Middle Ages

The final oath of allegiance to the Old Swiss Confederacy

Roland Gröbli 28.07.2026 Religious differences between the traditionally Catholic cantons and those that embraced the Reformation prevented them from agreeing on a common wording for the oath of allegiance to the Old Swiss Confederacy. It was effectively 500 years ago, on 28 July 1526, when its members convened to swear their common allegiance for the last time.
The oath taken by the three confederates on the Rütli shapes our image of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Although a popular subject in art and literature, it has little to do with the real history of the oath. Copperplate engraving by Carl Heinrich Rahl.

Of witches and pagans: the mysterious pagan houses of Ticino

Thomas Weibel 02.07.2026 Ticino’s Blenio Valley is home to a series of fortified cliff dwellings known as the ‘case dei pagani’ or ‘pagan houses’. These near-inaccessible ruins are the setting of many scary stories and continue to puzzle researchers to this day.
Myths still surround the case dei pagani houses, which are mostly found in the Blenio Valley in Ticino.

Games of power

Simon Engel 11.06.2026 Throughout history, rulers have used sport as a stage to present themselves and their ideals in a certain light. The practice began in Roman amphitheatres and continues to this day. Even in Switzerland.
Chelsea won the football Club World Cup in July 2025. However, US President Donald Trump stole the limelight, remaining front and centre on stage as they celebrated lifting the trophy.

People’s Assemblies in Switzerland and their contribution to direct democracy

René Roca 30.04.2026 Glarus holds its People’s Assembly every first Sunday in May. This tradition goes back to the early days of democracy in the Middle Ages.
People’s Assembly in Glarus, photograph probably dating from the late 19th century.

A royal betrothal at Zurich’s Lindenhof

Anuska Merz 07.04.2026 The Lindenhof hill in Zurich was the site of a royal palace from around the year 850. Carolingian kings and rulers of the Holy Roman Empire regularly spent time there as they travelled around the realm. The Lindenhof experienced what was perhaps its finest moment in 1055.
On 25 December 1055, a royal engagement took place at the Lindenhof in Zurich. Illustration by Marco Heer.

The Reformation in Val Bregaglia

James Blake Wiener 26.02.2026 Val Bregaglia (Bergell) has long been a crossroads, geographically and culturally, lying between Italian, Rhaeto-Romanic, and Germanic Europe. Characterized by trade routes, traditions of local autonomy, and religious ferment, the remote valley transformed into a unique refuge for Italian Protestants during the sixteenth century.
Val Bregaglia as seen from Piz Salacina: The valley emerged in the sixteenth century as a rare centre of Italian Protestantism within the Alps.

O Christmas tree: the history of tree stands

Géraldine Lysser 23.12.2025 Often 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.
Sale of Christmas trees in Zurich, 1971.

Shared ailments, common cures: human and animal health in the Middle Ages

Isabelle Schürch 15.07.2025 What 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.
Saint Eligius is the patron saint of blacksmiths and veterinarians. As the legend goes, he amputated a horse’s leg, fitted a horseshoe and then reattached it. This story is depicted on a mural in the church in Kirchlindach in the canton of Bern, which was painted in the second half of the 14th century.