Swiss Stories

Friedrich Dürrenmatt an seinem Schreibtisch in Neuchâtel, um 1960. Foto: Monique Jacot.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

History
5 January 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of Switzerland's greatest authors. Friedrich Dürrenmatt reached an audience of millions with his darkly satirical plays and crime novels, which continue to be read and performed all over the world. He was also a towering moral authority who turned a critical lens on his homeland, and left behind a significant body of paintings which are on public display in beautiful surroundings at the Dürrenmatt Centre in Neuchâtel.

by Ulrich Weber

Tavillon

The 'tavillon' or wooden shingle – ancestral craft and living tradition

History
The smooth covering of wooden scales that clothes the curves of many a roof are part of Switzerland's built heritage. A technique passed on orally from generation to generation
Riverside bar scene, Lucerne (hi-res). Credit: © Simon Conway

Swiss Craft Beer Boom

History
Switzerland is famous for many things and now its burgeoning beer scene is beginning to gain recognition. The demise of the beer cartel at the end of the twentieth century opened up the industry and provided the space for Swiss brewers to create and flourish. They have responded by establishing breweries and microbreweries in unprecedented numbers and Switzerland has emerged as a major contributor to the ever-swelling European craft beer wave.
Avengers © Keystone

Five Swiss super talents in the Marvel Universe

History
Where would Stan Lee's superheroes be without Switzerland? The 2019 blockbuster 'Avengers: Endgame' called for no end of Swiss prowess. Indeed, even the heroes in tights seem drawn to our country...
Josef Müller-Brockmann studio, Schindler Speedwalk Rollteppich (Schindler Speedwalk moving walkway), advertising brochure, ca. 1962, Schindler & Cie. lift and electric motor factory, Ebikon, © Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Graphics collection / ZHdK / ProLitteris

Swiss Style forever – the story of a graphic design tradition

History
Conceptual strength, concision and technical precision: these are the hallmarks of Swiss graphic design and typography, which enjoy an excellent reputation around the world. They are the result of a long tradition of vocational education and training and professional excellence. Under the 'Swiss Style' label, Swiss graphic design gained international recognition in the 1950s and 1960s and became a highly successful export product. Read on to learn about the origins of Swiss Style – and why it never goes out of style.

by Barbara Junod, curator of the graphics collection of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

Albert Hofmann with a model of the LSD molecule in the early 1950s © Novartis corporate archive

The Swiss beginnings of LSD

History
In a stroke of serendipity over 75 years ago, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann (1906–2008) discovered the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide – otherwise known as LSD. Initially this new hallucinogen was explored by Western scientists for its therapeutic potential. But LSD soon found its way out of the lab and into the world of recreational use by the counterculture movement. From the late 1960s it started to be banned, putting a halt to medical research in psychedelic substances. Since the 1990s, however, clinical studies of LSD have gradually resumed in some countries, including Switzerland.
Alfred Escher

Alfred Escher: a visionary of modern Switzerland

History
As a key figure behind the construction of the first Gotthard tunnel as well as the founding of the forerunners to both Credit Suisse and ETH Zurich, Alfred Escher had a profound and lasting impact on Switzerland's transition to the modern age. In the fledging Swiss federal state of the mid-19th century, one man emerged like no other in Swiss history to capitalise on the changes taking place and shape so much of the country's political and economic development. Here we look at the extraordinary and enduring achievements of Alfred Escher.