The valley of La Sagne (canton of Neuchâtel) extends into the Jura Mountains. The Mont-Racine (1449 metres) is the highest peak.
The most important villages are Ponts-de-Martel and La Sagne. The slopes are covered with dense forests, meadows and farms.
The valley is ideal for hiking, horseback riding and cycling. In the summer, for cross-country skiing, and snow walking in the winter.
In November 1620, the passengers and crew of the Mayflower reached the coast of Massachusetts and established a colony there. Among them were Puritan Reformists who had crossed the ocean to found a community in accordance with their aspirations, firmly rooted in Protestant and Calvinist values.
This was the founding moment for what was to become the United States of America, the future liberator, and the guardian of Europe in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The Constitution of the United States of America (1786) should also change Europe, including Switzerland in the year 1848.
It is lonesome at the top of the democratic world nowadays, however. This vulnerable democracy, including her brilliant Constitution, makes mistakes, but she took and takes her responsibilities, perhaps inspired by the Calvinist background.
The country is the most open democracy of the world, where everything, if not too much, comes out in the open, often by activists and mediocre journalists, (too) often arousing the sentiment and looking for sensation and their scoop and period of short fame.
The event in the International Museum of the Reformation (Musée international du Réformation) in Geneva, Switzerland, offers the possibility to cross the Atlantic in 1620 by a virtual reality experience. A 20-minute loop of various excerpts from famous films produced in North America introduces visitors to how religion permeates culture and has inspired great directors.
A rich collection of 60 documents, memorabilia, statistics, and objects evoke the religious and Protestant identity of the USA from 1620 to today. Famous World War II posters are presented in a sanctuary-like space to highlight the four founding freedoms of America: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Nine pieces of music inspired by religion in America, from 1773 to today, are on display in the music room and include choir singing, ballads, blues, and jazz. (Source and further information: www.mir.ch).
The involvement of residents of municipalities and cantons in maintaining and initiating projects in the fields of architecture, culture, education or history is impressive. This commitment applies to the far east, e.g. St. Müstair, Scuol, Savignon or Riom (canton Graubünden), the far west, e.g. in Vallorbe, Vallée de Joux (canton Vaud), St. Gingolph (canton of Valais), the far north, e.g. the Vitra Design Museum near Basel, Porrentruy (canton of Jura) or Kaiserstuhl (canton of Aargau), to the far south, e.g. in Airolo, Montagnola or (canton of Tessin).
The village Rossa (canton of Graubünden) at an altitude of 1100 metres in the Calancada valley at the foot of St. Bernadino houses not only the Swiss House XXXII, but the whole Calancatal is the site to be of a permanent exhibition called “Ispace”.
The architect Davide Macullo (1965) is designing this project in collaboration with the Frei Holzbau company in Kriessern, the Rossarte foundation in Rossa and the Val Calanca Natural Park (Parco Val Calanca).
Ten large wooden sculptures will appear in the park. The aim is to give art and architecture a place in nature. For this reason, the sculptures are not close to the hiking trails, but in the middle of nature. (Source and further information: (www.macullo.com).
The park in the canton of Graubünden is the smallest natural park in Switzerland and the only one in the Italian-speaking area.
Wild and unspoiled nature merges with the centuries-old cultural landscape of agriculture and villages, including chapels and churches, arable terraces, and the villages of Braggio and Landarenca.
The area is also home to chestnut and larch woods, as well as a diverse array of wild animals (such as ibex, deer, chamois, golden eagles, grouse, and hazel grouse), and a rich flora.
Except for Braggio and Landarenca, the larger villages are situated in the valley.
(Source and further information: www.parcovalcalanca.swiss).
Bishop Ulrich VII. of Chur consecrated the church of St. Oswald and Cassian in Sargans on 28 June 1711. The baroque interior was not yet in place, however, due to a lack of financial means. The late Gothic medieval tower was not replaced.
The medieval castle of the Counts of Montfort and Werdenberg-Sargans still overlooks the town. The Eidgenossenschaft governed the city as a subject territory (Untertanengebiet) from 1483 until 1798. The bailiffs resided in the castle.
The Religious history of the town is also typically Swiss. The Eidgenossenschaft was an alliance of Catholic and Protestant cantons, a remarkable accomplishment for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Sargans remained Catholic but was free to profess the catholic faith. June 28, 1711, is an example of this tolerance. Sargans fell under several Catholic jurisdictions: until 1798, the abbey of Mehrerau (on Lake Constance), and the monastery of Pfäfers thereafter. The town belonged to the bishopric of Chur.
The church of St. Oswald and Cassian symbolise the medieval and (early) modern and religious (Swiss) history and architecture of Sargans.
The historic trade route runs from Montafon in Vorarlberg (Austria) over various mountain passes to Puschlav (canton of Graubünden) and Tirano in Veltin (Italy).
This route was one of the shortest connections between Lake Constance and northern Italy. Cattle, cheese, wine and goods of all kinds were transported by traders (Säumer) with pack animals (Säumtieren) for centuries.
Since 2019 this old tradition has been revived in Graubünden. In five stages the group of around thirty participants travels from Klosters (Canton Graubünden) through three linguistic areas Walser German, Romansh and Italian, beautiful villages and beautiful nature to Tirano.
The organiser has a training centre. Attending a training course is mandatory for participation.
(Further information: www.daniel-fluehler.ch).
On the mountain Les Pléiades (1 348 m.) near Vevey (Canton Vaud) four different stations explain the universe in detail. The various displays recreate a total solar eclipse, the Gnomon (invented by the ancient Greeks), the effects of the seasons on the earth, the time zones, the Gravitest, the solar system, the Rangefinder (measuring distances in astronomy), the Great Bear, and many other features. The area also offers a splendid view of Lake Geneva, the Alps, the villages and towns of the region, and the viticulture. The mountain offers multiple walking routes and possibilities for mountain biking and paragliding activities. (Further information: www.lespleiades.ch).
Sargans (St. Gallen) was already inhabited before and in Roman times. The Alemanni came after the departure of the Romans. The Aleman name ‘Senegaune’ appears for the first time in the seventh century in a document.
The first church was built in the ninth century. The Earl of Werdenberg-Sargans, lord of the castle, granted Sargans city rights in 1260. The dynasty and Werdenberg-Heiligenberg played an important military and political role in the region. They built the castle in the eleventh century.
The city is the capital of the region Sarganserland nowadays and is part of the canton of St. Gall since 1803. The castle and the Splee Chapel (Spleekapelle (built in 1502) still dominate the skyline.
Available in Dutch, French and German
The nine-hectare Jura Park, situated between the town of Vallorbe and the Valley of Joux (Vallée de Joux) in the canton of Vaud, is home to bison, wolves, bears, deer, and other wildlife.
The Park is situated at an altitude of 1,000 metres around Mount d’Orzeires and also features a leisure area with goats, ponies, donkeys, and alpacas.
(More information: www.juraparc.ch).
