Can you cross a national border without actually leaving the country? In Switzerland, the answer is yes. You don’t need a passport, and there are no guards. But if you drive ten minutes west from Bern, the world tilts on its axis. As you cross the river Saane (or Sarine, depending on who you ask), […]
The Röstigraben: Crossing the Invisible Wall Dividing Switzerland Read More »
Every day, tourists crowd the Vatican courtyards snapping photographs of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. The guards stand motionless in their ridiculous uniforms—blue, red, and orange striped hose, white gloves, helmets that look like they belong in a Renaissance fair. They look ceremonial. Decorative. Like Swiss heritage theme park employees rather than soldiers. But those uniforms
From Killers to Peacekeepers: The Bloody History of Swiss Mercenaries Read More »
You’re hiking near Lake Geneva on a beautiful afternoon. The Alps shimmer in the distance. Everything is Switzerland-postcard perfect. Then you spot it: a charming pink house, nestled against the green hillside. The windows have white-trimmed shutters. Terracotta roof tiles. A mailbox by the front door. It looks exactly like the kind of chalet a
The House That Shoots Back: Switzerland’s Camouflaged Bunkers Read More »
Every Swiss child grows up with the same image: a man in a mountain meadow, crossbow drawn, his son standing calm with an apple balanced on his head. One arrow. One shot. The apple splits cleanly in half. The boy is alive. The legend is born. It’s 1307. Or maybe it’s not. The man’s name
The Man Who Never Was? The Real Story of William Tell Read More »
Switzerland is famous for peace, precision, and mountains. But beneath those idyllic Alpine meadows lies something nobody expects: the world’s most extensive network of nuclear bunkers. Not in some secret military zone, but under your neighbor’s house. Under your ski chalet. Under the local grocery store. This isn’t paranoia. It’s law. For more than 60
Why Every Swiss House Must Have a Nuclear Bunker (The Law Explained) Read More »
Switzerland is famous for three things: chocolate, banking, and peace. But in November 1847, Switzerland was a war zone. It sounds impossible. A civil war in a country the world thinks of as eternally neutral? Yes—and it lasted only 26 days. Fewer than 100 people died. Yet this short, strange war changed everything. It killed
7 Days in 1847: The Short Civil War That Created Modern Switzerland Read More »
It is 1971. In the US, astronauts are driving moon buggies across the lunar surface. In London, crowds are queuing for David Bowie concerts and The Rolling Stones are in their prime. But in Switzerland—wealthy, orderly, famously democratic Switzerland—half the population is still legally barred from voting. The date is February 7, 1971. On this ordinary
1971: The Shocking Year Swiss Women Finally Got the Vote Read More »
