The Roman Empire and Romanization
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Switzerland on the Tabula Peutingeriana
10 October 2026
The Peutinger Map (Tabula Peutingeriana) is a copy of a Roman road map showing the most important roads and towns of the Roman Empire – in a sense, an ancient version of a digital map. The original was engraved on the Arch of Agrippa (Porticus Vipsania or Porticus Agrippae) in Rome around 12 BC. Emperor … Read more » “Switzerland on the Tabula Peutingeriana”
The Middle Ages, Arts and State Building
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Zwingli and the Reformation in Switzerland
19 January 2022
Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) preached his religious ideas from the pulpit of the Grossmünster in Zurich 500 years ago. The Reformation profoundly influenced the city, the canton of Zurich, the (ancient) Confederation and Europe. The break with Catholic tradition occurred in 1522 when a sausage meal was consumed in violation of the fasting commandment. Zwingli’s remarks … Read more » “Zwingli and the Reformation in Switzerland”
Gertrud Dübi-Müller and her Passions for Art and Life
7 October 2026
Gertrud Dübi-Müller (1888-1980) was one of Switzerland’s foremost art collectors, a passionate photographer, driver of motorcars, and mountaineer, and she sat for Ferdinand Hodler and other artists. The Kunstmuseum Basel presents the first extensive exhibition dedicated to her. Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918), picture of Gertrud Müller, 1911. Kunstmuseum Solothurn – Dübi-Müller-Stiftung Around eighty works by renowned … Read more » “Gertrud Dübi-Müller and her Passions for Art and Life”
The long nineteenth century 1815-1918
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The Prince-Bishopric of Basel after 1813
16 November 2022
The Prince-Bishopric of Basel experienced two significant revolutions after 1500. The title of Prince-Bishopric is a consequence of the status of the Bishop in the Holy Roman Empire. The Bishop was a prince (Reichsfürst/Fürstbischof) of the Empire. The Reformation, which occurred between 1527 and 1529, marked a clear break. The Bishop moved to Porrentruy (Pruntrut … Read more » “The Prince-Bishopric of Basel after 1813”
The Swiss Confederation was a functioning composite polity, but it was not a state and of course, it was not a monarchy. Yet the Confederation embraced territories that retained a feudal-hierarchical structure, albeit only as associated members (the abbacies of Engelberg and St. Gallen, the prince-bishopric of Basel, the county of Neuchâtel). How, therefore, did the Confederation survive?
Before the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477) no one gave the Confederation much chance of survival. Yet these wars did help to create a sense of collective identity manifest not in institutions but in patriotic narratives of Swiss valour and heroism of city-led republic. This vision was shattered in the Swiss wars of religion, but in the end, pragmatism and flexibility ensured that the discord did not lead to disaster. Ultimately, aggression yielded to accommodation. (T. Scott, The Swiss and Their Neighbours 1460-1560. Between Accommodation and Aggression, Oxford 2017).
Multicultural, Cosmopolitan and European Switzerland
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ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne
4 July 2024
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETH Zürich, or ETHZ) has been in existence since 1855. It was founded as a polytechnic institute (Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule) in 1855 with five departments: architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and mining. ETH Zurich (not to be confused with the cantonal University of Zurich) currently … Read more » “ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne”