Francs or guilders? In the mid-19th century, this question divided Switzerland. In the end it was the franc, but further dispute erupted over the design of the new national currency.
Today, pedestrians almost always have right of way. That hasn’t always been the case. Since the first zebra crossing was installed in Basel in 1948, however, pedestrian road use has become a lot safer.
In 1531, two years after the legendary Milchsuppe (milk soup) incident, a battle took place at Kappel after all. The Protestants suffered a crushing defeat, and were forced to abandon their dreams of an exclusively Protestant Switzerland.
The Foreign Legion was established in 1831. Since then the French elite troop has lured thousands of Swiss, including figures from the arenas of culture and politics.
Jakob Leonhard fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Or did he? The strange story of a Zurich taxi driver who slipped away mysteriously, only to return a hero.
Stereoscopics, the three-dimensional depiction of two-dimensional images, captivated viewers across the globe in the 19th century. And the phenomenon helped to cement Switzerland’s status as a highly desirable tourist destination.
