The Via d’Acqua transalpina
22 March 2021
Available in German and Dutch.
The Aubette in Basel
19 March 2021
The Aubette in Strasbourg? Wrong, the Museum of Art (Kunstmuseum) in Basel. The museum pays attention to Sophie Taeuber (1889-1943). The Swiss-born artist (Davos) studied applied arts at St. Gall and Munich. The British Arts and Crafts Movement had a profound influence on her, and she was deeply committed to manual craftsmanship and the beauty … Read more » “The Aubette in Basel”
Strength in diversity in Graubünden
4 March 2021
Based on the Language Act (Sprachengesetz, Art. 22) and the Language Ordinance (Sprachenverordnung, Art. 18 and 25), the Confederation supports the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino in the preservation and promotion of the Romansh and Italian languages and culture. In 2018, the Confederation commissioned an evaluation to examine the impact of financial support on the canton … Read more » “Strength in diversity in Graubünden”
Romansh Language Week
21 February 2021
The slogan of the Romansh language week (Emna Rumantscha) is “Rumantsch: in ferm toc Svizra“, Romansh: an essential part of Switzerland. The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organising this event in cooperation with the Canton of Graubünden and the Romansh Radio and Television Broadcasting Corporation (Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha, RTR). The aim is to raise … Read more » “Romansh Language Week”
Chasa Editura Rumantscha
15 January 2021
The foundations Pro Helvetia, the Canton of Graubünden, and Lia Rumantscha established the Romansh publishing house Chasa Editura Rumantscha in 2010. The publishing house specialises in fiction and books for children and young adults. The company published more than 70 books from forty authors in a language area of around 60,000 Romansh speakers. … Read more » “Chasa Editura Rumantscha”
Rumantsch Grischun and Education
5 January 2021
Graubünden slowly matured to political autonomy in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Three Leagues (the God’s House (der Gotteshausbund), the Ten Jurisdictions (der Zehn Gerichtebund) and the Grey League, (der Graue or Obere Bund) separated from the feudal aristocratic system. They became autonomous communes and regions. The Three States joined in the Free State … Read more » “Rumantsch Grischun and Education”
Rembrandt in Basel
30 December 2020
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) never visited Basel, unlike Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536). Erasmus is even buried in the cathedral (Münster) of Basel (1536). However, at that time, Basel was no longer an episcopal city, and the cathedral had become a reformed church since the Reformation in 1529. More than 350 years after the death of Rembrandt, … Read more » “Rembrandt in Basel”
Cantonal Family Affair
27 December 2020
Switzerland has more than 2,200 municipalities, ranging from very small (with fewer than 20 inhabitants) to large (with over 400,000 inhabitants). A city with more than 600,000 to 1 million inhabitants is lacking, unlike, for example, in the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, or Hungary. In the French-speaking part of Switzerland, la Romandie, the most significant … Read more » “Cantonal Family Affair”
Tourism was an English Affair in Switzerland
11 December 2020
Tourism development in Switzerland in the second half of the nineteenth century was mainly an English affair. Many famous personalities had already visited the Confederation in the eighteenth century, whether on their way to Italy and Greece or as scholars, writers, businessmen, or politicians. Many visitors wrote about the country’s beauty, political system, history, and … Read more » “Tourism was an English Affair in Switzerland”
Swisscovery
10 December 2020
The new library platform Swisscovery was launched on 7 December. The medium gives access to the collections of 475 libraries in Switzerland, from St. Gallen to Geneva and from Basel to Lugano. All science-related libraries have joined the network. The merger of 475 libraries is unique in the world. Research becomes much easier with “swisscovery”. … Read more » “Swisscovery”