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.
Dimitri Hegemann13.05.2025The steel door from the Tresor Club in Berlin is an icon of the city’s techno movement. At first it protected the valuables of Berlin’s well-heeled residents in the depths of the Wertheim department store, and later it was a threshold crossed by hundreds of thousands of clubbers.
Murielle Schlup08.05.2025Jegenstorf Castle was used as a command post by General Henri Guisan during the last months of the Second World War. Performances by the local all-female choir provided him with some welcome relief from his military duties.
Thomas Quinn Marabello06.05.2025In May 1923, Maurice Conradi shot dead a Soviet diplomat in Lausanne. The act itself and the subsequent acquittal of the murderer led to a major diplomatic dust-up.
Michael van Orsouw01.05.2025In her day, Queen Victoria was the most powerful woman in the world. She came to Switzerland in 1868 to rest and recuperate, and made numerous sketches and paintings of the Swiss scenery. Many of these watercolours and drawings survive today.
Günther Meier29.04.2025Towards the end of the Second World War there was a growing influx of displaced people crossing into Switzerland and Liechtenstein, where aid was provided by volunteers. Among those helping out was Princess Gina. This experience would inspire her to found the Liechtenstein Red Cross.
James Blake Wiener24.04.2025The Battle of Bicocca marked a turning point during the long Italian Wars (1494-1559). The inability of the French to control their Swiss mercenaries contributed to their loss, while the success of Spanish arquebusiers signaled the rise of Spain as a major European power. The battle additionally heralds the end of the era in which Swiss pikemen were the scourge of the medieval European battlefield.
Barbara Basting22.04.2025The Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen has been a popular subject matter in the art world for centuries. English painter J.M.W. Turner captured the power of the water on canvas particularly impressively in the early 19th century.
