Géraldine Lysser23.12.2025Often unseen, but rich in history: Christmas tree stands show how practical necessity spawned a wealth of innovation – from the wooden cross, to cast iron stands and the clamping technique.
Isabelle Schürch15.07.2025What can we learn from medieval cough mixtures and worm blessings? If nothing else, some unexpected inspiration about the shared history of human and animal health.
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.
James Blake Wiener03.12.2024Master James of St. George (c. 1230-1309) was a prolific mason and military architect who lived during the High Middle Ages. Responsible in part for the construction and refortification of imposing castles across what is now Switzerland, France, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, James of St. George is undoubtedly the greatest mason in Swiss history.
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.
James Blake Wiener10.10.2024During the tenth century, barbarian raids affected large parts of what is now Switzerland. Seizing control of the western alpine passes, Saracens from the Emirate of Fraxinetum dominated the crucial arteries of trade and pilgrimage between France, Italy, and Switzerland for nearly a century. Much of Switzerland fell under their sway.
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.
