Local history in Switzerland.
20 July 2022
Nature is varied, and the Jura is at its best on the plateau of Gempen and Hochwald (canton Solothurn). Only the streams and ponds, which are so plentiful elsewhere in the Jura, are lacking. The region is renowned for its diverse landscapes, including fruit trees, forests, meadows, rocky outcrops, and stunning Alpine views. The history … Read more » “Gempen, its History and Nature”
11 July 2022
Available in German and Dutch
8 July 2022
Available in Dutch and French
29 June 2022
Available in Dutch and German
22 June 2022
In 1765, Pierre Alexandre DuPeyrou (1729-1794) received permission from the city council of Neuchâtel to build a public promenade behind his orangery and the DuPeyrou palace, which was still under construction at that time. The passage was located on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel. Neuchâtel was a principality from 1504 to 1813. The Prussian king … Read more » “The English Garden of Neuchâtel”
2 June 2022
Carl Fürchtegott Grob (1830-1893) constructed the Villa Patumbah and a coach house in the historicist style between 1883 and 1885. In 1890, the landscape architect Evariste Mertens (1846-1907) extended the park in an English landscape garden style. A fountain, flower beds, sculptures and a garden pavilion adorn the area near the villa. From 1911 to … Read more » “The Villa Patumbah and Sumatra”
1 June 2022
The Chinese Garden (Chinagarten) is a gift from the Chinese twin city of Kunming to the citizens of Zurich. The garden was opened in 1994. It belongs to the group of temple gardens and is one of the most highly regarded gardens outside China. The garden explores one of the main themes of Chinese culture, … Read more » “The Chinese Garden of Zurich”
20 May 2022
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) created the huge kinetic sculpture “Heureka” out of iron bars, wheels, metal pans, and pipes for the National Exhibition in Lausanne in 1964. The name is meant ironically, for the sculpture is a machine without purpose. His meta-mechanics are understood as allegories of consumerism in an industrial society that, exhausted in hectic … Read more » “Heureka in Zurich”
12 May 2022
Various recent books, a freely accessible app (www.Basel-baeume.ch), exhibitions (the Museum Kleines Klingental from 14 May 2022, in 2021 the Museum der Kulturen, the Natural History Museum Basel and Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G.) and from 29 April even the theatre play Unter Bäumen about, with and under trees, put the Basler trees in … Read more » “Trees on Stage in Basel”
6 May 2022
The towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel were built for the watch industry and watchmakers. Their history of craftsmanship and industry is reflected in architecture and town planning. Nowhere else has the watch industry left such clear and well-preserved traces in urban development? Le Locle is the oldest municipality … Read more » “The World Capitals of the Watch Industry”
