As the decades of the Cold War ticked by, society was defined by the antagonism between East and West and the fear of communism, and this influence even extended to culture.

Discovered in a museum storeroom, a magnificent portrait of a horseman proves to be witness to a life straight out of an adventure novel: Fribourg mercenary leader Franz Peter König’s wild gallop through the Thirty Years’ War.

Bruno Manser was one of the world’s first environmental activists, and he launched spectacular protests to fight against rainforest deforestation. This earned him admiration, but it also caused him problems with the authorities.

Resistance movements of indigenous organisations and societies have traditionally found a route through Switzerland. This is connected with the presence of the UN headquarters in Geneva. But there’s more to it than that.

In 1970, SC Langnau revolutionised Switzerland’s sports landscape. With a little sleight of hand, this village club invented jersey advertising.

Anna Wecker from Basel is Switzerland’s first known cookbook author. She infiltrated this male-dominated sphere in 1598.

Gottfried Keller’s most ardent desire was to become an artist and paint scenes of nature. In the end he did just that, but mostly in words.

If you’re on the Riederfurka, you can’t miss the Villa Cassel. Visible from far and wide, the distinctive structure dates from 1902 and was once the holiday home of an ill and overworked Englishman.