Peter Haenger29.10.2024British cannons paved the way for the Basel Mission to Kumasi, the capital city of the West African Asante Empire, in the 19th century. Swiss missionary Fritz Ramseyer also played a key part.
Ernst Ziegler24.10.2024During the Second World War, Ernst Schrämli from St. Gallen was sentenced to death for spying and executed on 10 November 1942 in a small wood in eastern Switzerland. Schrämli had relayed military secrets and information to a German agent.
Adi Kälin22.10.2024120 years ago, many people complained of severe diarrhoea and vomiting following a visit to the Rigi. For a long time, people blamed the ‘Rigikrankheit’ (as the condition was known) on the mountain air, until a high profile defamation trial uncovered a major environmental scandal.
Gabriel Heim15.10.2024In the late 19th century, landlocked Switzerland was looking for ways to harness the immeasurable diversity of tropical botany. It found what it was looking for in Buitenzorg on the island of Java.
Raphael Rues26.09.2024Without the help of the British and Americans, resistance against the German and fascist occupation of Ossola would have come to nothing. However, the region’s partisans had hoped for more in the way of support.
Daniela Schwab10.09.2024The term is relatively recent but the concept is as old as mankind: the 'circular economy' where goods are reused, recycled and repaired.
Thomas Weibel05.09.2024For 125 years, the 'funiculaire' in the city of Fribourg has been running on a particular kind of renewable energy: wastewater. The 'funi', as the heritage-listed railway is known locally, is an important reminder of Fribourg's industrial past.