Michael van Orsouw11.05.2023César Ritz was not only a pioneering Swiss hotelier, he also established a luxurious way of life that was immortalised in a song. ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ became a global hit after Ritz himself had sadly died following a decades-long battle with depression.
Hannes Mangold30.03.2023The chalet symbolises Switzerland more than any other building. But it was visitors from abroad who turned the simple log house into a tourist hit.
Barbara Basting09.03.2023Alexandre Calame is considered one of the fathers of Alpine landscape painting. And it all started, figuratively speaking, with a storm.
Gabriel Heim09.02.2023German theologian Carl August Wildenhahn documented his journey through 19th century Switzerland with humorous observations and comic strip-style pictures.
Roman Bertschi19.12.2022Water cures, a programme of activities and amusements, meeting place of the wealthy and the beautiful... In the 19th century, Gurnigelbad in the canton of Bern was a chic spa resort in the centre of the province...
Katrin Brunner14.12.2022Edward Whymper aspired to be the first person to reach the summit of the Matterhorn, Thomas Mann wrote world-class literature about Davos, and Mark Twain visited the Rigi and a host of other places. In the 19th century, visitors from abroad came to Switzerland for all kinds of different reasons.
Andrea Schaer22.09.2022In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the thermal baths at Baden im Aargau played host to scores of distinguished visitors. These esteemed guests had access to exclusive baths and bathing areas with special amenities, and some of these areas are still preserved today.
Michael van Orsouw27.07.2022Opinions were divided on naturopath Arnold Rikli. He delivered his holistic form of treatment, which involved bathing in the nude, at a sanatorium he had set up himself. Not in Switzerland, but in what is now Slovenia. The Monte Verità counterculture group was inspired, ultimately, by many of Rikli’s ideas and practices.
