Barbara Basting06.06.2023Paintings of battles often tell us more about the political backdrop than about military successes or acts of war. What they actually reveal are changing understandings of history.
Christophe Vuilleumier09.05.2023For almost seven years, from September 1742 to February 1749, Savoy villages neighbouring the city of Geneva were occupied and troubled by Spanish troops. Although part of the War of the Austrian Succession and therefore the great history of Europe, the occupation has been all but forgotten by historians.
Thomas Weibel04.05.2023The Sack of Rome, or ‘Sacco di Roma’, by the leaderless troops of Charles V on 6 May 1527 ended in a bloodbath that also cost the lives of 147 Swiss guards. Traces of that dark day are still being discovered.
Murielle Schlup18.04.2023In 1823 around 160 Greek revolutionaries ended up in Switzerland, having been defeated and persecuted by the Ottomans. They escaped on foot on a route that took them via Odessa, Bessarabia, Poland and through German states to the border in Schaffhausen.
James Blake Wiener02.03.2023From peasant’s son to almost Pope: Matthäus Schiner (c. 1465-1522), who came from the Upper Valais, was a decisive figure in European politics during the height of Swiss power in Europe. He remains controversial to this day.
Juri Jaquemet06.01.2023On 6 January 1918, five bombs were dropped near the station in Kallnach, sending shock waves through the ‘Grand Marais’ in Bern’s Seeland region. Fortunately, there was only some damage to property but no casualties. It quickly became clear that the bombs were French-made. But the question of who dropped them remains a mystery...
Raphael Rues04.01.2023Pietro Morettini was the doyen of fortress-building. Originally from the south of the Confederacy, he worked for a number of different rulers and was held in high regard. Only in his homeland was he a relative unknown compared with his contemporaries.
Reto Bleuer31.12.2022During World War II Switzerland, which has few mineral resources, was on a frantic hunt for natural resources within its own borders. The Bernbiet was one of many regions where boreholes were dug, hillsides were excavated and evaluations were carried out.
