Local history in Switzerland.
28 November 2022
The first mention of Auvernier (canton Neuchâtel) was in 1011 in a document confirming a donation of Averniacum by Rudolph III (970-1032), the last king of the Kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032). Auvernier is located on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel. The place has been inhabited since Neolithic and Gallo-Roman times. The Church (Le temple) of … Read more » “Auvernier and Lake Neuchâtel”
11 November 2022
It happens in Switzerland: on the banks of a stream, near the village of Undervelier (canton of Jura), near Lac Vert d’Untervelier on the road to the former abbey of Bellelay and the Maison de la Tête de Moine (canton of Jura), there is a studio for a wide variety of bronze sculpture. A freely … Read more » “Bronze Sculpture in the Jura”
21 October 2022
Gstaad (canton of Bern) has the reputation of being a fashionable (winter) sports resort. Although skiing opportunities are more limited than in other areas, the village got this reputation already in the nineteenth century. However, not only the beau monde appreciate Gstaad and its nature. The musician, violinist and humanist Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) often came … Read more » “Gstaad, Saanen and Menuhin”
20 October 2022
The Swiss government met at Müstair in Val Müstair (canton of Graubünden) on 12 October 2022. Sixty years earlier, however, members of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) and cabinet meetings had been a familiar sight at the Ritterhaus (House of the Knight) in Sta. Maria, located a few kilometres further away. … Read more » “Ritterhaus Chasa de Capol”
4 October 2022
Louis Saugy (1871-1953) and Johann-Jakob Hauswirth (1809-1871) are Switserland’s or perhaps Europe’s most secret master artists today. They invented the art of paper cutting (découpage in French, Scherenschnitt in German). It became a specialisation in the Pays-d’Enhaut region (canton de Vaud) and Château- d’Oex and Rougemont are its centres of excellence. Louis Saugy lived in … Read more » “The Paper Cutters of Pays-d’Enhaut”
1 October 2022
The meaning of ‘Schwarzbuben’ probably comes from the word ‘schwärzen’, meaning smuggling. Schwarzbubenland is the region north of Mount Passwang (1204 metres) in the canton of Solothurn. It consists of the districts of Dorneck and Thierstein. The main towns are Dornach and Breitenbach. The Benedictine monastery of Beinwil moved in 1648 to Mariastein monastery, located … Read more » “Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Agriculture in Schwarzbubenland”
29 September 2022
The name Aubonne is derived from the Celtic word Albunna, meaning “white water”, because of the river’s wild character. The source of the Aubonne rises in the Jura mountains of the Monts de Bière. The village’s history is linked to the castle. At the beginning of the 12th century, the region’s inhabitants sought protection at … Read more » “Aubonne and the Castle”
27 September 2022
For centuries, French-speaking Geneva has been a haven for refugees, aristocrats and royal visitors, bankers, watchmakers, chocolatiers, and (religious) reformers. The city is not only the global centre of Calvinism, but since the nineteenth century, it has also been the world capital of multilateralism, arbitration, diplomacy, international aid and international organisations. Collège Calvin Today, the … Read more » “The City and Canton of Geneva”
22 September 2022
The artist Balthus (1908-2001), pseudonym of Balthasar Klossowski, bought the famous ‘Grand Chalet’ in the village of Rossinière (canton of Vaud, le Pays-d’Enhaut) in 1976. Since his death, the house has been called Chalet Balthus. The chapel, a little further away, has been the visitor centre dedicated to this artist since 2007. The Balthus Chapel … Read more » “Chalet Balthus in Rossinière”
20 September 2022
Gstaad is part of the municipality of Saanen (Canton of Bern). The Counts of Gruyère (Greyerz in German) ruled over an area from the source of the Saane (Sarine in French) to Lake Gruyère (today the canton of Freiburg). Gstaad and Saanen lie on the language border. Rougemont (canton of Vaud) is a French-speaking area. … Read more » “The beau monde and the Square”
