In 1784, Anton Tschann from Balsthal successfully launched a hot-air balloon into the sky – the first Swiss to do so. Later on, however, others claimed the glory…
While Zwingli was preaching the Reformed faith in Zurich in the 16th century, the altered circumstances of life led to frictions in the countryside on a greater and lesser scale.
Around 1,600 years ago, the Roman Emperor Valentinian I had the Rhine and Danube borders extended by a substantial amount. He wanted to protect the empire from the onslaught of the peoples of the north.
Upon the outbreak of World War II, Switzerland immediately set about securing its borders. Including the line along the Rhine. Diaries give an insight into the everyday life of the border guards.
The Thirty Years’ War devastated Europe. Though not involved in the war, Switzerland also suffered. Many people left the country, moving north, and also eastwards. Some emigrants, such as goldbeater Heinrich Schlatter, found a happier future in their new homelands.
In the 18th century, straw-weavers and hatmakers had a bad reputation in Switzerland. They were condemned as lazy. A century later, hat-making became a flourishing business.
The biography of Johann Jakob Meyer from Zurich reads like an adventure novel: womaniser, confidence trickster, and up to his eyeballs in debt. How could such a man become a Greek hero?
