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.
Adrian Baschung14.11.2022Today allotment gardens bloom and flourish there, but in November 1847 the thunder of cannonfire filled the air. The story of an almost forgotten theatre of war on Fribourg’s doorstep.
James Blake Wiener10.11.2022On 13 November 1475, the Valaisans and their Confederate allies defeated the powerful army of Savoy at the gates of Sion. Their victory in the now little-known «Battle on the Planta» was of great importance for the Confederation and decisive for its successes in the Burgundian Wars.
Thomas Weibel08.11.2022Wilhelm Tell’s crossbow is, so to speak, the national weapon of Switzerland. In actual fact the weapon has its origins in ancient China, and although superior to the bow the crossbow didn’t have the best reputation.
James Blake Wiener01.11.2022In 926, the notorious Magyars raided and sacked the town and monastery of St. Gall. Thereafter, monks in St. Gall wrote and preserved the most detailed and oldest first-hand descriptions of the Magyar invasions of Western Europe.
Sabina Bossert27.10.2022In 1939, 300 children arrived in Switzerland. The plan was that they would travel on to other countries after a few months. World War II got in the way and many of the children stayed here for years, as Anneliese Laupheimer’s story shows.
