Author: Maarten Koning

The Ferries of Basel

The four small wooden ferries between the Rhine bridges of Basel have a history of more than 150 years. Until 1879, the Mittlere Brücke (until 1905 a thirteenth-century construction) was the only bridge. That was the reason to maintain the connection between Kleinbasel and Grossbasel with wooden ships of about 9 meters in length.

These ferries (Fähre) were initially called Fliegende Brücke (Flying Bridges); the operation was in the hands of a Society of Artists (Künstlergesellschaft). The Society spent the profits on the construction of an Art Hall on the Steinenberg in the city centre.

Due to the arrival of other bridges (including the Wettstein Bridge (Wettsteinbrücke) in 1879, the Johanniter Bridge (Johanniterbrücke) in 1882, the Dreirosen Bridge (Dreirosenbrücke) in 1934, and the bridge at Kraftwerke Birsfelden in 1954), as well as motorisation, the use of ferries declined. The last boatsman (Fährimann) retired in 1976.

A foundation was established to keep four boats in operation: the Ueli, Wilde Maa, Leu and Vogel Gryff, legendary figures from the history of Kleinbasel. This foundation merged into the Fähri-Verein Basel.

The four ferries still cross the Rhine between Klein- and Grossbasel, emitting no CO2. The current of the Rhine ensures the transfer to the other side by a cable construction.

(source and further information: www.faehri.ch).

Palace in the Air in St. Moritz

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first flight between St. Moritz (Canton Grisons) and London. One of the initiators in 1920 was Hans Badrutt (1876-1953), owner of the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz.

The St. Moritz Lake (St. Moritzersee), right in front of the hotel, was also the location of the first aeroplane flights in Switzerland in 1910.

The first Swiss airlines were founded shortly after the First World War; one of them, Ad Astra, was owned by Alfred Comte (1895-1965).

Comte flew more than 230 flights in the skies of Grisons in the winters of 1919 and 1920. Winter tourism was booming again, and British aristocrats, captains of industry and artists formed the most significant group of tourists.

The direct flight from St. Moritz to London and back, with an estimated travel time of nine hours, was the next logical step.

It was made possible by the new international aviation agreement between France, Great Britain and Switzerland, signed shortly after the war.

The first flight with Comte as pilot took place on March 4th, 1920, with a Condor CH-2. The Badrutt’s Palace Hotel celebrates this centennial anniversary and organises the ‘Palace in the Air’ line between St. Moritz and London.

The first flight from London landed after less than two hours on Friday, February 14, 2020, not on the St. Moritz lake anymore, but at the nearby Samedan Airport, and departed St. Moritz again the same day.

On 22 and 23 February, there will be two more flights from London to St. Moritz and back.    

The Swiss Railway Company

Basel had the first Railway in Switzerland. In 1845, trains ran via Saint-Louis to Strasbourg, and in 1852, they ran to Paris. The “Spanisch-Bröstli-Bahn” between Baden and Zurich has operated since 1847.

In 1850, the country had only 25 kilometres of railways and three stations: Basel, Baden, and Zurich. Europe had more than 20,000 kilometres of track and over 700 stations. The sovereign cantons were unable and unwilling to develop the network until 1848.

The new Confederation, along with the visionary Alfred Escher (1819-1882), made it possible.  Around 1860, there were 650 kilometres of railways, 1,300 kilometres in 1864 and 2,730 kilometres in 1870, mainly in the country’s north.

The Alpine region was different. The Gotthard was the first breakthrough. Alfred Escher chaired the Gotthardgesellschaft, founded in 1871.

The tunnel was completed in 1882, and in 1902, the Swiss Railway Company (SBB, CFF, FFS) was founded. The arduous venture of the Gotthard Tunnel was repeated in 2016.

The Field Barns of Baselbiet

Field barns are a testament to the ancient agricultural culture in the rural areas of Baselbiet (Canton of Basel-Landschaft). Most of the field barns are in decline because they have lost their purpose.

Hay sheds and small barns for cattle were built in large numbers in the 18th century to provide shelter for hay, cattle and people. Since the 1950s, motorisation and rationalisation have made these buildings redundant. Around 280 field barns and hay sheds were built in the 17th and 19th centuries.

The association Baselbieter Feldscheunen (Baselbieter Field barns) was founded in 2010. The goal is to draw attention to the cultural heritage of the barns.

(Source and further information: www.feldscheunen.ch).

The Champ-Pittet Centre and the Grande Cariçaie

The Champ-Pittet Centre in the Grande Cariçaie features an interactive exhibition on the forest, marsh, and three gardens, as well as a natural laboratory and various art exhibitions.

The Grande Cariçaie is a large nature reserve on the southeast shore of Lake Neuchâtel. The shoreline of the lake originated from the first water correction in the Jura at the end of the 19th century and is composed of peat and swamp areas, forests, and shallow water zones.

A quarter of Switzerland’s animal and plant species live here, including many rare and endangered species. The Grande Cariçaie is the most extensive contiguous marshland in Switzerland and encompasses eight nature reserves.

These reserves are known as Grande Cariçaie. Three gardens also show a wealth of plants and environmentally friendly horticultural methods.

(Further information: www.pronatura-champ-pittet.ch). 

Hot-air Balloon Festival

The 42nd hot-air balloon festival started in Château-d’Oex on 25 January. The annual event lasts until 2 February. More than sixty balloonists from fifteen countries take part in various activities. The traditional Night Glow takes place on 31 January.

The program offers conferences, active participation of participants (children and adults), flights in the valley, formation flights and other aerial shows. Besides, two flights commemorate the historic 1909 balloon flight of Albert Gockel and Viktor Franz Hess and the twentieth anniversary of the balloon flight festivals of St. Niklaas (Belgium), Romorantin (France), Bristol (UK) and Château-d’Oex (Switzerland). (More information: (www.chateau-doex.ch).

The Merian Botanical Gardens in Basel

The Merian Gardens (Merian Gärten) are a botanical garden on the outskirts of Basel. Their history dates back to 1824 when Christoph Merian (1800-1858) acquired the Brüglingerhof and 56 hectares of land.

The area was transferred to the Christoph Merian Foundation, which developed the botanical garden in 1968. The Brüglingerhof remained an independent agricultural enterprise until 2012.

Christoph Merian. Collection: Merian Gärten

The garden is situated amidst the Birs River landscape. The terraces are visible and divide the gardens topographically.

The gardens comprise the Rhododendron Valley, the Medicinal Garden, the Dry Biotope, and a collection of approximately 1,500 historical iris species and other flora.

(Source and further information: www.meriangaerten.ch).

Impressions 

The buildings

The mill and the museum

The Gardens

Prospeciesrara

Prospecierara

The other gardens

  

The park

    

 

Max Kettel and Valais

Switzerland has always been a crossroads of political, economic and social developments, culture and trade from Roman times onwards.

The exhibition La Suisse Magazine. Max Kettel. Les reportages de 1926 à 1960 in Martigny shows for the first time the production of the (forgotten) photographer Max Keller (1902-1961).

More than 250 photographs and 120 magazines with his photographs are on show. They illustrate the reportages he made from 1926 to 1960 in and about Wallis and Switzerland.

Kettel was an excellent observer. He was a witness of  changes and his photographs are documentaries.

The Wallis Media Library (Médiathèque Valais/ Mediathek Wallis) offers free access to thousands of documents from different media, books, magazines, films, photography and modern media.

The library also organizes exhibitions and other events of cultural-historical topics. (Source and further information: www.mediatheque.ch).

 

Parzival on the Julier Pass

The legend of knight Parzival is one of the most beautiful epics in European literature. In the theatre tower (Theaterturm) on the Julier Pass, there is no knight’s spectacle around King Arthur’s Round Table and no Wagnerian view of the world either.

The story is told again. It is about the experiences and life story of a lonely man who goes in search of the meaning of life and finally ends up in front of a castle, where he stays for the rest of his life. The counterpart of this version of Parzival is about his father Gahmuret, who only wants to accumulate heroic deeds, marriages and fame. He always goes further and finds no peace.

Performances Parzival: 31 January, 7, 8, 20, 23, 29 February, 7 March, Theaterturm on the Julier Pass. Performances Gahmuret in Riom, Clavadeira: 6, 9, 21, 22, 5 February, 8 March. (Source and further information: www.origen.ch).

 

The Eye of the Whale

The Swiss cartoonist, illustrator and storyteller Tom Tirabosco (1966) is not only known for his comic albums, children’s book author and contributions in magazines and newspapers, but also his concern about the ecosystem.

He is in particular worried about the global fauna and flora system on land and in the seas.

Tirabosco symbolized his worry by his drawings and music. He also wrote a story through the eye of a whale on the occasion of the ‘Continents of the Whale’ event at the Cartoomuseum in Basel.

He showed the cruelty of the whale hunt.

(Tom Tirabosco Wonderland. Cartoonmuseum Basel).