Noëmi Crain Merz19.01.2024In the 1960s, Switzerland faced a dilemma regarding its Italian guest workers: their labour was desperately needed, their presence in society less so...
James Blake Wiener11.01.2024The life of Henry Hotze is largely unknown in Switzerland. Born in Zürich, Hotze emigrated to the United States. Later, he became the Confederacy's chief propagandist in Europe during the U.S. Civil War.
James Blake Wiener12.12.2023In August 1854, Giovanni Antonio Palla from Cevio and Tommaso Pozzi from Coglio returned to Ticino after becoming wealthy through mining in the Australian state of Victoria. News of their arrival spread like a wildfire. Though few of the 2000 Ticinese in the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s would be that lucky, they left a unique imprint upon the country.
Felix Graf29.11.2023In November 1834, 17-year-old Amélie Macaire, the daughter of a Genevan manufacturer, married German Count Friedrich von Zeppelin on an island in Constance that was the site of a former monastery. French was the predominant language spoken. And not without reason...
Reto Bleuer21.11.2023The threat of an energy shortage is nothing new to Switzerland, where demand has repeatedly exceeded supply over the years. However, one energy source that has always proved especially popular in times of crisis is now off limits – peat.
Raphael Rues09.11.2023From Andelfingen to the very top of government in Central America: the story of Jacobo Arbenz, President of the Republic of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954, and his agrarian reforms that stirred up powerful opposition.
Jean-Luc Rickenbacher27.10.2023The first attempts to harness the power of water date far back. Water used to provide the energy to run flour mills and looms. However, the resource only realised its full potential when hydropower began supplying the country with electricity.
Barbara Basting09.10.2023Linen production and trading was once the livelihood of many people in Europe, especially in eastern Switzerland. A famous landscape painting from the Netherlands in Kunsthaus Zürich tells a tale of global trade routes and mutual dependence.