29 August 2019
The St. Barbara Church in Vevey (canton of Vaud) is a Russian Orthodox parish belonging to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Switzerland after 1816. The first Russian Orthodox parish in Switzerland was established in Bern on 24 December 1816. Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825) had commissioned the building and its consecration. The Tsar … Read more » “Russians in Switzerland”
20 August 2019
The Fête des Vignerons (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation since the 18th century in the canton of Vaud, in a region stretching from Pully to Lavey near Valais. Press conference the day after, l’abbé and Daniele Finzi Pasca (right) The twelfth edition took … Read more » “An ode to the Fête des Vignerons 2019”
13 August 2019
What does “the grandeur of Switzerland” mean? The many Grand Hotels, the mountain landscape, the lakes, the beautiful cities or (direct) democracy? All true, but the real treasure and grandeur of the country are its people and Swiss civil society. From the late Middle Ages onwards, through a process spanning centuries, citizens created a well-functioning … Read more » “The Grandeur of Switzerland”
28 July 2019
The cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura were (re) united in Vevey. The Fête des Vignerons takes place at intervals of about one generation or twenty to twenty-five years. It is also the first time that the 26 cantons make their appearance on one of the 21 days of the event. More than 5,000 actors, 800 … Read more » “Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura in Vevey”
23 July 2019
Winter tourism in the Lower Engadine (Unterengadin) began after 1850, followed soon after by summer tourism. Grand Hotels were built in Scuol, Vulpera and Val Sinestra. The first significant setback came with the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918). The revival during the Interbellum was short-lived. The Belle Époque was definitively over after the … Read more » “Innovation in Lower Engadine”
14 July 2019
The French General Justin Clinchant signed three copies of the conditions imposed upon the defeated French army for crossing the Swiss border in Les Verrières (canton of Neuchâtel) on 1 February 1871. The entry of more than 80,000 exhausted or wounded soldiers, 2,467 officers and their 11,800 horses, 285 guns and 1,158 vehicles began immediately … Read more » “First Intervention of the Red Cross”
24 June 2019
In the last quarter of the 19th century, Château-d’Oex (canton Valais) became increasingly popular. Many British tourists visited the region. The infrastructure improved, and many hotels, inns, restaurants, pensions, and other facilities opened. Some still exist (for example, the Hôtel de l’Ours, the Hôtel de Ville, the Résidence Rosat, and the Clos des Abeilles at … Read more » “Britons, cutting paper and Espace Ballon”
14 June 2019
The Fête des Vignerons (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is a tradition passed down from generation to generation since the 18th century in Vevey (Canton of Vaud), in a region stretching from Pully to Lavey near Valais. Le Ranz des vaches. Picture: Musée de la Confrérie des Vignerons Vevey’s income in the eighteenth century primarily came from wine … Read more » “Fête des Vignerons, short History of a Great Festival”
19 May 2019
The four Barraud brothers are among Switzerland’s best-kept art secrets. They were born in La Chaux-de-Fonds. François (1899-1934), Aimé (1902-1954), Charles (1897-1997) and Aurèle (1903-1969) are four talented painters from one family. They show more quality and variety in modern Swiss art than Giacometti’s and Ferdinand Hodler’s. Their paintings are important works of European realism in … Read more » “The four Barraud Brothers”
17 May 2019
The growth of tourism in the second half of the nineteenth century led to the construction of many Grand Hotels in Graubünden, Berner Oberland, Valais, Vaud, Bern, Neuchâtel, Geneva, Zurich and Schwyz. Winter and summer sports, bathing venues and health resorts were the main focus of tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, the Habsburg … Read more » “Swiss Historic Hotels”
