Murielle Schlup04.08.2026Around 100 years ago, a Swedish heiress secured the inheritance of the von Hallwyl family, into which she had married in 1865. The National Museum Zurich is part of that story.
Juliane Eberhardt16.07.2026For decades, the financial behaviour of the Swiss was based on filling their Sparkässeli. Those little metal boxes where people kept their savings even shaped society’s relationship with its banks. Today they remain as contemporary witnesses of a bygone era.
Aaron Estermann04.04.2025The Locarno kiosk was much more than a small booth for the display and sale of goods. At various times throughout its almost 100-year history it was a newspaper kiosk, an information point for tourists seeking adventure and an internet café. All of which makes it a witness to economic and social change in all its facets.
Cristina Gutbrod28.01.2025In 1898, the architect Gustav Gull (1858-1942) created designs for two cups as part of a collaboration with the goldsmith’s workshop run by Johann Karl Bossard (1846-1914) in Lucerne. That same year, the newly built Swiss National Museum in Zurich, also designed by Gull, opened its doors to the public. Gull and Bossard’s impressive networks of contacts came together in the planning and design of the museum.
Peter Egloff18.04.2024In the last-but-one series of Swiss banknotes, the thousand-franc note depicted Auguste Forel as a wise researcher turning his alert gaze on the world, as an icon of science and Helvetic national symbol. But this stylised heroic image failed to stand up to closer investigation. A story illustrating the pitfalls of the culture of commemoration.
Anna Lehninger21.08.2020About 100 years ago, Carl Zweifel designed a wooden construction kit for children. The toy became a massive bestseller, and was also a valuable educational tool.
James Blake Wiener19.06.2020The Battle of Grandson on March 2, 1476 is one of the most celebrated and decisive battles in Swiss history and signalled their emergence as an integral player in wider European affairs.
