From Basel and later from Birsfelden, Anne Frank’s father, Otto, worked to ensure that what is probably the most famous diary in history was read all over the world.

Gotthelf’s novel «The Black Spider» explores themes of greed, conflict and the power of the plague. But the author also voices his frustration over unchecked forest clearance in his home canton of Bern.

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.

Swedish writer Strindberg suffered such hard times in Switzerland that he took up photography to make ends meet – and during a stay at Lake Lucerne, he produced the first selfies.

Fleeing his conservative family, Friedrich Wilhelm Wagner was searching for freedom. This search led the poet to Zurich and into the circles of Dadaism.

Germaine de Staël was a Swiss author and thinker during the French Revolution. Even Napoleon feared the strong and well-connected personality and banished her from Paris.

Teresa Bontempi helped shape the history of Ticino at the beginning of the 20th century, first as a teacher, and later as an advocate of fascism. She was a woman with two faces.

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 Why her personal notes are in Switzerland’s Federal Archives, and why they remained unpublished until 1984…