Michael van Orsouw

Michael van Orsouw has a PhD in history and is a performance poet and author. He regularly publishes historical books.

Bernese whey receives royal approval

Michael van Orsouw 24.08.2023 Sisi, the famous Empress Elisabeth, was a much more frequent visitor to Switzerland than previously known. She visited the Bernese Oberland in 1892, where she very much enjoyed a local product normally used as pig feed...

Sisi felt very much at home in the Bernese Oberland. And not just because of the excellent whey, which she drank by the litre.

The VW camper van: an iconic vehicle with a Swiss connection

Michael van Orsouw 06.07.2023 Nowadays, the VW camper van has cult status. It was invented by a Dutchman named Bernadus Pon who spent a lot of time in Switzerland after building a villa there. In 1965, Pon, who by then had become very wealthy, gifted every schoolchild in a small Swiss village with a savings account.

A rough sketch of the first VW camper van: Ben Pon’s notebook from 1947.

When Chaplin's corpse was kidnapped

Michael van Orsouw 13.06.2023 Celebrated actor-director Charlie Chaplin died in 1977 and was buried in the cemetery at Corsier-sur-Vevey. But then, grave robbers dug up his body and demanded large sums of money from the family for its return. A macabre story that could have come straight from one of Chaplin's films, but did in fact happen.

Stop, the story isn't quite over yet! Charlie Chaplin in front of his house in Corsier-sur-Vevey, circa 1965.

Puttin’ on the Ritz: the global hit with Swiss roots

Michael van Orsouw 11.05.2023 César Ritz was not only a pioneering Swiss hotelier, he also established a luxurious way of life that was immortalised in a song. ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ became a global hit after Ritz himself had sadly died following a decades-long battle with depression.

Fred Astaire’s dance performance to the song ‘Puttin' on the Ritz’ in 1946.

World-famous typefaces from Kriens

Michael van Orsouw 27.04.2023 Roman Scherer’s highly specialised factory in Kriens manufactured wood type for the whole world – including for Pravda, the official newspaper of Russia’s Communist party in Moscow.

Crossing linguistic borders: Roman Scherer’s typefaces conquered the world in the early 20th century.

The strangest state visit of all time

Michael van Orsouw 31.08.2022 In 1909 the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph visited Switzerland. It could have been an official state visit with the mighty Emperor, but it turned out just a “courtesy call”. The Emperor didn’t set foot on Swiss soil, and was gone again after just a quarter of an hour. A strange episode in Swiss foreign affairs.

On 31 August 1909, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria shook hands with the Vice President of the Federal Council, Robert Comtesse, on board the saloon steamer Kaiserin Elisabeth.

The naked sun doctor

Michael van Orsouw 27.07.2022 Opinions were divided on naturopath Arnold Rikli. He delivered his holistic form of treatment, which involved bathing in the nude, at a sanatorium he had set up himself. Not in Switzerland, but in what is now Slovenia. The Monte Verità counterculture group was inspired, ultimately, by many of Rikli’s ideas and practices.

Steam baths were part of Rikli’s water-air-light therapy.

Switzerland and the House of Windsor

Michael van Orsouw 01.06.2022 Queen Elizabeth II was at the head of the British Royal Family for 70 years. The House of Windsor maintains a close relationship with Switzerland – not politically, but on a more private level. Here we take a look behind at the scenes at the connection between the Swiss and the Royals.

Queen Elizabeth II’s state visit to Switzerland in 1980. Accompanied by Federal President Georges-André Chevallaz, the monarch inspects the guard of honour at Zurich-Kloten Airport.