Author: Maarten Koning

360° panorama of Swiss Castles

Burgdorf, Hallwyl, Wildegg, Romont, Spiez, Zug, Waldegg, Werdenbergand the Stockalper castle in Brig can be visited virtually and explored inside and out.

The individual visit to the magnificent 360° panorama offers the viewer a unique experience completely new in the world of cultural heritage.

The GSK (Gesellschaft Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte (www.gsk.ch) developed an app called 360° Swiss Heritage in 2019. More castles from all regions of the country will follow.

It is possible to activate the gyroscope on mobile phones and tablets: Anyone who moves the phone or tablet experiences a 360° image that moves with them.

(Source and further information: www.360-swiss-heritage.ch).

Marienberg Abbey

Romanesque buildings (monasteries, castles and a few secular buildings) can also be seen in South Tyrol  (see, for example, the Alpine Romanesque Road/ Alpine Strasse der Romanik, www.stiegenzumhimmel.it).

The Benedictine Abbey of Marienberg in the village of Malles was originally located in Tarasp (Canton of Graubünden). It was founded in the 11th century. In the twelfth century, it moved to its present location for logistical reasons.

The monastery went through various difficult and glorious times, but still functions as a monastic community and museum nowadays. In 1807, the curtain seemed to have fallen,  but the monastery reopened in 1816.

(Source: www.marienberg.it).

Swisscollections.ch

Swisscollections is the new gateway to historical and modern collections in Swiss libraries and archives. In swisscollections, you can find archive material (including unpublished papers), images, old prints and rare books, document collections, film material, manuscripts, maps, music recordings, sheet music, text recordings as well as listings in bibliographies of cantons. It is a metacatalogue that draws on various data pools.

Swisscollections is a complement to Swisscovery, the Swiss national library platform (https://swisscovery.slsp.ch, see also Swiss Spectator 10 december 2020).

(Source and further information: https://swisscollections.ch).

Mollis

Ligurians were the first inhabitants of the region. The Rhaetians succeeded them, who were subdued by the Romans in 15 BC. Their rule lasted for 400 years.

The origin of the name is the Latin word “mollis,” meaning soft. Around 400, the Romans had to cede the area to the Alemanni. In the 9th century, the Säckingen Monastery (Bad Säckingen, Germany) acquired extensive estates in the Glarus region, including Mollis.

Mollis (canton of Glarus) was first mentioned in 1288. The Reformation was adopted in 1529. Between 1714 and 1789, the production of cotton, particularly spinning and, from 1760, weaving, contributed to prosperity. Due to its strategically important location, the village suffered greatly from warfare by foreign troops from 1798 to 1803. In 1811, the heart of the correction, the “Molliser” Eschner canal, was completed.

(Source and further information: www.glarusnord-tourimus.ch).

The Hôtel des Postes in Neuchâtel

Three architects from Neuchâtel designed the Hôtel des Postes: Jean Béguin, Ernest Prince and Alfred Rychner.

The Hôtel des Postes, situated near the port of Neuchâtel, was constructed over three years and inaugurated on April 1, 1896. The building formerly housed the World Union of Postal Companies, founded by the former Federal Councillor, the Neuchâtelois Eugène Borel (1835-1892).

Under the cornice are engraved the names of 31 countries and 22 Swiss cantons. This is also a unique document because of the vanished countries and empires, as well as the emergence of new countries and the reemergence of old ones, such as Serbia. Today, the building houses the town’s post office and tourist office.