Thomas Weibel26.05.2026Walter Steiner from Winterthur invented the Stewi in 1947. What started out as a folding rotary clothes line was to become a design classic that graced Swiss gardens for decades.
Bettina Kurz13.05.2026Instances of kidney disease spiked in the Jura mountains during the 1960s. This was the legacy of the local watchmakers’ decades-long penchant for painkillers.
James Blake Wiener28.04.2026The life of Rachel Félix was one of contrasting fortunes and artistic passions. Born into a family of impoverished Jewish peddlers in Mumpf, Rachel captivated theater-going audiences from New York to Moscow with her electric acting and stirring voice. She revived the fortunes of the Comédie-Française in Paris and received universal acclaim as the leading actress of her era before dying tragically of tuberculosis at the age of 36.
Noemi Steuerwald21.04.2026The Scout and Guide Movement is one of Switzerland’s biggest youth associations. It is open to both boys and girls who mix freely as members of one organisation, but it wasn’t always like that.
Eva Carlevaro14.04.2026Gladiatorial fights were among the bloodiest spectacles of the Roman world. They were also extremely popular on the territory of what is now Switzerland.
Michael van Orsouw31.03.2026A strange alliance of capitalism and Catholicism allowed children to be exploited on a massive scale – not that long ago, but in the 19th century, in the heart of Switzerland. Up to 16-hour working days were completely normal.
Patrik Süess26.03.2026A healer from Worb in Bern attracted a mass following during the 1840s. However, there was controversy surrounding the methods employed by ‘Längmatthansli’ as he was known and some of his patients even died after being treated by him.
Stefan Keller05.03.2026Edmund Nüsperli, the mechanic, revolutionary and industrialist from La Neuveville (canton of Bern) travelled all over Switzerland from 1878 having been mandated by the Federal Council to implement their (at the time) brand new Factory Act. Nüsperli campaigned against child labour, poor working conditions and lethal doses of a toxic substance.
