The exhibition explores the question of what makes Switzerland what it is today. What binds a community together? Initially one might assume it is to do with having the same language, external enemies or economic interests. However, something generally precedes all that: common ideas that are passed down from generation to generation and that shape the development of the community. These ideas lend a distinctiveness to the collective and eventually form the foundation of a national identity. The exhibition presents selected works by four authors whose ideas contributed to creating the image of contemporary Switzerland: Henri Dunant (1828-1910), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Jean Calvin and Petermann Etterlin (1430-1509). The textual references are supplemented by the Gotthard relief, the Dufour map and numerous data records relating to Switzerland.
"The cradle of the confederation" Chamber of the Swiss national Council by Charles Giron (1859-1914), 1901.
Photograph: www.parlament.ch.
Photograph: www.parlament.ch.