The Roman Empire and Romanization
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The Castrum Rauracense in Kaiseraugst
17 May 2024
It is hard to imagine today, but the villages of Augst (canton Basel-Landschaft) and Kaiseraugst (canton Aargau) formed the largest conglomerate in the territory of present-day Switzerland in Roman times. The two other major cities at the time were Aventicum (Avenches) and Colonia Iulia Equestris (Nyon) in the present-day canton of Waadt. Augst and Kaiseraugst formed the … Read more » “The Castrum Rauracense in Kaiseraugst”
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Since 1990, Switzerland has made efforts to ensure the development of the European transport system and the integration of the European high-speed rail network through the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel (Gotthardbasistunnel). The Gotthard tunnel is an important construction on the European corridor Rotterdam-Milan-Genoa. The new freight line from Rotterdam to the Dutch-German border is … Read more » “Gotthard Base Tunnel”
The Middle Ages, Arts and State Building
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The Saint-Maurice Abbey
12 February 2023
Available in French and Dutch.
The long nineteenth century 1815-1918
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The Prince-Bishopric of Basel after 1813
16 November 2022
The Prince-Bishopric of Basel experienced two significant revolutions after 1500. The title of Prince-Bishopric is a consequence of the status of the Bishop in the Holy Roman Empire. The Bishop was a prince (Reichsfürst/Fürstbischof) of the Empire. The Reformation in the years 1527-1529 was a clear break. The Bishop moved to Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German, … Read more » “The Prince-Bishopric of Basel after 1813”
The Etruscans and Greeks are back in Basel
16 September 2024
The Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig has a collection of Greek ceramics known far beyond their borders for their quality and diversity. Three new permanent exhibitions are presented in a new scenography, and two new audio tours show the collection’s richness in a varied and interactive way. In addition, all of the Museum’s collections (Roman … Read more » “The Etruscans and Greeks are back in Basel”
Multicultural, Cosmopolitan and European Switzerland
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Sgraffiti in Engadine
10 April 2023
Engadine ((canton Grisons) houses are often decorated with geometric motifs, drawings, animals or sayings. Italian artists introduced the technique in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries after the Bündner expansion in the Italian territories. The artists wanted to earn money, and the fresco technique was well-known in Italy. It was a successful export product. The technology is … Read more » “Sgraffiti in Engadine”
The Swiss Confederation was a functioning composite polity, but it was not a state and of course, it was not a monarchy. Yet the Confederation embraced territories that retained a feudal-hierarchical structure, albeit only as associated members (the abbacies of Engelberg and St. Gallen, the prince-bishopric of Basel, the county of Neuchâtel). How, therefore, did the Confederation survive?
Before the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477) no one gave the Confederation much chance of survival. Yet these wars did help to create a sense of collective identity manifest not in institutions but in patriotic narratives of Swiss valour and heroism of city-led republic. This vision was shattered in the Swiss wars of religion, but in the end, pragmatism and flexibility ensured that the discord did not lead to disaster. Ultimately, aggression yielded to accommodation. (T. Scott, The Swiss and Their Neighbours 1460-1560. Between Accommodation and Aggression, Oxford 2017).