Michael Jucker21.03.2024The word sport conjures up images of modern sporting pursuits, such as football, cycling, rugby and skiing. But what about during the fondly remembered Middle Ages? Did sport exist back then and, if so, how did it compare to the modern competitions held on the territory now known as Switzerland?
James Blake Wiener06.02.2024It’s often forgotten that Locarno was a hotspot of confessional strife. The Locarnese Protestants and their subsequent expulsion in 1555 precipitated significant comment and a high degree of interconfessional distrust among the Swiss Confederates.
Barbara Basting28.12.2023The Reformation brought stricter social mores to many places in Europe, and artists had to adapt if they didn’t want to lose commissions. But these social mores were not popular with everyone – as revealed by this painting by Hans Bock in Basel’s Kunstmuseum.
Alexander Rechsteiner18.12.2023The Three Kings have inspired countless customs and traditions, and no nativity scene would be complete without them. A look at the newborn baby Jesus’ three wondrous visitors and their backstory.
Chris Findlay22.08.2023The Schaffhausen Municipal Library is home to a manuscript of great significance: The Hiberno-Scottish saint’s life of Columba of Iona provides insight into a period of history about which little is known. It also contains the oldest account of a monster in Loch Ness.
Kurt Messmer31.07.2023Young nations need long histories. In 1891, the Federal Council of Switzerland, a 43-year-old state at the time, somewhat arbitrarily decided the country went back 600 years, even assigning its foundation to a specific day, 1 August. Without delving too much into the dogma, the story goes something like this.
Thomas Weibel28.07.2023Whereas sirens sound the alarm nowadays, hundreds of years ago it used to be watchtowers. Beacons could mobilise troops within a few hours, from the Rhine to Lake Geneva.
Kurt Messmer18.07.2023Here is a simple test. The pilgrimage church of Hergiswald at the foot of Mount Pilatus contains a visually stunning depiction of biblical scenes from the baroque period, circa 1650. What response does this cultural-historical cosmos elicit from you?