Nature in Switzerland.
29 April 2022
The river Birs connects the eight municipalities between Pfeffingen, Birsfelden (canton Basel-Landschaft ), and Dornach (canton Solothurn). This river landscape (Birslandschaft) is an ecological area. In 2012, it was named Nature Landscape of the Year. Themed panels on the Birsuferweg inform about its special features. Nature flourishes undisturbed in the Birs area, a densely populated … Read more » “Birs River Landscape”
25 April 2022
It is perhaps hard to imagine, but even Canton Basel-Stadt has an agricultural and forestry area. The canton consists of three municipalities: the city of Basel and the municipalities of Bettingen and Riehen. Most of the canton is an urban and industrial area on the left bank of the Rhine, apart from the city parks, … Read more » “The Wiese Spring near Feldberg and the Wiese Landscape Park”
22 April 2022
Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German, canton of Jura) was for a long time the seat of the bishop of Basel after he left his episcopal palace at the Münster in Basel during the Reformation in 1528. The Bishop of Basel acquired this area in 999 by a gift of the (last) king of Burgundy, Rudolph III … Read more » “The Ajoie, Dinosaurs and the Bishop”
3 April 2022
Gänsbrunnen is the highest municipality in the canton of Solothurn. The farms in the valley and the Sennhöfe on the heights of the Jura form this idyllic hamlet. Mining, limestone quarries and the iron industry have shaped the landscape for centuries. The Juraweg Thal is a marked network of hiking trails along and on the … Read more » “The Juraweg Thal near Gänsbrunnen”
29 March 2022
The Emmental in the canton of Berne is known above all for its Emmentaler cheese. The Emmentaler Schaukäserei in Affoltern i. E. tells the history of this cheese in all its scents, colours and facts. Emmentaler cheese Emmentaler cheese is known, among other things, for its characteristic holes and sometimes large size, which can reach … Read more » “The Emmental, Cheese and Lime Trees”
24 March 2022
The Häftli near Büren and Meinisberg (canton of Bern) has been a water and bird reserve of national importance since 1991. After the completion of the Nidau-Büren canal in 1891, during the first water correction of the Jura (the Juragewässerkorrektion of 1868-1891), the water level dropped, and the Häftli developed into a stagnant water body. … Read more » “The Häftli Nature Reserve”
10 March 2022
Central Europe was covered by a subtropical sea two hundred million years ago. The Jura mountain range was also hundreds of metres below sea level. Limestone was formed during this period. The mountains and soil of the Jura, created about 135 million years ago, have a layer of lime hundreds of metres deep. For many … Read more » “Idyll in the Valley, Panorama on the Mountains”
27 February 2022
In 2008, the Landgasthof Hotel Kemmeriboden-Bad (Canton of Bern) built the first igloo in its courtyard. As the demand was great, more igloos were made yearly. Until today, there are five. The Kemmeriboden-Bad hotel was built in 1834 and is now owned by the sixth generation. Today, the igloo restaurant has about 50 seats and … Read more » “The Iglo of Hotel Kemmeriboden-Bad”
24 February 2022
The Entlebuch (about 400 m2) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the canton of Lucerne, recognised in 2001. The Entlebuch is also called the Wild West of Lucerne. The acquisition of the status by UNESCO was not self-evident. The prerequisites were present, however: a magnificent natural environment and flora and fauna that are special even … Read more » “The symbiosis between humankind and nature in the Entlebuch”
18 February 2022
The planet Earth is about four billion years old. Humankind is one of the most recent species, approximately 300,000 years old. Twenty million years before the arrival of Homo sapiens, the territory of the present-day canton of Lucerne was an ocean with subtropical sea coasts. The remains of fossilised shells and palm leaves in rocks … Read more » “The Wauwiler Plain and Climate Change”
