Author: Maarten Koning

Dorneck Castle

Dorneck Castle near Dornach (Canton Solothurn) was first mentioned in documents around 1350. The barons of Pfeffingen were probably the builders in the 11th century.

The complex later came into the possession of the Counts of Saugener and, from about 1200, of the Counts of Thierstein. The Habsburgs bought the castle in 1384. After the Habsburgs suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Sempach (1386), the castle changed hands several times.

The city of Solothurn acquired the castle in 1485, and it was subsequently expanded into a fortress over the following three centuries. French troops plundered the castle in 1798, and the canton of Solothurn bought the ruins in 1902.

Today, the National Heritage (Denkmalpflege) maintains the ruins in the beautiful hiking region of the Jura and the Birs river basin.

(Source: https://denkmalpflege-schweiz.ch).

The Dornach Monastery and the Swabian War

The monastery in Dornach (Canton Solothurn) was built between 1674 and 1676. Maria Magdalena von Roll (1604-1672) donated the money for its construction through a bequest in 1672.

It was the only Capuchin monastery in the Birseck region, located in the Birs River basin, which spans today’s Birseck and Solothurn cantons. The last monks departed in 1990, and the Dornach Monastery Foundation assumed control of the complex.

The monument commemorating the Battle of Dornach in the Swabian War (Schwabenkrieg) in 1499 is next to the monastery. Therefore, it is more than symbolic that on 27 July 1999, the 500th anniversary of the battle, the canton of Solothurn transferred the donation certificate from 1672 to the foundation.

The nearby Beinhaus of the monument contains the skulls and bones of Eidgenossen and Habsburger, the main opposing sides in the Schwabenkrieg,  ‘Die Edlen müssen bei den Bauern liegen’.

(Source: www.klosterdornach.ch).

Bally, Beatrix and Elizabeth

If you want to know what footwear King Beatrix (1936) wore on her coronation on April 30, 1980, you can visit the Bally Museum in Schönenwerd (Solothurn Canton). The collection shows the two pairs of pumps that the company made for the coronation.

The quality brand has also supplied the British royal family with footwear on several occasions: on the occasion of the sixtieth jubilee of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) in 1897, the accession to the throne of King Georg VI (1895-1952) in 1936 and the wedding shoes (1947) and coronation shoes of Queen Elizabeth II (1926) in 1952.

Dostoevsky, Basel and Icons 

On the occasion of the 200th birthday of Fyodor Michajlovič Dostoevsky  (1821-1881), the Philosophicum in Basel organises the exhibitions “Frauenbilder” and “Heilige Frauen. Dämonen. Toter Gott”, an exhibition of Russian icons. The event includes other events. On his European trips, Dostoevsky also visited Switzerland and Basel in 1862 and 1867.

The exhibition “Women Pictures” focuses on the crucial role of women in Dostojewsky’s personal life and in his literary work. Women also played an essential role in the reception of his works in Germany, notably Elisabeth Kaerrick (1886-1966) and Svetlana Geier (1923-1920). Two films from the Zwetajewa Centre for Russian Culture at the University of Freiburg are the exhibition’s focus.

The other exhibition concentrates on his literary work and the imagery of the icons. It revolves around the three themes “Women, Demons and dead God”.

The oldest iconographic motif in Russia is the icon of Sophia, the divine Wisdom and Virgin. The phenomenon of evil is another theme in the literary works of Dostoevsky and Christian art, especially the depiction of the underworld or hell.

The third theme ties in with an episode of Dostoevsky’s European journey. He was shocked to see Hans Holbein the Younger’s painting “Corpse in the Tomb” (Leichnam Christi im Grab) at the Kunstmuseum Basel. In Orthodox Christianity, Christ is the triumphant God. 

The exhibition shows Russian icons from Swiss private collections and the Iconenmuseum / Museum Burghalde in Lenzburg.

The project is an initiative of the Zwetajewa Centre and Internationale Graduiertenkollege 1956 (IGK of the University of Freiburg, Iconarium and Philosophicum Basel.

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

Nobel Prize Hermann Hesse and Basel

The Hermann Hesse Festival (Corona Volente) will take place in Basel from 9 to 11 December to mark the 75th anniversary of his 1946 Nobel Prize for Literature award.

The festival’s highlight is Hermann Hesse Square, which will be inaugurated on 10 December. The programme also includes lectures, readings, meetings, concerts, and other events.

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in Calw (then the Kingdom of Württemberg, now the German state of Baden-Württemberg). His parents, however, were citizens of the Russian Empire due to their Baltic, Russian, and German ancestry.

His (grand)parents worked for the Basler Mission in Basel, and Hesse went to school in this city (and even learned Basel German!). After secondary school, he initially worked in a bookshop. Additionally, two of his three wives were from that city. From 1924, he was a Swiss citizen. He died in Montagnola (Canton Ticino), where he had lived since 1919.

His literary career also began in Basel, first as a journalist and later as a writer.
After Karl May (1842-1912), he is the most widely read German writer of novels. His works have been translated into more than 60 languages.

His intellectual and spiritual education was shaped by his (grand)parents and his education and stay in Basel, one of the humanist capitals of Europe. The Hermann Hesse House in Lugano commemorates this great writer.

(Source and further information: www.hermann-hesse-basel.com)

The amphitheatre of Vindonissa

The XIII Legion built the wooden amphitheatre of Vindonissa (Windisch, Canton Aargau) during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD).

After a fire, the XXI legion replaced it with stone construction. The ranks (cavea) are divided into three horizontal sections and can accommodate about 11,000 spectators. The spectators were strictly separated according to the hierarchical division of society.

The elliptical Arena, measuring 64 by 52 metres, is Switzerland’s largest of the seven known amphitheatres. However, with its outer dimensions of 111 m by 99 m, the building is much smaller than the largest Roman amphitheatre, the Colosseum in Rome, which can seat 50,000 spectators.

The most famous performances were hunting wild animals (Venetationes) and the gladiatorial fights (Munera).

The first stone amphitheatre was built in Rome around 70 AD. It was quickly copied in the Roman provinces and symbolised Romanisation. It was at the expense of interest in the Roman theatre.

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

The Little Prince uff Baseldytsch

The first performance of The Little Prince (Der Kleine Prinz) at the Marionette Theatre in Basel took place in 1960.

The timeless novella by the French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) has been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects.

In Switzerland, the book has been translated into the four national languages (der Kleine Prinz, le petit Prince, il piccolo Principe, il pitchen Prinzi and even into Baaseldutsch: Dr gläi Brinz). The Little Prince is the most translated book in the world after the Bible.

The story is intended for children, but the subject matter is suitable for adults. The book is a must for adults. De Saint-Exupéry wrote the book Le Petit Prince in 1943, during his time of exile in New York. That year, the English translation ‘The Little Prince” appeared with the author’s drawings.

The author did not live to see the first French edition. He died on 31 July 1944 as an Allied air force pilot in the Mediterranean. The French edition appeared in 1946. The first Baaseldütschi Ussgoob (Basel German edition) appeared in 2016.

On his tour through the universe, the Prince encounters six planetoids and the planet Earth. Here, in the desert, he meets the story’s narrator, the pilot (a reference to De Saint-Exupéry).

He has made an emergency landing in the desert. In eight days, the Prince recounts his impressions and encounters with adults on the six planetoids, where he inhabits planetoid B612.

The last performance of the year will take place on December 31.

 (Source: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Dr gläi Brinz, Basel 2018).

(Further information: www.bmtheater.ch).

The Schweizmobil road network

The Schweizmobil road network is a unique system for hiking, cycling, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and canoeing.

It is uniformly signposted to the Principality of Liechtenstein. The routes are marked with a uniform system of names, numbers and colours. The Schweizmobil website and app provide all information on the tours.

The information includes: 32,000 km of national, regional and local routes, 60,000 km of hiking trails, the national maps of Swisstopo, 25,000 public transport stops linked to the timetable of the SBB (PostBus, cable car, shipping, train), online planning, 4,500 accommodations and sights, weather forecast, booking options, location determination and compass function.

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

The relationship between Switzerland and Great-Britain

The heyday of the relationship between Switzerland and Great Britain was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Switzerland had a cult status in the Anglo-Saxon countries. Many writers, historians, travellers, politicians, diplomats, and merchants praised the political system, the state’s organisation, and the functioning of the Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft). They were also impressed by the landscape and towns.

Edward Gibbon, Charles Dickens, Conan Doyle, John Ruskin, William Turner, Mark Twain, Thomas Cook, David Hume and Lord Byron admired the country.

Geneva became a pilgrimage destination after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The city and the Academy of Calvin were hot spots. George Keate’s “A Short Account of the Republic of Geneva” was the first article about Geneva, published in 1761. Many writings followed.

Anglo-Saxon attention shifted to tourism, business, and trade after the Napoleonic Wars, the creation of the new Eidgenossenschaft comprising twenty-two cantons (1815), and the adoption of the new Constitution of 1848.

English engineers played a crucial role in constructing the Swiss railway network. Tourism and trade flourished.

Great Britain also supported the country at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and the separate peace treaties of Paris (1815) and Turin (1816) during the Sonderbundkrieg of 1847 and the Prussian crisis in 1856/1857. The first test in their relationship was the Boer War in South Africa (1900-1902).

Switzerland no longer played a significant role in the perception and experience of Anglo-Saxon public opinion. The famous speech by Winston Churchill on 19 September 1946 in Zurich was the last remarkable statement by a British politician on Swiss territory, not about Switzerland itself, but about the future of Europe—the irony of history.

Churchill also said that although Great Britain would not be part of the United States of Europe, it would assist in realising the project. Zo was het voor Churchill ook duidelijk dat:

“Great Britain would not be part of the project, but it would assist in realising the project. We British have our own Commonwealth of Nations“.

Technorama Winterthur

Technorama allows hands-on experiences of hundreds of natural phenomena and technology. It is one of the largest Science Centers in Europe. At more than 500 experiment stations visitors can discover natural phenomena first-hand and with all the senses.

Everything in Technorama can be touched, played and experimented with. Learning through play in a science centre by experiencing natural phenomena directly, through art, through the challenges we create in the labs and AdventureRooms, through dialogues, or by building your own machines in the inventor’s workshop.

The Technorama offers inspiration and arouses curiosity and enthusiasm for science and technology.

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