Author: Maarten Koning

International Rhine Regulation and Rhesi in Widnau

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

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

Austria and Switzerland signed in 1892 the International Regulation of the Rhine (IRR). In 2017, the IRR celebrated its 125th anniversary. The Rhy-Schopf of the Werkhof Widnau organises an exhibition about the future of flood protection and the Rhesi-project.

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

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

Dada and Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich 1916-2016

The first recorded session of Dada was on 5 February 1916 at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, with Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Marcel Janco, Tristan Tzara and Jean Arp.
Dada was a central movement in 20th-century art.

Its spirit developed in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Zurich, a city of many artists during the First World War (1914-1918).

Cabaret Voltaire, Spiegelgasse 1

The pacifist attitude was an important starting point. At the same time, the horrors of war challenged artistic conventions.

Civil culture and its canon of values became the target of artistic protest. Instead, the Dadaists sought new forms of expression in the performing and visual arts.

Artists recited poetry, sang and danced at the legendary soirées at the Cabaret Voltaire. Dada revolutionised the art world.

(Source and further information: Cabaret Voltaire; www.arpmuseum.org)