James Blake Wiener15.04.2024Over a century after her dramatic demise, the Titanic lingers omnipresent in the human imagination. The stories of the Titanic’s Swiss staff and passengers are a rich kaleidoscope of a maritime disaster and an era on the precipice of tremendous change.
Jean-Luc Rickenbacher03.04.2024The Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway crosses 83 bridges and goes through 31 tunnels. It connects Switzerland to Italy and is the most direct route between the Gotthard and Simplon lines. The legendary narrow gauge railway in southern Switzerland celebrates its centenary in 2023/24.
Felix Frey09.01.2024In 1927, geologist Albert Heim clashed with cartographers at the Federal Office of Topography as he was convinced that their relief maps of Switzerland were depicted in the wrong light. Heim believed that the light source on maps should correspond to natural sunshine.
Reto Bleuer21.11.2023The threat of an energy shortage is nothing new to Switzerland, where demand has repeatedly exceeded supply over the years. However, one energy source that has always proved especially popular in times of crisis is now off limits – peat.
Jean-Luc Rickenbacher27.10.2023The first attempts to harness the power of water date far back. Water used to provide the energy to run flour mills and looms. However, the resource only realised its full potential when hydropower began supplying the country with electricity.
Peter Egloff10.08.2023Coachman Emmanuel Schmid from Graubünden regularly drove his famous passenger Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen around the Alps in the late 19th century.
Dominik Landwehr11.07.2023Polish and French internees built pathways and roads in many parts of Switzerland during the Second World War. They were especially busy in the Safien Valley – living under the most basic conditions.
Michael van Orsouw06.07.2023Nowadays, the VW camper van has cult status. It was invented by a Dutchman named Bernadus Pon who spent a lot of time in Switzerland after building a villa there. In 1965, Pon, who by then had become very wealthy, gifted every schoolchild in a small Swiss village with a savings account.