Author: Maarten Koning

The Mundaneum and Geneva

What do Google, the Mundaneum and a new World City near Geneva have in common?

The Mundaneum

The story begins at the end of the nineteenth century in Belgium. Paul Otlet (1868-1944) and Henri La Fontaine (1854-1943) sought to establish a World Library encompassing all books, iconography, newspapers, magazines, and other written materials.

This library, Mundaneum, was founded in 1920. It was housed in the Parc du Cinquantenaire (Jubelpark) in Brussels and occupied one hundred rooms, covering many kilometres of paper.

This library still exists and is a universal bibliographic centre today. The Mundaneum was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. The Mundaneum moved to Mons (Bergen) in 1998.

The Mundaneum is called the Internet of Paper and is the predecessor of Google. Google supports the project financially. 

Mundaneum in Mons. Photo: www,mundaneum.be

Geneva

The sculptor, painter, and urban planner Hendrik C. Anderson (1872-1940), and the architect, urban planner, and archaeologist Ernest Hébrard (1875-1933) developed a plan in 1913 to build a world city.

This city was the centre of international communication and dispute resolution for the sake of peace and prosperity. All people and countries were to be represented.

The founders of the Mundaneum supported the project. The Three Lakes region in Switzerland (the area of the lakes of Neuchâtel (Neuenburgersee), Biel (Bienne), Murten (Morat) and Brussels emerged as a location option.

Then came August 1, 1914, and the plan was off the table. However, after the end of the First World War (1914-1918), the League of Nations and its headquarters in Geneva gave new hope.

In 1927, Paul Otlet approached the architect Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, 1887-1965) to design a new plan for the city near Geneva. Then came the stock market crisis of 1929 and the subsequent economic and political crises and tensions.

Statues at the entry of the City. Collection Schlossmuseum Nidau. Photo: TES.

The world city never progressed beyond the design on paper. The entrance to the metropolis bears the hallmarks of the time’s style. The town, symmetrically built according to a strict grid pattern (as in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel), featured a 320-metre tower that symbolised human progress.

However, it became a Tower of Babel due to the Second World War (1939-1945) and the Cold War. After 1945 and the death of the Mundaneum’s founders, the project for the metropolis was abandoned.

(Source: www.mundaneum.org/ Schlossmuseum Nidau: www.schlossmuseumnidau.ch).

The lakes, mountain lakes and reservoirs of Switzerland

Switzerland has hundreds of lakes, ranging from larger to smaller, as well as mountain lakes and reservoirs. The mountain lakes are often of breathtaking beauty, embedded in alpine meadows or steep mountain landscapes, with shimmering green, blue, or black water, hidden amidst spruce forests or situated on mountain slopes.

Lac Morat/Murtensee

The Lungerersee

It is impossible to judge Swiss mountain lakes solely on their beauty. However, the website provides a subjective list of the 50 most beautiful mountain lakes, indicating their location, canton and altitude. Hundreds of other mountain lakes are not included in this list.

The site also lists the fifty largest lakes. There are also surprises among the largest lakes in terms of surface area. For the ranking, only the surfaces of lakes in Switzerland are considered.

Lake Neuchâtel

Lake Lucerne

Lake Geneva

The site also features a list of the largest dams and reservoirs, including their surface area, height above sea level, maximum depth, type of lake, shoreline area, and country.

Lake Hallwil is located in the cantons of Aargau and Lucerne. The municipalities of Beinwil am See, Birrwil, Boniswil, Fahrwangen, Meisterschwanden, and Seengen, with Hallwyl Castle surrounding the lake on the Aargau side and Schwarzenbach, Mosen and Aesch on the side of Lucerne. The lake lies at an altitude of 449 metres above sea level in the so-called Seetal.

Lake Hallwilermeer is approximately 8.5 kilometres long and has a maximum width of 1.5 kilometres. The primary inflow into the lake is the Aabach stream from Lake Baldegger, which also leaves the lake in the north near Seengen.

(Source and further information: Alle Seen der Schweiz: schweizersee.ch).

The Church of Wintersingen

In the High Middle Ages, the parish church of Wintersingen (Canton of Basel-Landschaft) was owned by the canons of St Leonhard in Basel. An archaeological survey uncovered several graves and stone slabs, which, together with the last remains of the foundation, indicate the presence of a first church around 700 or at the beginning of the 8th century.

A papal bull of 8 May 1196 confirmed the ownership of the Leonhard monastery. However, the Bishop of Basel managed to get the patronage of Wintersingen. The Teutonic Order of Beuggen was the successor.

It was not until 1821 that the city of Basel became the owner. However, after the creation of the canton Basel-Landschaft, a split-off from Basel-Stadt, Wintersingen became an independent municipality.

The church has a choir, nave, and ossuary (Beinhaus). The church converted to Protestantism in the Reformation (1529). The huge clockwork of the church tower from 1552, the organ, the large and small bells (15th century), the ancient Greek epitaphs, the choir stalls (1676), the guéridon (1706), the communion table and the baptismal font (1642), the pulpit (1676), the stained glass (1639) and the many wall paintings and decorations are the artefacts on Wintersingen’s church hill.

(Bron: Daniel Anderegg, Die Kirche Wintersingen, Wintersingen, 2015)

Geneva’s Choice in 1815

On December 30, 1813, the Austrian general Count Ferdinand Bubna von Littiz (1768-1825) entered Geneva, ending fifteen years of French domination.

In 1798, the city enthusiastically welcomed the French revolutionary troops. After fifteen years of French annexation, French-speaking Geneva stood at a crucial crossroads in its two-thousand-year existence.

On January 1, 1814, the regents who had been in power since before 1798 proclaimed the independent republic of Geneva, and there was no turning back. Due to the major powers’ preference at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and despite resistance from some Catholic cantons, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation. Geneva became the twenty-second canton in 1815.

The superpowers ratified the agreement in international treaties in 1815 (Paris) and 1816 (Turin), and Switzerland gained its final borders, neutrality, and sovereignty.

Moreover, Geneva was Protestant, a heritage shared with other Swiss cantons. There was also a shared political and economic history with other Swiss cantons, for example, during the Burgundian Kingdom in the Middle Ages, and centuries of common enemies, such as the Dukes of Savoy; however, the city always maintained its political independence.

Geneva was never under French rule until 1798, and this experiment was not to be repeated. It was a good choice. Geneva escaped two world wars, French centralism and the euro. The canton is also embedded in a federal, multicultural, decentralised, and democratic welfare system.

Hallwyl Castle

Hallwyl Castle was the castle of this dynasty until 1798. The Hallwyl family resisted the invasion of the cantons of the Swiss Confederation in 1415. The army of Bern destroyed the castle and occupied most of the Aargau. Rudolf III von Hallwyl recognised the rule of Bern and thus saved the family property from confiscation.

Bern proclaimed the Reformation in 1528, and the Hallwyl family converted to Protestantism. The family branched out into Thurgau, Württemberg, Austria and Bohemia in the 16th and 17th centuries. They adopted the faith of their Lords (cuius regio, cuius religio).

Burkhard III von Hallwyl rebuilt the moated castle in 1590 into the present-day castle. The family lost its privileges and tax revenues in the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803).

The last owners created a foundation in 1925 to preserve the castle. In 1994, the foundation transferred ownership of the castle to the Canton of Aargau. Hallwyl Castle has been a museum since 2007.

(Source and further information:www.museumaargau.ch/schloss-hallwyl).

The Roman History of Avenches

The Celts

Julius Caesar’s Book de Bello Gallico (100-44 BC) tells the story of the migration of some Celtic tribes (Helvetii, Rauraci, and others) to eastern France in 58 BC.

Far less known outside Switzerland is the history of their defeat in that year at Bibracte and their return to their homelands in Switzerland.

The Helvetians and Romans

Two colonies were founded by the Romans (Colonia Iulia Equestris (Nyon) and Augusta Raurica (Augst) around 44 BC. The tribes became allies (foederati) of the Romans. The Pax Romana was about to begin and would last, with some violent interruptions (mainly in 68/69 AD),  until 260 AD.

Aventicum

The city (Colonia) of Aventicum (Avenches, canton Vaud) became the provincial capital of the Helvetians, with around 20,000 inhabitants.

Imperial power was everywhere in the city. The gold bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius was discovered in 1939. Many other artefacts—coins, medallions, ivory objects, portraits, statues, mosaics, symbols of power, religion, and myths—surrounded the ceremonies belonging to the imperial cult and honouring the semi-divine imperial family.

One of the main centres of this cult was the theatre. The theatre played a crucial role in Roman society. The theatre was a public medium, a place of propaganda and self-representation. The audience was seated strictly according to their ranks and hierarchy.

These expensive and sumptuous edifices and spectacles were financed mainly by members of the local elite (ordo decurionum) or other wealthy locals.

The imperial cult was an integral part of each spectacle, featuring processions and sacrifices.

The amphitheatre became popular in the second century. The Colosseum in Rome (built around 70 AD) became the model of the provincial amphitheatres.

Roman society was deeply religious, and the temple stood opposite the theatre, the curia, the forum, and the basilica.

Monuments and statues were erected and financed by the local elite in honour of the imperial family or local notables as a sign of respect and gratitude for their euergetism (generosity, as evidenced by funding public buildings, games, and food distribution, among other things).

The Roman Museum in Avenches (Musée romain), housed in the medieval tower of the Roman Amphitheatre, offers a comprehensive overview of life in a provincial Roman town.

The completed theatre can also be visited, including what remains of the temple (le Cigognier), the amphitheatre, some burial sites, and other Roman Avenches remains.

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

The Border Stones of Switzerland

Switzerland is a country of mountains, cheese, chocolate, cowbells, and border stones. Thousands of border stones mark the countryside.

The history of the (small) cantons, their neighbouring countries, “Untertanengebiete”  and  “Zugewandte Orte” (allies of the Confederation), shows many border corrections. Untertanegebiete were occupied territories administered by the (predominantly) German-speaking Confederation or individual cantons.

Chevenez (canton of Jura)

For example, the Heimatmuseum in Reinach (Canton of Basel-Landschaft) exhibits border stones of the Canton of Basel and the area of the former Prince-Bishopric of Basel (999-1815). In 1831, the situation became even more complicated when Basel-Landschaft separated from the canton of Basel (Basel-Stadt).

In the municipality of Bettingen (canton of Basel-Stadt), dozens of border stones along a sandy path through and in the forest near the mountain of Chrischona mark the old border between the Grand Duchy of Baden (formally until 1918) and the canton of Basel. The stones have the yellow flag with the red line of Baden on one side and the black bishop’s staff of Basel on the other.

Image: Dreiländermuseum Lörrach

At the Saalhöhe (canton of Aargau), near the Fricktal, there are border stones of Aargau, Habsburg (until 1803), Bern (until 1798) and Basel-Landschaft (from 1831).

Chevenez. Photo: TES

On the hiking trail near Chevenez (canton of Jura), there are hundreds of border stones with the bear of Bern (until 1979) and the initials RF (République Française).

Each canton has put, moved or lost border stones over the centuries. However, the country’s external borders have been remarkably stable since 1515, apart from the loss of Italian territories in the Valtellina (Veltlin). Napoleon added these Untertanengebiete to the new Republic of Cisalpina in 1798.

Heimatmuseum Reinach.

Mariastein (canton Solothurn)

Mariastein (kanton Solothurn)

Two Centuries Swiss Chocolate

Switzerland is a country of mountains, cheese, watches and chocolate. Chocolate beans do not grow in this country, however.

Chocolate is derived from the word Xocolati. It was used by the Aztecs as early as 1,500 B.C. Chocolate made its appearance in Switzerland in the eighteenth century.

François-Louis Cailler (1796-1852). Photo: Wikipedia

François-Louis Cailler (1796-1852) opened Switzerland’s oldest chocolate factory in Corsier-sur-Vevey in 1819, followed in 1826 by Philippe Suchard (1797-1884) in Neuchâtel and 1836 by David Sprüngli (1776-1862) in Zurich.

Cailler introduced milk chocolate in 1875. Rudolf Lindt (1855-1909) discovered another application in 1879. This application made chocolate popular and Swiss chocolate of exceptional quality, melting on the tongue.

The history of chocolate is a Swiss success story: innovation, export, ingenuity, tradition and emigration.

(Further information: www.cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler).

Annecy, Geneva, Savoy and L’Escalade

The Counts of Geneva, like their neighbours, the Counts of Savoy, were dynasties in the Kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032). The Counts controlled the areas of Faucigny, Genevois, and the town of Annecy, a small part of the Chablais along Lake Geneva, and Gex in France around 1300.

Geneva was the administrative centre. Annecy was a residence of the counts. The town was well located along the roads and the lake. However, unlike Savoy, Geneva had a direct competitor within the city walls: the bishop. The diocese of Geneva belonged to the archbishopric of Vienne.

Until the Reformation around 1530, a power struggle existed between the bishop (with the support of Savoie) and the counts, as well as the city’s burghers. The arrival of Calvin in 1536 put an end to the episcopal presence in Geneva. The town became the capital of Calvinism. The Museum of the Reformation (Musée de la Réformation) presents this history in a regional and European context.

The four reformers Calvin. Farel, de Bèze and Knox, Genève, le mur des Réformateurs

In 1401, Savoie acquired Annecy and Genevois. The castle became a regional administrative centre with a defensive function. The Duke (supported by the bishop) attacked Geneva on December 11 and 12, 1602. It ended with a defeat for Savoy. Geneva commemorates this attack, L’Escalade, named after Savoy’s wooden ladders, to storm the city walls in vain.

From 1713 to 1860, Annecy was a city in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, except during the French period (1792-1813), when it belonged to the Department of Savoie.

The kingdom ceased to exist in 1860. The Kingdom of Italy was founded, including Piedmont and Sardinia. Savoy (and Annecy) chose in a referendum (1861) to be incorporated into the French Empire of Napoleon III and has been part of France ever since (the departments Savoie and Haute-Savoie).

However, the canton of Geneva, a member of the Swiss Confederation since 1815, had not forgotten its medieval past and the possession of the Genevois (and Annecy), Faucigny and a part of Chablais. The canton considered an armed intervention in 1860. Due to the opposition from the other cantons, it did not happen.

The Annecy Castle houses a historical museum and an exhibition on the Lake of Annecy today.

(Source and further information: Musèe-Château d’Annecy).

A Country of Museums

The first museums originated in Renaissance Italy during the fifteenth century. Rome and Greece’s political and constitutional models were widely admired, and the (re)discovery of Greek and Roman authors increased awareness of the ancient world. Many citizens began to collect items and display them.

Antique objects (coins, statues, everyday objects, inscriptions and other artefacts) were omnipresent. The houses and gardens were the showrooms. However, they were private collections.

Paus Sixtus IV (1414-1484). Photo: Wikipedia

Pope Sixtus IV (1414-1484) regarded the Roman artefacts as propaganda tools in 1471. They showed the relationship between ancient and Christian Rome, between the emperors and the Popes as the new leaders. People came in large numbers, and the Capitol was the first public building to show a collection of art to the public.

Haus zur Mücke

The city of Basel presented its art collection to the public in 1671, housed in the Amerbach-Kabinett at the Haus zur Mücke. It was the first public collection north of the Alps.
In 1936, the collection was divided between the Art Museum (Kunstmuseum) and the Museum of Antiquities. The country has the highest number of museums per capita.

Museum der Kulturen Basel. It is one of the first of its kind in Europe. Photo:TES