Maarten Koning – Page 437 – The Swiss Spectator

International Regulation of the Rhine

The Rhine from the confluence of the Anterior Rhine (Vorderrhein) and Posterior Rhine (Hinterrhein) rivers near Reichenau (Grisons/ Graubünden) to its confluence with Lake Constance is known as the Alpine Rhine or the longest river in Europe.

As a result of the ever-increasing settlement of the Rhine valley, better flood protection was demanded in the 19th century.

The most devastating flood catastrophe occurred in 1817. Other devastating floods are those of 1888, 1927, 1954, and 1987 and, of course, the Magadalena flood of 1342.

The International Treaty of 1892 between Austria and Switzerland established the International Regulation of the Rhine (IRR, die Internationale Rheinregulierung).

In 2017, the IRR celebrated its 125th anniversary. This treaty was the beginning of closer cooperation between the two countries.

In the Rhy-Schopf of the Werkhof Widnau there is an exhibition about the beginnings and the future of flood protection on the Alpine Rhine and the flood protection project Rhesi.

Rhesi stands for Rhine – Recreation and Safety (Rhein – Erholung Sicherheit) in the lower Rhine valley.

The authorities want to prepare for a so-called 300-year flood.

The exhibition presents the current status of the work in all specialist areas as well as the accompanying planning and various subject areas.

(Source and further information: www.rhesi.ch).

Topographical History of Graubünden

The book ‘Graubünden in alten Ansichten‘ shows many pictures of the historical development of cities, castles and nature, for example melting glaciers, and a chronological overview of illustrated printed publications, graphic works and drawings and paintings from 1525 to 1880.

(Source: B. Weber, Graubünden in alten Ansichten, Chur 2002).

The Panorama of Thun

The Panorama of Thun (1809) by Marquard Wocher (1760-1830) is the oldest surviving panorama in the world and is 210 years old.

No more than 21 other panoramas made before 1900 survived, four of which can be seen in Switzerland, in Einsiedeln (the crucifixion of Christ), in Murten (battle of Murten 1476), in Lucerne (flight of the French general Bourbaki to Switzerland (1871) and Thun (town of Thun around 1809).

The panorama is a unique art and media form, popular in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was the first optical mass medium, and people could see their cities, landscapes, historical events and battles. It was a time of globalisation, the beginning of the industrial and scientific revolution and the rise of tourism to Switzerland and the Alps.

However, few could afford these trips, and panoramas offered a spectacular, accessible and not overly expensive opportunity (most panoramas charged a reduced entrance fee).

Robert Barker exhibited the first panorama in 1787, London’s first Cyclorama. Standing on a platform, one could see the whole city. Many sceneries followed, but by the end of the nineteenth century and the appearance of photography, trains and cars, people got other resources, and the panorama disappeared. Most panoramas were sold in pieces or destroyed.

Today, however, the panorama is making a spectacular comeback, as Yadegar Asisi (1955) shows with his panoramas (Rome 312, Battle of Leipzig 1813, Pergamon museum pieces from the ancient world (Berlin) and Luther 1517 (Wittenberg).

The panorama of Thun was saved by luck, funding and the vision of a few. It shows the town of Thun around 1809, initially in Basel, from 1899 in Thun and in 1961 in the rotunda in Thun’s Schadaupark.

Thun was the ideal Swiss town to show: city, lake and mountains in the background. It is still a unique document of life, buildings and nature in and around Thun around 1900.

(Source: D. Imhof and others (ed.), Marquand Wocher, Das Panorama von Thun, Thun, 2009; Thun Panorama).