This section contains an overview of the most relevant monuments in Switzerland.
2 April 2025
The Roman legion that crossed the bridge from Kleinbasel to Grossbasel on March 11 did not understand much of what was happening. The Centurion was also convinced that a bridge over the Rhine existed two thousand years ago. However, the inscription on the building on the Kleinbasel side left no doubt: this bridge is 800 … Read more » “The Mittlere Brücke, Augusta Raurica, Augst and Kaiseraugst”
12 March 2025
The first hermits lived in Egypt and Syria in the second and third centuries. The first Christian communities had emerged in this region in the first century. These areas were prosperous Roman provinces at the time. Hermits were recluses dedicated to the Christian faith in isolation and poverty. They are considered the first monks, and … Read more » “The Last Hermit of the Saint-Verena Einsiedelei in Solothurn”
26 January 2025
Switzerland is not only the land of the reformers Johannes Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Guillaume Farel, and Johannes Oekolampad. This region had many monasteries of the various monastic orders until the Reformation. Although most monasteries were abolished just after the Reformation (first half of the 16th century) or in the following centuries and sometimes disappeared completely, … Read more » “The first Carthusian Monastery in Switzerland”
10 November 2024
The Celts inhabited the Rheinau peninsula (Canton of Zurich) on the Rhine River centuries before Roman rule began (in 13 BCE). Its location on the left bank of the Rhine and the peninsula offered good defences against the Germanic tribes on the right bank. The walls of the settlement (oppidum in Latin) stood upright until … Read more » “The former Rheinau Monastery, the Museum and Music Isle”
20 October 2024
The first monastery on St. Peter Island (St. Peterinsel/île de Saint-Pierre) in Lake Biel (Bielersee/lac de Bienne, Canton of Bern) was built during the Merovingian period (7th and 8th centuries). This Benedictine building was later extended with a rectangular choir. The church (built around 1120) on the left was destroyed during the Reformation. On the right … Read more » “Monastery on St. Peter Island and Jean-Jacques Rousseau”
4 October 2024
The moated castle (Weiherschloss) Binningen was first mentioned in 1299. Its owner is unknown, but the Basler citizen Heinrich von Zeise is likely to have built it. Johann von Brügge alias David Joris and Joachim van Berchem bought the castle, the St Margarethen estate and the Holeeschlösschen in 1545. In 1574, Nikolaus von Hatstatt took over … Read more » “The moated castle Binningen and the Anabaptist David Joris”
2 October 2024
The moated castle (Wasserschloss) of Inzlingen (Baden-Württemberg) is the only one in this region preserved in its original state. In the immediate vicinity, only the moated castles (Weiherschloss) in Binningen and Bottmingen remain in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft. The history of the Inzlingen moated castle near Basel, Bettingen and Riehen is closely linked to that of the Basler … Read more » “A Family from Basel and Centuries of Regional Relationships”
10 September 2024
The church in Waltensburg, also known as Vuorz in Romansh (Canton Graubünden), was built in the 12th century—the frescoes on the interior and exterior walls date from four distinct periods. The oldest paintings (ca. 1330) were made by an artist known as the Waltensburger Master. He decorated churches and at least one secular building (Brandis … Read more » “The Waltensburg Church and Gothic in Canton Graubünden”
7 September 2024
The Carolingian church in Zillis (canton of Grisons) was built around 800. The church is famous for its Romanesque ceiling paintings from 1109 to 1114 and the monumental fresco of Christoforus by the Waltensburger Meister, dating from around 1320 to 1340. The frescoes on the ceiling comprise 153 images from the Bible. Although Zillis converted to the Protestant faith … Read more » “The Restoration of the paintings in Zillis has been completed”
14 July 2024
One of Switzerland’s most famous architects, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, started his career at the School of Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He adopted the pseudonym Le Corbusier in 1920 and was born in 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Canton Neuchâtel). He died in 1965. The Pavillon Le Corbusier in Zurich (www.pavillon-le-corbusier.ch) and the Maison Blanche in La Chaux-de-Fonds … Read more » “Le Corbusier, das Mundaneum and Switzerland”
