Five of the 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Switzerland are offering free guided tours, concerts and lectures to fans of culture and nature on Saturday and Sunday.
The event, being held for the seventh time, offers “unique insights into Switzerland’s diverse natural and cultural treasures and allow views that are otherwise often hidden from visitors”, World Heritage said in a statementExternal link.
Hiking enthusiasts can take a free glacier tour in the Jungfrau-Aletsch region. In Naters, canton Valais, there are free guided tours of the World Nature Forum.
The Rhaetian Railway is planning a festival area in Bergün, eastern Switzerland, and there is free admission to the Albula Railway Museum. Rides on historic trains are also possible.
The Abbey of St Gall is celebrating its 40th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage property with, among other things, a children’s choir and guided tours of the Baroque Abbey Library and Museum.
For nature lovers, the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona in the border area of cantons Glarus, Graubünden and St Gallen reveals the geological characteristics of the World Heritage Site with information stands, lectures and free guided tours with geoguides on the Pizol mountain. A mineral exhibition can be visited in Landquart.
At the Benedictine Convent of St. John at Müstair, various guided tours will be offered within the World Heritage Site. In addition to traditional events such as the Benedictine nuns’ Liturgy of the Hours, there will also be a cello and clarinet concert.
A total of 13 Swiss sitesExternal link – nine cultural and four natural – are on the World Heritage List drawn up by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
More
More
Swiss beech forests added to World Heritage List
This content was published on
The ancient beech forests on the Bettlachstock in the Solothurn Jura and in the Val di Lodano in Ticino are now World Heritage sites.
Doctors Without Borders demands Swiss Gaza clarification
This content was published on
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has challenged Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis to explain his controversial Gaza statements.
Data centres use four times more electricity than average
This content was published on
The power consumption of data centres, used in particular for AI, is four times higher than average, warns the International Telecommunication Union.
One in five bee colonies failed to survive Swiss winter
This content was published on
Almost a fifth of bee colonies in Switzerland failed to survive the winter. Losses have been greater than in previous years.
Switzerland condemns deadly attack on UN convoy in Sudan
This content was published on
Switzerland has strongly condemned the deadly attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy in Sudan. Five people were killed, wrote the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on Platform X.
Most over-65s in Switzerland regularly use the internet
This content was published on
The digital divide is narrowing faster than expected in Switzerland. A study published on Wednesday reveals that nine out of ten over-65s use the internet.
Will Swiss president be forbidden from speaking English to counterparts?
This content was published on
Switzerland's president, Karin Keller-Sutter, should use one of the country's four national languages when communicating with international organisations, and not English, according to a motion that passed on Wednesday.
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.
Read more
More
Heidi archives put on UNESCO ‘Memory of the World Register’
This content was published on
The Johanna Spyri and Heidi archives in Zurich have been inscribed on UNESCO's “International Memory of the World Register”.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
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.