Michael van Orsouw27.07.2022Opinions were divided on naturopath Arnold Rikli. He delivered his holistic form of treatment, which involved bathing in the nude, at a sanatorium he had set up himself. Not in Switzerland, but in what is now Slovenia. The Monte Verità counterculture group was inspired, ultimately, by many of Rikli’s ideas and practices.
Guido Balmer13.07.2022Our cousins to the north and west boast hundreds of them: tree-lined avenues. Rows of trees are a defining feature of many French and German cities and rural landscapes. Here in Switzerland, avenues have never had the same significance. But they’ve always been here, though. One particular avenue of trees has recently been crowned Switzerland’s “Landscape of the Year 2022”.
Noëmi Crain Merz22.06.2022Gotthelf’s novel "The Black Spider" explores themes of greed, conflict and the power of the plague. But the author also voices his frustration over unchecked forest clearance in his home canton of Bern.
Pascale Meyer23.05.2022Around 150 years ago, things were looking grim for Switzerland’s flora and fauna. Then two Basel academics seized the initiative, and set about bringing to life their vision of an unspoiled, primordial landscape in the Engadin. In 1914, the first national park in Central Europe was opened in the Val Cluozza.
Pascale Meyer27.04.2022Bruno Manser was one of the world’s first environmental activists, and he launched spectacular protests to fight against rainforest deforestation. This earned him admiration, but it also caused him problems with the authorities.
Noëmi Crain Merz06.04.2022Gottfried Keller’s most ardent desire was to become an artist and paint scenes of nature. In the end he did just that, but mostly in words.
Katrin Brunner04.04.2022If you’re on the Riederfurka, you can’t miss the Villa Cassel. Visible from far and wide, the distinctive structure dates from 1902 and was once the holiday home of an ill and overworked Englishman.
Thomas Weibel28.03.2022Birch bark pitch is the oldest all-purpose adhesive in history. Ötzi used birch pitch to affix his arrowheads to the shafts of the arrows; other prehistoric peoples glued broken pottery with birch pitch, or sealed canoes with it. Recently, science has also solved the mystery of how it was produced.
