Kathrin Utz Tremp

Dr Dr h.c. Kathrin Utz Tremp is an expert on mediaeval history who lectured for many years at the University of Lausanne.

A diary that captures the tensions in Fribourg during WWI

Kathrin Utz Tremp 02.06.2026 The diary kept by Fribourg state archivist Tobie de Raemy during the early years of the First World War provides a unique insight into the tensions that existed between German- and French-speaking Switzerland at that time. A prime example of this is the riots that took place at Fribourg station when trains travelled through carrying the injured from Germany and France.

Fribourg, circa 1900. In the centre is the St. Nikolaus collegiate church and state chancellery, and in the foreground the Grand Pont suspension bridge.

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.