This section contains an overview of the most relevant monuments in Switzerland.
27 August 2021
Villages and houses in the Engadine (Canton of Graubünden) can be recognised by the decorations on the house fronts. The old technique is called Sgraffito (graffiti). Instead of painting with a brush, the decoration is done by scratching into the white lime plaster. After being applied to the wall, this lime remains wet for about … Read more » “Sgraffito”
13 August 2021
Switzerland is not in the top ten for Art Nouveau or Jugendstil architecture. The style was introduced in the years leading up to 1900 in the larger cities, especially in the Grand Hotels of the Belle Époque. The hotel and sanatorium architecture of this period was the first to incorporate Art Nouveau. The enormous growth … Read more » “Art Nouveau in Switzerland”
12 August 2021
The city of Basel decreed in the sixteenth century that the houses in the villages had to be built in rows. From 1500 until 1833 (when Basel was split into the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft), the city of Basel governed the villages in Baselbiet in the present-day canton of Basel-Landschaft. Steep gable roofs with house entrances facing … Read more » “Reigoldswil an other Monumental Villages in Baselbiet”
10 August 2021
In 1893, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1939) learnt a relatively unknown sport: skiing. Two ski pioneers, Tobias and Johannes Branger, showed him how. One year after the Branger brothers had conquered the route from Davos to Arosa over the Maienfelder Furgga for the first time on 23 March 1893, they repeated this trip with Sir … Read more » “Sir Arthur on Tour in the Alps”
5 August 2021
Available in French and Dutch
3 August 2021
The area was already inhabited in Roman times. In 1168, Biedertan Castle, a hilltop fortress (a Höhenburg, similar to Wildenstein Castle in Bubendorf), was granted as a fief to Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. In 1269, it came into the possession of the diocese of Basel. From 1392, it was inhabited by the Lords of Wessenberg. After … Read more » “The Castle ‘Burg’ in the village Burg im Leimental”
1 August 2021
One of Switzerland’s features is the large monumental buildings in the most remote areas and (former) farming villages. It applies not only to the well-known grand hotels in the well-known cantons but also to Schwyz, Uri, Glarus, and, for example, Appenzell Ausserrhoden. The village centre is unique in its combination of palatial stone houses and … Read more » “The City Palaces of Trogen”
1 August 2021
The appreciation for Giovanni Segantini’s (1858-1899) art found expression in the Museum in St. Moritz. The architect Nicolaus Hartmann (1880-1956) based his design on the monumental pavilion that Segantini had created to house his Engadina panorama of large-scale paintings at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. The building, with its massive domes, resembles a mausoleum. … Read more » “Segantini Museum St. Moritz”
31 July 2021
The first document mentioning the monastery of St. Johann (canton of St. Gallen) dates back to 1152, when Pope Eugene III (pope from 1145 to 1153) took the monastery under his protection. One of the reasons for the foundation was the geographically favourable location between the monasteries of Pfäfers, Einsiedeln and St. Gallen. It was … Read more » “St. Johann and Johanneum”
30 July 2021
The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) in Lucerne was built around 1360 and is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. The Chapel Bridge and the water tower are the landmarks of Lucerne. Together with the Spreuerbrücke, located further downstream, it bears witness to the city’s medieval history. In the 17th century, the image cycle on the bridge … Read more » “Chapel Bridge Lucerne”
