Noëmi Crain Merz04.07.2024The life of Catherine Zimmermann-Mulgrave tells a story of human trafficking as part of the slave trade and of Christian missionary work in West Africa in the 19th century. It also shows how an African woman managed to lead an independent and self-determined life despite being kidnapped and marginalised.
Valérie Lüthi13.06.2024If we hazard a look at the medieval era, we discover a history of sexuality that is far more multilayered than we might at first have imagined. While the Christian church sought to extend its influence into private bedchambers, ‘lascivious’ attitudes and practices stood in the way of its ambitions.
James Blake Wiener30.05.2024The exquisite death mask of Joan of France (1464-1505) mirrors the grace, courage, and moral convictions of a long-suffering disabled woman who was briefly queen of France and later canonized as a saint.
Jasmin Mollet23.05.2024A look at the badges people wore in the Middle Ages reveals many designs that one would not normally associate with the period: fantastic creatures made out of genitalia call into question how prudish people really were in medieval times.
Günther Meier21.05.2024Liechtenstein featured in two 20th century conflicts involving the Vatican. The first was when there was a plan to give the Pope dominion over the Principality. The second was when there was a plot to kidnap the Pope and take him to Liechtenstein.
Kurt Messmer16.05.2024We humans are predisposed to brood over the changing nature of luck. The wheel of fortune has been turning since ancient times, and remains popular today. Around 1220, a rose window at Basel Cathedral was designed to resemble a wheel of fortune, homage was paid to the goddess Fortuna in a Bavarian monastery in the form of the Carmina Burana. Yet, undeserved luck plays no part in the Christian world view. Heavenly salvation is something that has to be earned.
Katrin Brunner14.03.2024Gripped by religious hysteria, a group of believers killed two women in Wildensbuch in 1823. The blood-soaked deed still has the power to shock today.
Joël László08.03.2024Members of the Anabaptist movement in and around Zurich were persecuted and executed for their convictions during the Reformation. They continue to be disparaged and stereotyped to this day. But a look at the historical sources reveals a different picture ‒ that of a defiant movement in which women also played a key role.