Swiss Stories

Salt

Salt – the raw material from the Swiss Alps

History
Switzerland is famous for its mountains. Its mountain salt mines are less well known. The history of Swiss Saltworks goes back over 450 years. Salt mining played a major role in Switzerland's development and laid the foundation for today's global chemical and pharmaceutical companies and the country's wellness tourism industry. Salt embodies typical Swiss characteristics such as innovation, tradition, reliability and quality. Read on for a brief history of Switzerland's white gold.
Walter Bovery

Walter Boveri – industrial pioneer and company founder

History
At the end of the 19th century, the great age of electrical engineering had just begun and Walter Boveri, a mechanical engineer with a vision, knew that the energy-hungry, modern, booming cities and their factories needed endless amounts of electricity – and that he was the man to supply it.
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti

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

Switzerland: cradle of the Winter Olympics

Switzerland: cradle of the Winter Olympics

History
In January 2020, Switzerland will host another Olympic Winter Games. Whereas the Winter Olympics of 1928 and 1948 took place in St Moritz, the 2020 games will put Olympic capital Lausanne in the spotlight.
Matthias Vauthier

by Matthias Vauthier

The Swiss who made their mark on the Winter Olympics

The Swiss who made their mark on the Winter Olympics

History
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games are in full swing in PyeongChang – generating excitement beyond the Alpine countries from which they originate. All over the world, winter sports are once again on everyone's lips, as is the case every four years when the Winter Olympics come round again.
Matthias Vauthier

by Matthias Vauthier

Advertising poster, around 1900

Henri Nestlé: the man behind the global enterprise

History
With his small family business and product inventions, the pharmacist from Frankfurt was eking out a modest living in Vevey. That is, until he came across an exceptionally lucrative market gap: infant formula, made from the finest Swiss ingredients.
Barbara Piatti

by Barbara Piatti

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