Local history in Switzerland.
20 February 2022
The Wauwilermoos (Canton of Lucerne) is one of the most important sites of pile villages (Pfahlbausiedlungen) from the youngest Stone Age (c. 5,500-2,000) in Europe. From 17,000 B.C. on, the Wauwilermoos area was ice- and glacier-free. At the same time, the three lakes, Lake Wauwiler (Wauwilersee), Lake Mauen (Mausensee) and Lake Hagimoor (Hagimoorsee), began to … Read more » “The Pile Villages in the Canton of Lucerne”
19 February 2022
Castle Mauensee (Canton of Lucerne) was first mentioned in 1184 and again in 1340. Lucerne acquired ownership of the castle in 1455. However, two years later, the castle and the lake were sold again and changed hands several times over the following centuries. The present castle was built in 1605. In the following centuries, ownership … Read more » “Chinese contemporary art in Mauensee Castle”
15 February 2022
The Eschenbach family founded the castle and town of “Maswandon” in the thirteenth century. Their castle was the Schnadelburg in the Albis region. Maschwanden was first mentioned in a document in 1260. The town was destroyed by the Habsburgs in 1309 as revenge for the participation of Walther IV von Eschenbach in the murder of … Read more » “The Knonauer District and Maschwanden”
14 February 2022
The Monastery of Wettingen (Canton of Aargau) dates back to the 13th century. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1227 by Count Heinrich II of Rapperswil. The convent on the half-island had estates, gardens and vineyards. Together with the former monastery Fahr, it was the largest landowner and economic power in the Limmattal. A fire … Read more » “The Wettingen Monastery and Museum”
10 February 2022
Frauenthal (Canton of Zug) is the oldest Swiss Cistercian monastery still existing where it was founded. Ulrich von Schnabelburg founded the abbey around 1245 for noble ladies. The name Frauenthal, meaning “valley of women,” also suggests such an origin. Due to the Reformation, the monastery was abandoned from 1530 to 1552. The Cistercian Abbey of … Read more » “Frauenthal Abbey”
9 February 2022
Arlesheim (canton Basel-Landschaft) reads like a Swiss history book. The medieval castles of Birseck and Reichenstein are located on the hilltops. They are a symbol of the town’s strategic importance. The cathedral in a village of a few hundred inhabitants, built in 1678, resulted from the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century political and religious conflicts. The bishop … Read more » “The spiritual centers in Arlesheim and Dornach”
5 February 2022
The Celts and Romans left their traces throughout the later village of Rodersdorf (Canton Solothurn). The walls and foundations of Roman buildings, fragments of wall paintings, the remains of a floor heating system, a smithy, and a water mill are among the archaeological finds. Almost nothing else is known until the twelfth century, when the … Read more » “The Language Frontier Between Rodersdorf and Biederthal”
2 February 2022
Available in French and Dutch
30 January 2022
The town of Bremgarten (Canton of Aargau) was founded by the Habsburgs at the beginning of the 13th century. Two settlements and a castle already existed before this time. The name Bremgarten is derived from the Celtic name vermagodunon, meaning “large fortified enclosure in the open field”. The town experienced a cultural and economic boom … Read more » “Vermagodunon becomes Bremgarten”
28 January 2022
The Käppelijoch on the Mittlere Brücke in Basel has always had a special meaning. Käppelijoch means little chapel built on a pillar (Joch). The relief shows a bishop holding an object with two bows in his hand. Four angels with a cross and a lance stand beside the bishop. They symbolise divine protection. The object … Read more » “The Käppelijoch on the Bridge”
