Author: Maarten Koning

Trasadingen and the Navigation System TRA

In Roman times, a road already ran through Trasadingen (canton of Schaffhausen).

The community of Klettgau is a rural village with an old centre. The village’s name appeared in a document 878 for the first time.

The centre lies at the foot of sunny vineyard hills. The present Protestant Reformed Church was built in 1840 on the ruins of an earlier chapel. The church tower has a  bell from 1529 with the inscription “der frid gotes sig mit uns armen sunder und sünderin“.

Agriculture, wine growing, trade, industry and a residential location in a unique landscape characterise the village. It has become known worldwide for its radio beacon, TRA. Every long-distance pilot flying over Europe is familiar with this navigation.

(Source: www.trasadingen.ch).

Nature Reserve Ermatingen Becken

The nature reserve Ermatingen Becken, located in the Ermatingen basin on the Untersee (Canton Thurgau), is one of the most important habitats for waterbirds in Central Europe.

The reserve forms an ecological unit with the Wollmatinger Ried-Untersee-Gnadensee area on the German side.

It provides breeding, resting and foraging areas for more than 50 species of birds, depending on the season and the water level. In October and November, up to 50,000 birds gather here, whose breeding habitat lies high up in Northern Europe or even in Western Siberia.

(Quelle: Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft).

Ergolz nature reserve

The nature reserve is on the right side of the Ergolz River estuary in Kaiseraugst. A factory stood in this area from 1843 to 1909. The factory was demolished in 1909 because it was located in the newly built Augst-Wyhlen hydroelectric power plant reservoir.

This lake was subsequently filled by the power station with river material from the Ergolz. Over time, nature reclaimed this area, creating a floodplain.

In the 1980s, the municipality of Kaiseraugst designated this area as a nature protection area. In 1996, a beaver left its first marks on the trees in the nature reserve. The Ergolz area is also a favourite breeding ground for many species of water birds.

(Source: www.nvv-kaiseraugst.ch).

The grave of Rainer Maria Rilke

The grave of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) is at the church cemetery in Raron. The inscription reads: ‘Rose, oh reiner Widerspruch, Lust, Niemandes Schlaf zu sein unter soviel Lidern‘ .

From 1921, Rilke lived in a castle near Siders (Sierre) in the canton of Valais. Prague-born Rilke felt at home in the Valais and never left the region again, except for medical treatment in Montreux, where he also died.

He was familiar with the cemetery in Raron, and it was his express wish to be buried there.

600 years Cathedral of Bern

Construction of the cathedral in Bern began in 1421. The master builder was Matthäus Ensinger (1390-1463) from Strasbourg.

The Reformation interrupted the construction in 1528. The interior (altars, statues and organs) was removed.  The building was resumed in 1571. The cathedral was completed in 1588. However, it took three more centuries to finish the tower construction in 1893. The church tower is the highest (101 meters) in Switzerland.

(Quelle: Erlebnis Münsterbau, Bern, 2021).

The Choir Vault of the Berner Cathedral

The choir vault of the cathedral (Münster) in Bern dates back to 1517. The names of the master craftsman Peter Pfister and the Bernese reformer Niklaus Manuel are immortalised in the stone.

Eighty-five larger-than-life figures of saints adorn the keystones of the marvellous vaulting, with which the three-aisle end, the two narrow adjoining bays and the two broad western sections are interwoven to form a spatial and architectural unity.

The abundance and quality of the sculpture are also exceptional. The colour settings of the figurative keystones are almost in the same condition that they were half a millennium ago.

It makes the saint’s heaven, the himmlische Hof (the heavenly court) above the Bern choir, one of the most significant and valuable holdings of late medieval sculpture of its time in Europe.

(Source and further information: www.bernermuensterstiftung.ch).

The Bears of Bern

Who does not know them? Finn, Björk and Ursina, the three bears in Bern’s Bärenpark. In the middle of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, they inhabit the park on 5 000 square metres. Ursina (2009) is the daughter of Finn and Björk.

The Bear Park is part of the Dählölzli-Zoo and the Dählölzli animal park (Tierpark), the Dählölzli, between the Aare and the Dählölzliwald, where about 200 other animal species live.

According to legend, the history of the bears can be traced back to the founder of the city, Duke Berthold IV of Zähringen (1160-1218), who is said to have shot a bear at this spot and then founded the city in 1191. The coat of arms of Berne (and canton) also shows a bear in the middle.

(Source and further information: www.tierpark-bern.ch).

Hohenklingen Castle

Hardly any other town in Switzerland shows at a glance the three powers that defined the Middle Ages for a thousand years: the church, or those who prayed (since 1007, the monastery of St. Georgen), the nobility, the fighters (the castle of Hohenklingen) and the third class, the burghers and farmers, those who worked.

The Lords of Hohenklingen in Stein am Rhein (canton Schaffhausen) protected the monastery and the citizens. The castle was built in the 11th century. In the 15th century, the city bought the castle.

From the 15th century until the 19th century, it was the residence of the bailiffs of Zurich. Nowadays, it houses a restaurant.

Certification of the Romansh Language

Thanks to the Staatssekretariat für Migration (State Secretariat for Migration, SEM) initiative, the Integration Office of the Canton of Graubünden, the fide office and the Lia Rumantscha, Romansh language skills can now be tested and verified within the framework of the fide system. All idioms and Rumantsch Grischun are certified.

From now on, you can have your knowledge of Romansh tested and certified twice a year. The first exams in Romansh will take place on 20 November. The Lia Rumantscha will conduct them in the Romansh idioms Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader and Rumantsch Grischun.

The examination dates are published on the fide and Lia Rumantscha websites. The exams are in the language levels A1 written/A2 oral and A2 written/B1 oral.

Other combinations are also possible. The focus is on everyday situations. Those who pass the exam receive the passaport da las linguas (language passport).

Further information: https://fide-service.ch; www.curs.ch/fide

Laufenburg and Habsburg

Since prehistoric times, the Rhine has dug its bed through Laufenburg (Canton of Aargau). A gorge 12 m wide at its narrowest point and over a kilometre long came into being.

It was called Kleiner Laufen (Little Laufen), unlike the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen, which is Grosser Laufen (Big Laufen). During the construction of the Laufenburg power station from 1909 to 1914, the rocks in the gorge were blasted.

The Habsburgs took over the Schlossberg in 1173. The castle became the ancestral seat of the Counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg in 1232. After the death of Count Rudolf II, his sons divided the inheritance among themselves. Rudolf III founded the Habsburg-Laufenburg line.  This line died out in 1408. Laufenburg became the Habsburg-Austria seat from 1408 to 1803. In 1803, it passed into the possession of the Canton of Aargau.

The Laufenbrücke was first mentioned in 1207. It was the most crucial crossing point of the High Rhine for a long time. Laufenburg was granted city rights in 1315. The church of St. Johann was built in the 12th century. The baroque renovation took place between 1753 and 1755.

(Source: www.laufenburg.ch).