3 July 2020
Since 1 January 2020, a kind of Brexit has occurred at Lake Lugano. As of this date, the Italian town of Campione, an enclave in the canton of Tessin, is no longer part of the Swiss toll union, but of the Italian/EU toll union. Additionally, Swiss license plates, postal codes (6911), and postal services have … Read more » “Campione Exit”
3 July 2020
The first film about and in Basel was shown in several halls of the city in the autumn of 1896 (see also: www.50sekundenbasel1896.ch). It is a 50-second film. The film shows the old Mittlere Rheinbrücke (the new one was built in 1905). The book `Auf der Brücke zur Moderne’ tells the story of this film and … Read more » “The Basler Belle Epoque”
2 July 2020
Available in French, German and Dutch
20 February 2020
Grisons/ Graubünden is a the canton of 150 valleys and of different cultures and languages. The spring fair Higa (21 to 29 March in Chur), is a multicultural residential community (Wohngemeinschaft) of these languages and cultures. It is the first joint public presentation of four organisations: the Romansh Association (la Lia Rumantscha, founded in 1919), … Read more » “A multicultural Community”
13 February 2020
Basel had the first Railway in Switzerland. In 1845, trains ran via Saint-Louis to Strasbourg, and in 1852, they ran to Paris. The “Spanisch-Bröstli-Bahn” between Baden and Zurich has operated since 1847. In 1850, the country had only 25 kilometres of railways and three stations: Basel, Baden, and Zurich. Europe had more than 20,000 kilometres … Read more » “The Swiss Railway Company”
24 January 2020
Switzerland has always been a crossroads of political, economic and social developments, culture and trade from Roman times onwards. The exhibition La Suisse Magazine. Max Kettel. Les reportages de 1926 à 1960 in Martigny shows for the first time the production of the (forgotten) photographer Max Keller (1902-1961). More than 250 photographs and 120 magazines … Read more » “Max Kettel and Valais”
8 January 2020
The Red Cross (1863) and, shortly after that, the arbitration procedure known as the “Alabama Claims” (1872) marked the beginning of international diplomacy and the role of Switzerland and Geneva in particular. The Red Cross’s neutrality is also based on Switzerland’s neutrality. The two emblems, the red and the white cross, illustrate this connection. The … Read more » “Swiss International Commitment”
10 December 2019
Switzerland’s Tourism and healthcare industry began in the early 19th century. Before that time, most visitors were traders, politicians, pilgrims and above all, British upper-class men and a few women who travelled across Europe on their Grand Tour, passing through Switzerland. The Alps, lakes and mountainous landscapes also attracted the attention of poets and writers, … Read more » “The Beginning of European Tourism”
25 November 2019
The Giacometti Centre (Centro Giacometti) in the village of Stampa in the valley of Bergell (Val Bregaglia), canton of Grisons, tells the story of the Giacometti family. One of the crucial factors that shaped these artists’ artistic development was the region’s cosmopolitan, open and bilingual (Italian-German) culture. Many inhabitants worked in other countries as immigrants … Read more » “The Giacometti Dynasty and Centro Giacometti”
6 October 2019
The volumes in the Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz, KdS (Swiss Monuments of Art) present the history of Swiss art and architecture since 1927. They are being published by the Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte, GSK (Swiss Society for Art History). They are available online: www.ekds.ch. Digitisation will be completed by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the series. … Read more » “KdS-online of the Swiss Society of History of Art”
