Disc fibula, gold, bronze and semi-precious stone, end of 6th century AD, Oberbuchsiten SO
Disc fibula, gold, bronze and semi-precious stone, end of 6th century AD, Oberbuchsiten SO Swiss National Museum

How the 'Röstigraben' came to be 

his brooch, called a fibula, belonged to a woman living in what is today the canton of Solothurn around the year AD 600.

Andrej Abplanalp

Andrej Abplanalp

Historian and communications chief of the Swiss National Museum.

It is made of gold and set with semi-precious stones.The fibula was used to fasten a cloak over the wearer’s chest–a fashion the Germanic tribes had brought to Switzerland.

The Germanic migration not only brought changes in fashion, customs, and diet to Switzerland, but also multilingualism. While the Alemannians imposed their own language on the north of the country, the Germanic tribes of the Langobards and Burgundians in the south and southwest adopted the Latin language of the local population. So it is thanks to the Germans that Switzerland is divided into German-speaking and Romance-speaking residents today.

Disc fibula, gold, bronze and semi-precious stone, end of 6th century AD, Oberbuchsiten SO
Swiss National Museum

Published on: 31.03.2017

Modified on: 26.01.2022

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2017/03/how-the-roestigraben-came-to-be/

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