Local history in Switzerland.
20 June 2023
Blacksmiths were already utilising iron ore found in the Pied-du-Jura 350 years before Christ. From the 12th century, several documents indicate that the iron industry revived in the Jura. In Vallorbe, the first factories, the forerunners of the current industries, date from the last quarter of the 13th century. There was water from the River … Read more » “The iron industry and Iron Museum of the City of Iron Vallorbe”
20 June 2023
Available in German and Dutch
21 May 2023
““Das Talent zu forcieren, lag Hebel nicht, er besass den Sinn für Proportionen, Augenmass, Instinkt für das, was nötig und möglich ist und was nicht” (Robert Minder, Hebel, der erasmische Geist oder nützliche Anleitung zu seiner Lektüre, (Leipzig, 1959). (He had a sense of proportion, an eye for detail, an instinct for what is necessary … Read more » “Johann Peter Hebel and his Legacy”
16 May 2023
Liechtenstein is the last German-speaking Principality. Until Napoleon and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806, there were still about 300 (very) small to very large German-speaking principalities. Before the 19th century, Liechtenstein had no constitution in the proper sense of the word. However, customary law and individual documents, … Read more » “Liechtenstein 1719-2021”
28 April 2023
Bellinzona is the capital of the canton of Ticino. The city and the surrounding valleys and regions ( Biasca and the Riviera, the Blenio Valley and Leventina) have a varied landscape interwoven with distinctive cultural characteristics and numerous historical and architectural monuments. The Fortress of Bellinzona is the largest and the only example of a … Read more » “Bellinzona City and Region”
10 April 2023
At the end of the 13th century, the Landskron castle was built by the Münch dynasty from Basel. This strategically important place on the mountain of this name (about 530 m above sea level) dominated the route along the northern foot of the Jura. The Romans already recognised its excellent location and built a watchtower … Read more » “The Landskron, regional History from European Perspective”
20 March 2023
In 1879, on Lake Brenet (Lac Brenet) in the Vallée de Joux (canton of Vaud), artificial ice cellars, or huge sheds measuring 14,000 m³ for 5,000 tonnes of ice, were built. From then until 1942, the ice from the lake was stored in large quantities every winter for sale in Swiss and French cities during … Read more » “The Forgotten Ice Industry of Le Pont”
7 March 2023
Available in Dutch and German
19 February 2023
Val Poschiavo (Puschlav), Valle (Val) Mesolcina (Misox), Val Calanca and Val Bregaglia (Bergell) together with the village of Bivio (Beiva in Romansh) on the Julier Pass form the Grigione Italiano, the Italian-speaking part in the trilingual canton of Graubünden. The Lago di Poschiavo (Lake Poschiavo) separates the upper and lower valleys of Puschlav; the main … Read more » “Val Poschiavo and Poschiavo in Graubünden”
12 February 2023
The history of the town of Chur (Canton Graubünden) dates back approximately 11,000 years. The area was already populated in prehistoric times. When the Romans conquered the area between 15 and 13 BC, the Rhaetian tribes inhabited the region. Chur (Curia) was the capital of the Roman province of Raetia Prima. The beginnings of the … Read more » “The City and Bishopric of Chur”
