For years, Switzerland has celebrated itself as a nation of skiers. Where does this self-image come from? Is it more of a myth, or more of a reality?

Empress Elisabeth ‘Sisi’ of Austria-Hungary was also a poetess. Why her personal notes are in Switzerland’s Federal Archives, and why they remained unpublished until 1984…

In 1929, mountain film pioneer Arnold Fanck shot his global hit The White Hell of Piz Palü in southern Graubünden. The secret star of filming was the Bernina railway, a track system that could handle tough winter operation.

What images of a man’s role were disseminated in Switzerland’s mainstream visual media in the 1950s? After the war ended, people were looking for alternatives to the traditional image of the family man, and a lot of men found themselves standing at the kitchen stove.

Short bobbed haircuts, figure-hugging skirts, flat shoes – the new fashions of the 1920s were wildly popular, but they also had their avowed opponents. Seeking a return to the values of the past, these groups set about re-establishing Switzerland’s long-dormant customs of traditional dress.

We spend around a third of our lives in bed. It’s the item of furniture we use most often, and it has a past and a history of its own.

When Václav Havel made a state visit to Switzerland in 1990, it was a minor sensation. Diplomatic documents shed light on the event from a variety of perspectives.

In the 1980s the footballer was a fighter; a decade later, he was a sporty pop star, and now he’s a model. Nowhere is the change in the image of masculinity more apparent than on the football pitch.