Zug is a cherry canton, and to mark the opening of the cherry season, the “Chriesigloggä” (cherry bell) of St. Michael’s Church rings out while people of all ages sprint through the city’s cobbled alleys holding long wooden ladders.
This all goes back to an old Swiss tradition when locals used to rush off with 8.1-metre ladders through the Old Town to start picking the cherries grown on nearby common land. These days the “Chriesi-sturm” (cherry charge) is run just for fun and is followed by a massive lunch and the start of the traditional cherry market.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
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The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
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An examination of squirrel remains in the United Kingdom has opened up interesting questions and possibilities in terms of the history of the disease.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
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The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
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The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
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Swiss farmers expect meagre fruit harvest after losses
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“We are talking about historic crop losses,” said Hubert Zufferey of the Swiss fruit growers’ association on Wednesday. Switzerland’s apple farmers are expected to take a CHF42 million hit amounting to about a third of their crop and cherry farmers will likely harvest just a quarter of their normal 3000-ton crop, according to the association.…
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The 600-year-old tradition has nothing to do with evil spirits or terrifying fertility rituals but, perhaps surprisingly, with avalanche protection. In the Middle Ages Andermatt, in central Switzerland, was covered in trees, but as the local population worked their way through these – to build houses and to keep warm – the threat from landslides…
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Visitors to the cow shows being held in Appenzell in eastern Switzerland will be amazed not only by the ornately decorated bovine headdresses.
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Farmers bring along their barrels of fermented fruit, the “mash”: first he distils the apples and pears, then cherries, and finally fruit with stones. This year there are no quinces – the harvest was bad. As for the quality of the final product, Heinz Wuffl says he can’t work magic. The aroma of the schnapps…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.