Prince Charles in Klosters on January 5, 1999.
Unlucky prince

In 1988, Prince Charles of England was caught in an avalanche in Klosters. While he got away with a shock, his friend died in the snow. The accident had drastic consequences.

In Glarus in the middle of the 20th century, you could get your hair cut by a real princess.
In the hairdressing salon of the Turkish princess

The last representative of the Ottoman Empire was Rachid Osman. He spent his twilight years in a small village in Glarus. His wife Rosa Osman-Keller earned a living as a village hairdresser to support herself and her once fabulously wealthy husband.

A knight’s weapon of first choice was always his sword. Image from the world chronicle of Rudolf von Ems, around 1300.
In the name of the Lord…

In the Middle Ages, pleas for divine assistance were often incorporated directly into and on the knights’ weapons. So the knights were fighting in the name of the Lord…

Latest posts

Chef with sausage, 1955.
Hannes Mangold 16.04.2021

The nation’s sausage

The history of Switzerland comes with a big slice of ‘Wurst’. National dish or globalised cervelat: Swiss identity is all tied up with a very special sausage.

In the 19th century, farmers mainly ate Gschwellti – potatoes cooked in their skins – and Emmental cheese, and drank milky coffee. Meat was rarely on the menu.
Hannes Mangold 14.04.2021

A brief history of vegetarianism in Switzerland

Vegan and vegetarian diets are considered healthy and sustainable. A look at the history of vegetarianism in Switzerland shows how giving up meat created a market of the future.

The Scrib, developed by Bobst Graphic, Lausanne, and the EPFL.
Thomas Weibel 07.04.2021

Scrib: The laptop made in Switzerland

Germany, UK, USA – whichever way you look at it, the computer is a foreign import here. But one of its forebears was a genuine Swiss creation: the portable writing system called Scrib, specially developed for journalism.

At the peak of the mass mortality, urban space for the numerous plague deaths was becoming scarce everywhere, as this dramatic depiction of Tournai in 1349 shows.
Hibou Pèlerin 31.03.2021

How the Great Plague changed the world

The plague epidemic in the Middle Ages, and its aftermath, readily invites comparison with the coronavirus pandemic. In his fascinating account of the ‘Great Plague’, however, historian Volker Reinhardt also warns of the limitations of such comparisons.

All posts

Food stories from the past

Peter Moser 15.11.2019

The cheese collective

From 1914, the Schweizerische Käseunion (SKU, the Swiss Cheese Union) ensured people at home and abroad were kept supplied with Swiss cheese. For that purpose, the Cheese Union monitored both production and prices.

Darstellung eines Bauerntanzes auf einer Spanischsuppenschüssel aus der Glocken- und Geschützgiesserei Füssli, um 1600
Felix Graf 11.01.2018

From Spanish soup to potpourri

Spanish soup was once the ultimate in Sunday meals. This stew was cooked and served in bronze tureens. The dish and its tureen have disappeared from our culinary consciousness. Only a few robust museum pieces and the foreign word potpourri remain.

Daniel Di Falco 26.04.2017

Revulsion, Morality and the Fork

On the History of Table Manners and Culture.

Popular posts

At the peak of the mass mortality, urban space for the numerous plague deaths was becoming scarce everywhere, as this dramatic depiction of Tournai in 1349 shows.
Hibou Pèlerin 31.03.2021

How the Great Plague changed the world

The plague epidemic in the Middle Ages, and its aftermath, readily invites comparison with the coronavirus pandemic. In his fascinating account of the ‘Great Plague’, however, historian Volker Reinhardt also warns of the limitations of such comparisons.

Gustav Guhl was one of the first celebrity hairdressers and, among other achievements, brought short hairstyles to Asia.
Katrin Brunner 19.03.2021

The hair magician from Schöfflisdorf

Swiss hairdresser Gustav Guhl revolutionised shampoo production in the 1930s. He started out in a barn in the countryside.

The Swiss border may have been well-guarded during World War II, but there were always ways to slip across.
Jacqueline Plum 17.03.2021

Smuggling in the tri-border area

Especially in times of scarcity, smuggling has been an important activity for people in the tri-border area. The complicated lines of the border separating Germany, France and Switzerland made the illegal transport of goods easier.

Controller for the Nintendo NES from 1985.
Alexander Rechsteiner 29.01.2020

The history of video games

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.

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