James Blake Wiener26.02.2026Val 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.
Maximilian Spitz05.02.2026When Charles II from the House of Stuart acceded to the English throne in May 1660, a number of Englishmen, including Edmund Ludlow, John Lisle and William Cawley, were forced to hastily pack their belongings and flee the British Isles for continental Europe. These gentlemen were prominent political figures who preferred exile over death. The end of their journey on the continent was the Swiss Confederacy.
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.
Alexander Rechsteiner11.12.2025The setting in which Jesus actually came into the world remains a mystery – but the way it has been imagined has shaped Christian Christmas culture for centuries. In art and crib building, the nativity scene has been depicted in various locations, including a stable, a cave, a ruin, and a house, in each case reflecting the values and ways of life of the respective periods.
James Blake Wiener26.08.2025On September 14, 1607, a group of prominent Irish nobles left Ulster and sailed out into European exile. Among them were Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Rory O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, and a scholar and writer named Tadhg Óg Ó Cianáin. Ó Cianáin’s travel diary reveals fascinating glimpses and positive impressions of early modern Switzerland as the exiles traveled through the country.
Tobias Jammerthal19.06.2025The first public lectures were held in Zurich in June 1525. This marked the beginning of higher education in the city on the Limmat, which would lead to the founding of the university 300 years later.
Jasmin Gauch15.05.2025On 17 August 1874, five nuns left Maria-Rickenbach Benedictine Convent in the canton of Nidwalden and emigrated to the American Midwest. Sister Maria Beatrix Renggli (1848–1942) recorded her journey in a detailed travel journal.
