Manda Beck25.02.2025Today, yoga is a popular fitness and relaxation technique. But it has a long history stretching back over millennia and origins that are deeply rooted in Indian philosophy. So how did yoga make its way to Switzerland?
Michael Jucker16.01.2025Referees are ostensibly portrayed as impartial. At the same time they attract controversy. It’s time for a look back at how the idea of arbiters applying the letter of the law, whether in the courtroom or on the sports ground, all began.
Noah Businger12.12.2024People have been shaping the landscape for centuries. Even in seemingly remote areas such as the Binntal. How much of a mark have humans left on the natural environment?
Kurt Messmer28.11.2024Located half-way between Freiburg and Colmar, the German town of Breisach (in the state of Baden-Württemberg) looms high above the Rhine, dominating the skyline. The town’s strategic location is inextricably linked to the chequered history of this key region of Europe.
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.
Jacqueline Perifanakis27.08.2024In antiquity and the Middle Ages, people used stones from old buildings in new structures, a practice that even continued into the modern era. Many things were destroyed by this practice – while others only exist today because of it.
Isabelle Hausmann08.08.2024Alcohol has been a companion to humankind since the year dot: as an enjoyable beverage and addictive substance, but also as a hygienic alternative to water and even as a remedy for intestinal worms. A short cultural history of an everyday toxic substance.
Thomas Weibel19.03.2024"Let others tell of storms and showers, I’ll only count your sunny hours" is a phrase that has graced countless poetry albums. Researchers from the University of Basel have now found out that the sundial has been in use for at least 3,200 years.
