This section contains an overview of the most relevant monuments in Switzerland.
3 November 2023
The inhabitants of Canton Tessin speak Italian. All the inhabitants? About 70 descendants of German-speaking Walser live in the village of Bosco Gurin. The village was first mentioned in documents in 1253. The inhabitants mostly speak the German dialect Ggurijnartitsch (Gurinerdeutsch). Bosco Gurin (1,506 m.) is located in a side valley of the Maggia Valley … Read more » “Bosco Gurin and the Walser”
3 October 2023
The former prince-bishopric of Basel ceased to exist more than two centuries ago. But the oak trees, over 500 years old, and Wildenstein Castle still experienced its heyday. Most of the land in what is today the canton of Basel-Landschaft was owned by the prince-bishopric. The village of Bubendorf and its surroundings also belonged to the … Read more » “Wildenstein Castle and its oaks”
27 September 2023
Wildegg Castle was also founded by the House of Habsburg. They laid the foundations of Wildegg in the first half of the 13th century on the foothills of the Chestenberg near the villages of Holderbank and Möriken (today, the canton of Aargau). The castle was long inhabited by stewards of Habsburg, most recently by the … Read more » “Wildegg, Habsburg and Effinger”
25 September 2023
Aare and Burg (castle) make Aarburg (canton of Aargau). The river Aare has been a defensive barrier since the Roman Era. Aarburg was not founded by the Romans but one thousand years later by the Counts of Froburg, a local dynasty. The Habsburgers took control of the town in the thirteenth century. Bern occupied the … Read more » “Aarburg Castle”
6 September 2023
The part of the city centre, the Federal Square (Bundesplatz) in Bern, was once part of the medieval fortifications and features a moat called the ‘Oberer Graben’. They were built before 1256. This area developed further between the years 1570 and 1630. The Square reached its present form in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1858, the city … Read more » “The Federal Square of Bern”
5 September 2023
Switzerland is a country of wristwatches, meteorological clocks, and astronomical clocks. The Zytglogge (also known as the Zeitglockenturm) is the first western gate of the city of Bern and was built between 1200 and 1256. The tower was integrated into the city wall on both sides. Today, it is part of the rows of houses. The tower is in … Read more » “The Clock Tower of Bern”
23 August 2023
Wonnenstein Monastery holds particular cultural and historical significance for the two Appenzell cantons, St. Gall Abbey, and the former Diocese of Constance. Located near the village of Niederteufen (Appenzell Ausserrhoden), the monastery has linked the two Appenzell cantons since 1597. The monastery buildings belong to Appenzell Innerrhoden, the farmland to Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Wonnenstein was initially a Beguine community at the … Read more » “Wonnenstein and St. Gall”
15 August 2023
Lord Byron (1788-1824) wrote in 1816 in his poem “The Prisoner of Chillon” : Lake Leman lies by Chillon´s walls: A thousand feet in depth below Its massy waters meet and flow; Thus much the fathom-line was sent From Chillon´s snow-white battlement, Which round about the wave enthrals: A double dungeon wall and wave Below … Read more » “Chillon and the Prisoner”
5 August 2023
Towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, new media tried to represent the world as realistically as possible. With all possible optical and modern technical tricks, the audience got the illusion of being there themselves. The Irish painter Robert Barker had an invention patented in London in 1787. It … Read more » “Bourbaki Panorama in Lucerne”
2 August 2023
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