Swiss Stories

gottardo

A green tunnel

Environment
With UNESCO World Heritage sites, nature reserves, an arboretum and a highly active Swiss league for nature protection, wildlife conservation is of concern to the Swiss. The plans for the Gotthard Base Tunnel were drawn up with this in mind. 152 kilometers of shafts and passages were excavated with minimal environmental damage.
Startup

The top minds in Swiss innovation

Economics
The “Top 100 Swiss Startup Award” rewards Switzerland’s one hundred most promising start-ups. Nearly one hundred experts (companies, foundations, business incubators and higher education institutions) met in Schlieren, in the canton of Zurich, on 14 September to unveil the list for 2016. An overview of the three award-winners.
CSEM

Switzerland showcases its capacity for sustainable energy innovation in Astana

Science & Education
In keeping with the overall theme of Expo 2017 – “Future Energy” – the Swiss pavilion in Astana focuses on renewable resources. This international showcase enables Switzerland to highlight its leading-edge expertise and capacity for innovation in energy.
Bollywood und die Schweiz

Bollywood and Switzerland

History
Switzerland and its mountain scenery are hugely popular in India, mainly because of the Bollywood blockbusters filmed there. Indian filmmakers' passion for Switzerland has helped make it one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists seeking the locations of some of their favourite film scenes.

by Tatiana Tissot

Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich

Emmy Ball-Hennings

Society
She beguiled cabaret audiences as a singer and dancer and pushed the art scene in new directions. But outside the world of theatre, the German artist Emmy Hennings and her partner and eventual husband Hugo Ball lived in exile and grinding poverty. In February 1916 the couple opened the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich's Niederdorf district – Dada had arrived!
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti

Red Divico grapes

Swiss wine without pesticides

Science & Education
Switzerland's centre of excellence for agricultural research Agroscope has been creating new grape varieties for 50 years. Their goals are ambitious – particularly the targets for disease resistance. Several generations of resistant varieties have emerged, helping to gradually reduce the impact of diseases and the use of pesticides. Fungal diseases – a major concern for winegrowers Swiss winegrowers face considerable difficulties with fungal diseases, two of which are particularly entrenched in Switzerland: downy and powdery mildew. It is very hard to cultivate grapes without pesticides today – both in conventional and organic vineyards. To help avoid this, Agroscope's viticulture research team focuses its efforts on creating resistant grapevines.
Paul Klee mit der Katze Fripouille, Possenhofen, 1921, Fotograf: Felix Klee, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Schenkung Familie Klee, © Klee-Nachlassverwaltung, Hinterkappelen

Paul Klee's universe of images

History
Known for his magical imagery and dream-like worlds, Paul Klee was a world-class painter and one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He was a member of the Der Blaue Reiter movement and later taught at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau. Although Klee spent more than half his life in Bern and is often referred to as a Swiss artist, he was in fact a German citizen all his life.
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti