeastern part of the new Confederation, which was founded in 1815.

The dust and ash in the atmosphere also changed the colours of the sunrise and sunset. The sunlight reflected, and beautiful violet, orange, red, blue, and green combinations could be seen (see also the romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1176-1840)  in this context).

However, it did not alleviate hunger in Switzerland and the surrounding areas. The Austrian Father Joseph Mohr (1792-1848) and Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) brought spiritual relief.

They composed “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” for Christmas 1818 in and for the hungry village of Oberndorf (near Salzburg). They were also the first to perform it in the church on Christmas Eve 2018. The Stille Nacht-Kapelle (Silent Night Chapel) now stands on the site of the former church (demolished at the beginning of the 20th century).

In Oberndorf, the song signalled solidarity and comfort. Within a few years, it was also known in Switzerland, despite the absence of social media, due to the quality of the composition.

Today, ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ is the most successful Christmas carol of all time (and not the modern carols). More than two billion people sing it in over 300 languages and dialects, with many variations, as it was also performed on 14 December by the Basler Liedertafel choir and the audience at the cathedral.

However, it did not earn its creators any money or royalties. Joseph Mohr died poor, Franz Xaver Gruber moved to Hallein and found recognition, but no rappen for his ‘hit’.

(Source: Stille Nacht Museum Hallein; Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz)

Belle and Isabelle again in Palais DuPeyrou in Neuchâtel

Belle van Zuylen (1740–1805) was once again the central figure in the Palais du Peyrou in Neuchâtel. The latest edition of the Nouvelle Revue neuchâteloise is entirely dedicated to Belle, who, after her marriage in 1771, lived in Colombier and called herself Isabelle de Charrière, the name of her husband Charles-Emmanuel de Charrière de Penthaz (1735–1808).

Michel Schulp presents the new edition of The Nouvelle Revue neuchâteloise, 4 December 2025

Under the title ‘Isabelle de Charrière d’Utrecht à Colombier. Une femme de lettres engagée au siècle des Lumières, the beautifully illustrated edition highlights the life of Belle and Isabelle in words and images.

For Isabelle, Palais DuPeyrou was not just any place, but the residence of her best friend in Neuchâtel, Pierre-Alexandre DuPeyrou. Alexandre, born in 1729 in Paramaribo as the son of a Neuchâtel native in the service of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, built this palace after his return to Neuchâtel in 1774 (he was also the financier of the town hall of Neuchâtel). He died in 1794.

Unknown artist, Pierre-Alexandre DuPeyrou (1729-1794). Collection: Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel

At that time, Neuchâtel was a principality of the King of Prussia (formally until 1857, when it had already been a canton of the Confederation for 42 years!). Not only do ‘villages’ in Innerschweiz and Appenzell often have a cosmopolitan grandeur in miniature, but so do Neuchâtel and the watchmaking cities Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds. They had global trade networks. The world, not just Europe, was the limit!

Isabelle attended many gatherings in the salons of Pierre-Alexandre DuPeyrou in Neuchâtel. She was also frequently in Lausanne, Geneva, and Paris. She was a regular guest in the salons and societies of the Enlightenment and knew the most prominent French, English, German, and Swiss representatives of that period.

After more than two centuries, Isabelle was, for a short time, once again present in her salon. This publication is a sequel to ‘Le manoir du Pontet à Colombier’, in the <Nouvelle Revue neuchâteloise>, No. 76, Winter 2002.

(Source and further information: ‘Isabelle de Charrière d’Utrecht à Colombier. Une femme de lettres engagée au siècle des Lumières’, in La Nouvelle Revue neuchâteloise, Guillaume Poisson and Michel Schulp (Editors), No. 167–168, Autumn–Winter 2025, 178 pages). 

Nature Park Doubs, St. Ursanne, Soubey’s Mill and the river Doubs

From Lake Les Brenets (Swiss name; Lake Chaillexon is the French name), the River Doubs forms the border between France and Switzerland, passing through the beautiful medieval town of Saint-Ursanne (canton of Jura).

This river is already a story in itself. Its name derives from the Latin dubius, “doubter”. With good reason, because from its source in the French Jura near Les Brenets (three small lakes with gorges and waterfalls, Les Gorges du Doubs and Le Saut du Doubs), it first heads northeast.

Le Doubs  near St. Ursanne

At St Ursanne, it turns north and then southwest again. The Doubs then continues its course through Besançon (Franche-Comté) and flows into the Saône near the town of Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (Saône-et-Loire department). Its length is more than 400 km, but its source is only 100 km from its mouth.

Soubey

The mill Moulin du Milieu of Soubey (1565)

This river is the namesake of an extraordinary park: the Regional Nature Park of the Doubs (le Parc Naturel Régional du Doubs), encompassing the cantons of Neuchâtel, Jura, and Bern.

The park of about three hundred square kilometres has a remarkable diversity: wooded landscapes and flowery meadows and pastures of great beauty, mountain plateaus (up to 1500 metres), gorges, moors, ponds (amongst others the ponds (les étangs)of Gruère, Royes, Bollement, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, the mosaic of villages, hamlets and isolated farms (many of which have now been converted to other uses, such as galleries, accommodation, ateliers and museums) or the horse-breeding farms of the Franches-Montagnes.

The park also offers excellent facilities for sports and tourism year-round.

(Source: www.parcdoubs.ch)

The Jewish Museum of Switzerland has reopened its doors

The Jewish Museum of Switzerland (Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz) has found a new home in a lavishly renovated wooden building in Basel, which opened on 30 November 2025. The former tobacco warehouse on Vesalgasse, which borders the medieval Jewish cemetery, combines Jewish history with contemporary architecture.

Opening speech by Naomi Lubrich, director of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland

The striking frontispiece and medieval Jewish gravestones are the first things to catch the eye. The frontispiece is an architectural translation of the relief ‘Jeziory’ (1973) by US artist Frank Stella (1936–2024).  Frank Stella’s artwork refers to the village of Jeziory in present-day Belarus with its impressive wooden synagogue, which once stood in hundreds of villages in the Lithuania-Poland region.

Frank Stella

Moshe Verbin, reconstruction of a wooden synagogue 

 The first special exhibition shows original works of art from Stella’s ‘Polish Village’ series alongside models of the destroyed synagogues. Like the new museum building, these were made of wood. The exhibition will run until January 2027.

The permanent exhibition spans two floors and traces the history of Judaism in Switzerland from Roman antiquity to the present day. The ‘Cult’ chapter highlights the cohesion of Jewish communities. In the ‘Culture’ chapter, topics such as origin, self-determination and survival tell a story that is as unique as it is eventful.

The quest for equality shaped relations with the non-Jewish community, the development of urban communities, anti-Semitism and self-assertion.

In total, the museum presents around 500 objects and many authentic and historical documents from 2000 years of history, from Basel to Riga, from Aleppo to Eilat and from Spain to South America, including around 150 loans and permanent loans from private and institutional collections.

An artefact from Augusta Raurica, proof of Jewish presence in this Roman town

A later article will take a closer look at this museum and the history of Jewish life in Switzerland.

(Source and further information: das Jüdische Museum der Schweiz)

Swiss Chocolate has Conquered the World and John Bowring

How is it that a small mountainous country, without cocoa trees and far from the sea, has been a leading producer of chocolate for two centuries? The primary raw material of chocolate is, in fact, cocoa.

Is there a link with the “Zuckerbäcker” from Grisons? In this region, pastry and confectionery were completely unknown in the 18th century. Yet, over two centuries (1700–1900), thousands of people from Grisons founded pastry shops and cafés all over the world, and later hotels, restaurants, breweries, and related businesses. It partly explains the success of tourism from 1850 onwards.

Initially, before colonisation by European countries (from the end of the 15th century), Central America was the leading producer of cocoa. The inhabitants—the Mayas, the Aztecs, and other peoples—used cocoa in various forms: as a drink, medicine, currency, a gift, or an offering to the gods. Today, West Africa is the leading cocoa supplier.

Cocoa

After the conquest of Central America, Europeans discovered and appreciated cocoa and chocolate. Until the end of the 18th century, however, this new product for Europe was reserved for the elite.

The Chocolate Revolution

The 19th century marked the beginning of chocolate’s era for the whole population. This period was marked not only by an industrial revolution but also by a chocolate revolution, in which Switzerland played a leading role.

Entrepreneurs and merchants were not only global pioneers in watchmaking, textiles, and, soon, mechanical engineering, comb manufacturing, railways, tunnel construction, hydroelectric power stations, and electrical engineering, but also in chocolate.

Inventions are never born in a vacuum, but in a context and a spirit of the times. Swiss merchants imported cocoa beans; farmers supplied abundant milk; and innovative entrepreneurs marketed new chocolates, backed by original advertising campaigns for the time. Their market was not limited to Europe, but extended worldwide!

Swiss chocolate pioneers

Rodolphe Lindt (1855–1909), François-Louis Cailler (1796–1852), Philippe Suchard (1797–1884), Theodor Tobler (1876–1941), Henri Nestlé (1814–1890), and Daniel Peter (1836–1919) are just a few of the many Swiss pioneers of chocolate.

François-Louis Cailler revolutionised chocolate production thanks to his steam engine. His chocolate factory, the first in Switzerland, was founded in 1819 in Vevey.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Henri Nestlé marketed condensed milk for children in Vevey. Daniel Peter applied this process to chocolate, which led to the creation of milk chocolate.

Philippe Suchard, the first multinational in chocolate, launched the world’s first marketing campaign in Neuchâtel. His advertisements in newspapers, posters, murals, and iconography are still collectors’ items today!

John Hassall (1868-1948), 1900. Collection: Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Neuchâtel

In Neuchâtel, Suchard’s posters and murals are still visible on walls and billboards. Theodor Tobler later designed posters that are now exhibited as works of art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Rodolphe Lindt and his Conchemachine. © Photo: Lindt Home of Chocolate

Rodolphe Lindt may have made one of the most revolutionary discoveries for chocolate lovers. His conche is a device that mixes chocolate with other ingredients, stirring and softening it until it tastes irresistible and “melts like chocolate on the tongue.”

In short, the Industrial Revolution made the cocoa bean a mass product accessible to all social classes in Europe. Multinationals eventually absorbed most Swiss chocolate manufacturers of the 19th century, but some remained independent, including Lindt-Sprüngli.

Their history and current operations are presented in various permanent exhibitions. The Maison Cailler in Broc (canton of Fribourg), the Chocolarium in Flawil (canton of St. Gallen), the Alimentarium in Vevey, or the Lindt House of Chocolate in Kilchberg (canton of Zurich) are just a few examples. 

The world of chocolate in pictures, figures and geography

Lindt Home of Chocolate

The Lindt House of Chocolate presents not only the history of the cocoa bean, modern production methods, and research, but also offers the opportunity to taste and discover up close the many types of chocolate and their ingredients.

Conclusion

Another aspect is the centuries-old Swiss export, industrial innovation, entrepreneurial and commercial spirit, and outward-looking mentality. The “villages” of the primitive cantons (Urschweiz) and Appenzell, their metropolitan prestige and recognition as independent towns (Reichsunmittelbarkeit) in the Holy Roman Empire since the Middle Ages, also fit into this pattern. Chocolate is just one of many successful products.

The comparison with the Zuckerbäcker is not far-fetched. Chocolatiers and Zuckerbäcker did not succeed because they loved sweets. They created new products from nothing on a global scale because there was demand.

Although Switzerland is undeniably located in the heart of Europe and maintains good relations with European countries, this does not necessarily mean institutional membership in this international organisation is required.

On the contrary, Switzerland, its scientific research, universities, industry, commerce, institutions, and currency are focused on quality, subsidiarity, direct democracy, and decentralisation. The European Union, still young, is not compatible with these principles. Switzerland is more focused on quality; the European Union generally favours quantity.

When transferring legislative, judicial, and executive powers to this international organisation, it is wise to heed the conclusions of John Bowring’s 1835 report. At the time, he felt it was not wise for the Swiss Confederation to join the German Customs Union. Fear, activism, and opportunism are still poor advisers.

The photos in this article were taken at the Lindt House of Chocolate.

Impressions from Lindt Home of Chocolate

 

Kilchberg

The Swiss History of Wahlen

The Romans came, saw, conquered, and then left the territory of present-day Switzerland, but they left behind a lasting presence. They founded the first Roman colonies (Colonia Iulia Equestris (Nyon), Colonia Augusta Rauracorum (Augst and Kaiseraugst), Colonia Pia Flavia Constans Emerita Helvetiorum Foederata, known as Aventicum (Avenches), and Forum Claudii Vallensium (Martigny). Moreover, the Roman presence is still clearly felt in many other places, such as Vindonissa (Windisch), Orbe-Boscéaz, or Vallon.

Without the Romans, there would be no Christianity and no bishoprics, cathedrals, basilicas, and monasteries in Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Sion, Basel, Zurich, Lugano, St. Gallen, Romainmôtier, Chur, and many other places.

Wahlen

In many other places, however, the Roman presence is hardly or not at all visible. The Roman watchtower on the Stürmenchopf (768 m) and the Roman villa in Wahlen (Canton Basel-Landschaft) have been left to nature. Yet, the history of this small village is a typical Swiss story.

Wahlen lies on an old Roman military road. From the French-speaking part of Switzerland, it led through the “Val Terbi” near Delémont (Delsberg), over the Fringeli and the Plattenpass at Blauen, to the Rhine bend near Basel. Numerous finds also point to settlement during the Bronze and Celtic ages. The Alemanni arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, followed by the Merovingians, Carolingians, Burgundians, the Holy Roman Empire, local dynasties, the Bishopric of Basel, and the Habsburgs.

Blauen

The name of the village is associated, on the one hand, with the Latin “Vallum” (wall, fortification), and, on the other hand, with the Alemannic “Walch,” meaning “Welsch.” The village was first mentioned in documents in 1166 and 1179.

The Wahlen dynasty appears in 1275. Through inheritance, half of the village later passed to the House of Austria, while the other half went to the Bishopric of Basel. Bailiffs ruled the village until the French invasion in 1792.

In 1525, Wahlen entered into a “Burgrecht” (citizenship agreement) with the city of Basel and adopted the new faith in 1529, only to have Bishop Christoph Blarer von Wartensee (1542–1608) enforce the Counter-Reformation in 1589.

In 1792, the French invasion, occupation and the proclamation of the Rauracian Republic followed. Three months later, France annexed the village and assigned it to the Département Mont-Terrible, and in 1800 to the Département Haut-Rhin. In 1815, Wahlen was assigned to the Canton of Bern by decision of the Congress of Vienna. In 1994, after a referendum, the village transferred to the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.

Frontier of the cantons Basel-Landschaft and Solothurn

The Swiss Alpine Club/ Section SAC-Basel

For the annual celebration of the SAC-Basel, Wahlen is a symbolic place. The yearly celebration of the SAC Basel is always dedicated to the long-standing members, some of whom have been involved for 50, 60, or even 70 years! Although most of them did not personally experience the developments described above, two or almost three generations of membership are noteworthy.

The Swiss Federal Yodelling Festival (Das Eidgenössische Jodlerfest) will take place from 26 to 28 June 2026 in Basel.

The route from Bärschwil to Wahlen also offers various historical and natural highlights, including the Kalköfen Stritteren, the Buechloch of Bärschwil, the poets Albin Fringeli (1899–1993) and Dieter Fringeli (1942–1999) and their farm, as well as the former glassworks on the Birs.

The Swiss Alpine Club (Schweizer Alpen Club, SAC/Club Alpin Suisse, CAS) organises ski tours, hiking trips, and other sports in the high mountains and other areas.

The Birs near Bärschwil and the former Glass factory

Albin Fringeli and Dieter Fringeli and their farm

Kalköfen Stritteren

 

Not a SAC-Hütte, but a simple Hollenhütte

Impressions from the surroundings

Tandem in the Museum and the Musée imaginaire Suisse

Around 125 museums throughout Switzerland and some neighbouring regions facilitate unconventional encounters through ” TiM—Tandem in the Museum” (TaM, Tandem au Musée en français).

TiM facilitates encounters and opens the museums to new target groups in Graubünden. More than 400 so-called TiM guides are active and accompany other people to museums.

In pairs, they tell a story about a work of art or museum object and get to know each other through this experience. At the same time, they become active in the museum, thereby shaping their museum experience.

Tim-Tam for children at the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The stories that emerge during TiM visits will be published on the virtual “Musée imaginaire Suisse” (www.mi-s.ch).

TiM is also available in Romansh in collaboration with the Lia Rumantscha. The St. Johann Monastery Museum in Müstair, the Unterengadiner Museum in Scuol, the Kirchner Museum Davos, the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, and the Casa d’Angel in Lumbrein are among the participating museums.

(Source and further information: www.tim-tam.ch)