The dancing Sun King

French king Louis XIV liked to use dance as a way of projecting his absolute power. A year before his glorious coronation, he embodied the rising sun – dressed as the sun god, Apollo – in the centre of the planetary system.

This finger ring symbolises the wearer's loyalty to Mary I of Scotland, also known as Mary Stuart.
Secret support for Mary Stuart

Rings can be more than simply adornment, expression of personal sentiment or symbols of status, they can also conceal or openly show allegiance to a political cause. In some cases, such affiliations could have dangerous consequences, even death.

Switzerland – a nation of skiers: How much is reality? How much is myth?
The whole country is skiing! The whole country…?

For years, Switzerland has celebrated itself as a nation of skiers. Where does this self-image come from? Is it more of a myth, or more of a reality?

Latest posts

Switzerland’s rocky road to religious freedom

Josef Lang 23.03.2023 The Federal Constitution only became secular in 1874 when it granted religious freedom to the Jewish minority. In the current version, there are still two exemption clauses concerning Muslims.
Extract from a commemorative plaque on the constitutional revision of 1874. It was during this revision that freedom of religion and conscience for all was enshrined in the Constitution – including for the Jewish minority.

Minor language, monumental work

Peter Egloff 21.03.2023 In his ‘Rätoromanische Chrestomathie’, unconventional Graubünden politician and cultural scholar Caspar Decurtins (1855-1916) created the most important older source text on the Romansh culture of his home canton. And did so while accomplishing a great deal more.
A street name in Trun GR, but so much more. Caspar Decurtins made a mark on the political culture of Surselva that can still be felt clearly today.

The Jetzer Affair

Kathrin Utz Tremp 16.03.2023 A story of deception, fraud and torture that ends at the stake. The Jetzer Affair in Bern was an out-and-out scandal worthy of a modern-day thriller. Its protagonist was a young tailor's assistant who experienced mysterious spiritual apparitions in 1507. As it turned out, they were much more earthly visions.
In the night of 24 June 1507, the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Dominican monastery in Bern cried bloody tears. It later emerged that the friars had painted them on.

Power on the pitch

Michael Jucker 14.03.2023 The over 100-year history of Zurich football club FC Hakoah highlights the importance of Jewish sport in the building of identity and the integration of Jews in Switzerland.
Hakoah’s first team in the 1960s.
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Popular posts

Moving from the krone to the franc

Thomas Weibel 26.01.2022 In 1924, the Principality of Liechtenstein turned its back on the Austrian krone and adopted Switzerland’s national currency, somewhat clandestinely at first and then officially.
Banknotes as far as the eye can see: at the beginning of the 20th century, hyperinflation prompted Liechtenstein to adopt the Swiss franc as its national currency.

The history of video games

Alexander Rechsteiner 29.01.2020 Eating dots with Pac-Man, rescuing the princess with Mario and Luigi, or wiping out your opponents in Fortnite: over about three generations now, video games have shaped the childhood of millions of people. A look back at 50 years of gaming history.
Controller for the Nintendo NES from 1985.

The power and pomp of the wig

Murielle Schlup 16.02.2023 During the Baroque and Rococo periods no self-respecting man or woman would consider themselves properly dressed without one finishing touch: their wig. Fashionable first at the French court, their popularity then spread all over Europe. Coiffed hairpieces long served as a symbol of social status for both sexes.
Caricature entitled La Toilette d’un clerc de procureur, 1816: a lawyer's clerk has his wig generously powdered by a servant or barber.

The birth of modern minigolf

Katrin Brunner 07.03.2023 Minigolf is not a 20th century invention. In fact, the story of how it evolved to become the pastime we know today is a long one, and even has a Swiss chapter involving Genevan architect Paul Bongni.
Minigolf quickly became a popular sport. Possibly also because the courses were standardised from 1954.

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