Swiss Stories

Comedias y dramas: cine suizo de todos los géneros

A brief (and thrilling) history of Swiss cinema

History
Swiss cinema is modest compared to the big guns in Hollywood, but it plays a crucial role in defining the country's identity. Join us for a look at some of the key films from each period.
Joseph Favre

Joseph Favre, Swiss pioneer in culinary excellence

History
The Swiss chef and culinary writer Joseph Favre died unknown to the general public. It was nearly a century before his important place in culinary history came to be acknowledged.

by Prof. Albert Mudry

A young woman throws her ballot paper into the ballot box. Committee for Bern, 1 March 1970.

Swiss women at the polls!

History
It wasn't until 123 years after the Federal Constitution of 1848 and three years after the social movements in Europe in 1968 that Switzerland granted voting rights at federal level to all its citizens. Surprising for a prosperous and peaceful country like ours? Maybe not, when you consider the Swiss political system and the realities of those times. Let's take a look back at the history of gender equality in Switzerland with Sylvie Durrer, head of the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality.
Ida Hofmann

Monte Verità: the Swiss early hippie colony

History
As a young woman, Ida Hofmann was a successful piano teacher and glamorous socialite in Russia, Austria and Montenegro. She then made a radical new beginning in Ticino and founded the soon-to-be legendary Monte Verità.
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti

petite vache en bois au bord du lac

The story behind Switzerland's iconic wooden toy cow

History

In Switzerland, the cow is an icon. Without them, there would be no milk, no cheese, no chocolate.
Aerial view of Davos today

The German doctor who created Davos

History
A German migrant and asylum seeker, Alexander Spengler, was the first to develop this mountain resort. 
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti

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