The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Have you ever heard anything peculiar about Switzerland that you found interesting?

Hosted by: Zeno Zoccatelli

Did you know that it is illegal to keep just one guinea pig in Switzerland? Have you ever heard of the Swiss sport of Hornussen? Is the story about the diplomat who was surprised to find the mummy of his great-grandfather in Egypt true?

Every Saturday we publish an article on quirky topics about Switzerland in our weekly briefing.

Is there anything peculiar related to Switzerland that has caught your interest? Share it with us, and we might feature it in an article!

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Contributions must adhere to our guidelines. If you have questions or wish to suggest other ideas for debates, please, get in touch!
D3SWI33
D3SWI33

What about Swiss cheeses ? I can name three. Swiss wines ? And chocolatiers besides Lindt and Läderach ? I want to know more.

stephengeis1949
stephengeis1949

Foreign Policy Magazine has devised a method for ranking the countries of the world by stability. This is displayed in a sort of "Periodic Table"
The country with the highest stability rating is Switzerland.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/13/periodic-table-states-rankings-strength-stability-stateness/

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

Fascinated is not quite accurate, rather shocked. I was offered an online job on Linked in to correct and write texts in Swiss German, so that the AI probably has a basis. It speaks in favour of AI to even have the idea. In my experience, our living language has no written language. And it should stay that way. I find this attempt strange and it affects my feeling of being Swiss. In a way, it is an encroachment by a modern instrument to take over everyone and everything.

Fasziniert ist nicht ganz zutreffend, eher erschüttert. Auf Linked in wurde mir ein Online Job angeboten, Texte in Schweizerdeutsch zu korrigieren und zu verfassen, damit die KI wohl eine Grundlage hat. Es ist sprechend für KI, überhaupt die Idee zu haben. Unsere lebendige Sprache kennt nach meiner Erfahrung keine Schriftsprache. Und das sollte so bleiben. Mir ist dieser Versuch befremdlich, tangiert mein Gefühl Schweizer zu sein. Gewissermassen ein Übergriff von einem modernen Instrument alle und alles zu vereinnahmen.

newsletter@jplienhard.ch
newsletter@jplienhard.ch
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

Regarding home town: I'll try to reconstruct it from memory, as this was not mentioned in the article. Before the founding of the state in 1848, many people lived in the forests (Gottfried Keller: "Der schwarze Geiger") on the approximate territory of today's Switzerland, which was cobbled together after 1815, as people who had become homeless as a result of the European wars, or had to move around because they lost their land through inheritance. The wise attitude of the "liberals" and philanthropists who prevailed at the time recognised the misery and decreed that all "homeless" people on the territory of the municipality in which they were located automatically became Swiss citizens at the time the state was founded and the municipality became their "home town" so that these people were no longer considered "stateless" or even "homeless". This explains a certain accumulation of names in certain hometowns. This was a major social phenomenon at the time. But the communities had to serve in the case of poor people... This explains why there were "poorhouses" in poor communities, because the communities where these people moved to but then became poor were deported to their home town in order to avoid social costs. Over time, a major social problem became a new problem that persisted until the recent past, even before the turn of the millennium.

Betr. Heimatort: Ich versuche es mal aus meinem Gedächtnis zu rekonstruieren, weil dies im Artikel gar nicht erwähnt worden war. Vor der Staatsgründung 1848 lebten viele Menschen auf dem nach 1815 zusammengeschusterten ungefähren Territorium der heutigen Schweiz, als durch die europäischen Kriege heimatlos gewordenen Menschen in den Wäldern (Gottfried Keller: «Der schwarze Geiger») oder mussten herumziehen, weil durch Erbteilung sie ihr Land verloren. Die weise Einstellung der damals vorherrschenden «Liberalen» und Philantropen erkannte das Elend und verfügte, dass alle «Heimatlosen» zum Zeitpunkt der Staatsgründung auf dem Territorium der Gemeinde, in der sie sich befanden, automatisch Schweizer Bürger und die Gemeinde zum «Heimatort» wurde damit diese Leute dann nicht mehr als «Staatenlose» oder gar «Obdachlose» galten. Das erklärt eine gewisse Häufung von Namen in gewissen Heimatorten. Das war damals eine soziale Grosstat. Doch die Gemeinden mussten eben im Falle der Armengenössigkeit herhalten… Das erklärt, weshalb es dann in armen Gemeinden eben «Armenhäuser» gab, weil die Gemeinden, in denen diese Leute hinzogen, aber dann armengenössig wurden, eben in ihren Heimatort abschoben wurden, um Sozialkosten zu vermeiden. Aus einer sozialen Grosstat wurde dann über die Zeit ein neues Problem, das bis in die jüngste Vergangenheit noch vor der Jahrtausendwende anhielt.

philsinclair
philsinclair

I always find it funny that because the British helped to build the Swiss railway system, that Swiss trains drive on the left-hand side of the tracks.

Bea Kay
Bea Kay
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

Swiss companies smuggled mercury, without paying taxes in Argentina via Chile, and transported it illegally, violating the Basel Treaty and evading taxes. Then the Argentinean government intervened, so that the mercury was declared as such and exported from Argentinean ports. They take great care of the environment, they make many agreements, in their territory, but it's all hypocrisy, because the Earth is one. Just like the Austrians who clear thousands of hectares in the Argentinean Chaco. Europe is the tick of America.

Si claro..Empresas suizas que contrabandeaban mercurio, sin pagar las tasas en Argentina via Chile, y transportandolo de manera ilegal Violando el Tratado de Basilea y evadiendo impuestos. Luego intervino el gobierno Argentino, para que el mercurio fuese declarado como tal y exportado como corresponde desde puertos Argentinos. Cuidan mucho el ambiente, hacen muchos acuerdos, en su territorio, y pero es todo hipocresía, porque la Tierra es una sola. Igual que los austriacos que desmontan miles de hectáreas en el Chaco Argentino. Europa es la garrapata de América.

Eddy
Eddy
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

I have always been interested in military activity inside mountains, hidden Hangars, highway landings and take-offs, etc.

Sono sempre stato interessato alla attività militare all interno delle montagne, agli Hangar nascosti, agli atterraggi e decolli in autostrada etc.

MohGomaa
MohGomaa

As I considered my self a Swiss person and since I get married from a great Swiss women as will as our wonderful boy,I can say the country side is great from the green to the leaks also the people are very helpful and kindness.
Also the organization and the rules are helping me out of enjoying my time with my family and never felt that I am out of my country.
You guys have a great country

Bit oy
Bit oy

One thing I have found a little strange is that when people are selling their house they want to interview prospective buyers. Don’t really understand why. Is it to determine if they are worthy in some way.

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Bit oy

I can't generally confirm this statement. There are different sales motives. The highest price is one argument. But there can also be idealistic reasons. My own experience: my parents got our house because the deceased owner wanted it to go to a large family. We also sold it again to a family. Or it might be a special property whose long-standing purpose could be lost if the maximum price counts, e.g. a restaurant full of character. These are often co-operatives that want to preserve the character of old properties.

Die Aussage kann ich nicht generell bestätigen. Es gibt verschiedene Verkaufsmotive. Der höchste Preis ist ein Argument. Es kann aber auch ideele Zwecke geben. Selber erlebt: Meine Eltern erhielten unser Haus, weil der verstorbene Eigentümer wollte, dass es an eine grosse Familie geht. Auch wir haben es wieder an eine Familie verkauft. Oder es handelt sich z.B um eine spezielle Liegenschaft, deren langjähriger Zweck verloren gehen könnte, wenn der maximale Preis zählt, z.B. ein charaktervolles Restaurant. Oft sind das Genossenschaften, die alte Liegenschaften in ihrem Charakter erhalten wollen.

7789282060
7789282060

I am a proud swiss citizen living in Vancouver Canada for the last 47 years
I am disturbed that a beautiful, fair and neutral country such a Switzerland would host the questionable WEF (World Economic Forum) in Davos

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@7789282060

Switzerland is diverse and many organisations with an international and/or economic purpose are active in or from Switzerland. I like my country very much, but I don't think all its peculiarities are great.

Die Schweiz ist vielfältig und viele Organisationen mit internatiolem und/oder ökonomischen Zweck sind in bzw. von der Schweiz aus am Wirken. Ich mag mein Land sehr, finde aber nicht alle Eigenheiten nur toll.

Silk
Silk

I have a daughter who lives in the countryside of Bern and her mother was Yenish and I was wondering what is known about this tribe of switzerland that lives in the country for some 400 years..

josephzucc
josephzucc

One thing I would really like to know about switzerland every day life is about national, regional or local corruption news, involving misuse of public funds, or misuse of power authority. I hardly know or read about it so it make me think about it. Another is to know stories about how the citizens that are not heard, or keep her interests out of the political systems, how they manage to get heard by the authorities. Thanks in advance, Switzerland seems so perfect in some ways that is kind of strange or curious not to heard on international or national news, any of these topics about.

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@josephzucc

What are you trying to achieve with your request? I don't understand (may be the translation or other cultural origin) who keeps out of politics and yet wants to be heard by the authorities. Switzerland, with its federalist democracy, has citizens and the press close at local, regional and national level. The small-scale nature and many small communities are good ground for this. This means that such issues are taken up in the political process and in the press. Of course, as everywhere else, not everything is totally monitored and transparent, which would require a fundamentally mistrustful understanding. As a nation of the will with several cultures, this is not a priority.

Was bezwecken Sie mit ihrem Wunsch? Ich verstehe nicht (kann die Übersetzung oder anderer kultureller Ursprung sein), wer sich zwar politisch raushält und doch von den Behörden gehört werden will. Die Schweiz mit föderalistischer Demokratie hat Bürger und Presse nahe auf lokaler, regionaler und gesamtstaatlich. Die Kleinräumigkeit und vielen kleinen Gemeinwesen sind dafür guter Boden. So werden solche Fragestellungen im politischen Prozess und in der Presse aufgegriffen. Natürlich wie überall ist nicht alles total überwacht und transparent, was ein grundsätzlich misstrauisches Verständnis voraussetzen würde. Als Willensnation mit mehreren Kulturen steht dies nicht im Vordergrund.

Marvirflo
Marvirflo
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

It has always puzzled me why banks in Switzerland are allowed to safeguard fortunes of dubious provenance, such as those of Germans in the Second World War and more recently those safeguarded by the Crédit Suisse bank.

Siempre me ha intrigado la razón por la que se permite en Suiza que los bancos resguarden fortunas de dudosa procedencia, cómo es el caso de alemanes en la 2da guerra y más recientemente las resguardadas por el Banco Crédit Suisse

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Marvirflo

In relation to the size of the country, we have large and international banks. Unfortunately, politically dubious transactions do occur. However, the regulations have been tightened considerably.

Wir haben im Verhältnis zur Grösse des Landes grosse und auch internationale Banken. Da kommen politisch zzweifelhafte Geschäfte leider vor. Die Regulationen sind aber stark verschärft worden.

DianaW
DianaW

The rental of cemetery plots in Switzerland is something quite different from experience in other countries. Some of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen are there.

CocoMimi
CocoMimi
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.
@DianaW

If you're passing through Zurich, take a stroll through the Enzenbühl Cemetery. It's a beautiful setting, with many magnificent ancient funerary monuments.

Si vous passez à Zurich, allez vous promener au Cimetière d’Enzenbühl, le cadre est très beau et de nombreux monuments funéraires anciens sont magnifiques.

Rissa
Rissa
@DianaW

Yes they are gorgeous! My question is why do they eliminate the graves every 30 years? We went looking for old family members there, but there are no old graves. I suppose it’s because of the lack of space, but it’s sad.

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Rissa

Cemeteries belong to municipalities. Every deceased person has the right to a grave and the municipality pays for the burial. The municipality also decides how long the burial lasts. That is tradition here. It may be that it is a question of space at the origin. But you can rent a grave for a long period of time, usually for families who want a large grave for several generations.

Friedhöfe gehören Gemeinden. Jeder Verstorbene hat Anrecht auf ein Grab und das Begräbnis bezahlt die Gemeinde. Wie lange die Grabesruhe dauert, bestimmt auch die Gemeinde. Das ist Tradition hier. Mag sein, dass es eine Platzfrage ist im Ursprung. Man kann aber ein Grab langjährig mieten, in der Regel machen das Familien, die ein grosses Grab für mehrere Generationen wollen.

Rissa
Rissa
@Mark Rohner

Okay thank you for explaining! So the municipality decides when graves will be dug up, unless the family is still paying for the grave plot?
We weren’t even sure where our family members were buried.. I think I have the town identified now though. So I will look there next time I come. They would be from 1860 and earlier though. So probably not much chance they are still there.

ghay49@gmail.com
ghay49@gmail.com

We had the pleasure of visiting Switzerland in 2019. Unfortunately, towards the end of the scheduled trip, my wife became ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized in a Swiss hospital for 10 days. We were very pleased with the care she received in a rather small town hospital. Whenever I have told the story about this adventure to friends here in the states, the first question is, “How was it under socialized medicine?”. They always seem very surprised when I explain to them that the Swiss system is actually more like the US system than it is the socialized systems in other European countries. The universal coverage in Switzerland is one of the main differences from the US. I was surprised to learn that private insurance is mandatory for those who can afford it. Seniors are covered by a program similar to Medicare in the US, and the disadvantaged are covered by a program similar to our Medicaid. The other big difference is that the Swiss seem to be able to handle healthcare much more cost-effectively than we do in the states.

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@ghay49@gmail.com

The costs can vary depending on where you live. In my view, the biggest difference is that everyone must be insured and has the same entitlement to basic care, regardless of age and place of residence. Various insurers have a licence from the state to offer this insurance. They are not allowed to be profit-orientated for basic insurance. The standard of basic care is high. Those with little money receive premium subsidies, possibly even the entire premium. Many people have supplementary insurance for greater comfort or treatment by the head physician or something like that.

Je nach Wohnort können die Kosten verschieden hoch sein. Aus meiner Sicht ist der grösste Unterschied, dass alle versichert sein müssen und einen gleichen Anspruch auf Grundversorgung haben, unabhängig vom Alter und vom Wohnort. Verschiedene Versicherer haben die Lizenz vom Staat, diese Versicherung anzubieten. Sie dürfen nicht profitorientiert sein für fie Grundversicherung. Der Standard der Grundversorgung ist hoch. Wer wenig Geld hat, bekommt Prämienzuschüsse, eventuell gar die ganze Prämie. Viele Leute haben Zusatzversicherung für höheren Komfort oder Behandlung durch den Chefarzt oder so.

Jorg Hiker
Jorg Hiker

How people live in the high Alps is an endless source of news abroad. In the BBC documentary, among Tibetans, Incas of the Andes etc they shown Swiss mountain rescue!

Bellarivaca@aol.com
Bellarivaca@aol.com

Antwort to oingoboingo
2024-12-10 07:58. Antwort
Right to the point, you are absolutely right

Jorg Hiker
Jorg Hiker

People abroad usually have wildest ideas about Swiss having guns at home and about bunkers in cellars. It would be good that SRF publicized the facts - not for me, but mant foreigners would find it interesting.

Minou
Minou

I left Switzerland 30 years ago and my husband is American from Texas I was born in Lugano Ticino but I still miss my original country Switzerland has strange rules but I still respect it

Mark Rohner
Mark Rohner
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Minou

It is always a question of the observer what is strange 🤭. But it's true that we have strange rules that have grown out of up to 700 years of history with a pronounced federalism and a strong, small-scale culture. I generally like our originality.

Es ist immer eine Frage des Betrachters, was seltsam ist 🤭. Aber es ist tatsächlich so, dass wir seltsame Regeln haben, gewachsen auf bis zu 700 Jahre alter Geschichte in ausgeprägtem Föderalismus und starker, kleinräumiger Kultur. Ich mag grundsätzlich unsere Originalität.

GIO
GIO
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

I would like advance information on typically Swiss festivals taking place in Switzerland..... Not just photos of past events.
Example: the Fête de l'Escalade you discussed yesterday, how do I know when it takes place? Is there a calendar for such typically Swiss festivals?

Desiderei avere in anticipo informazioni su festival tipicamente svizzeri che avranno luogo in Svizzera..... Non solo le foto degli eventi passati.
Esempio: la Fête de l'Escalade di cui avete discusso ieri, come faccio a sapere quando avviene? Esiste un calendario di questo tipo di feste tipicamente svizzere?

Zeno Zoccatelli
Zeno Zoccatelli SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
@GIO

Good morning,

there are many sites that list the various more traditional festivals. Here are two of them:

Switzerland Tourism's webpage lists the 15 biggest events: https://www.myswitzerland.com/it-ch/scoprire-la-svizzera/estate-autunno/listicles/principali-eventi-tradizionali/

On the website of the federal administration, a section is entirely dedicated to festivals and traditions, separated according to season: https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/it/home/gesellschaft/traditionen.html

Buongiorno,

ci sono molti siti che elencano i vari festival più tradizionali. Eccone due:

Sulla pagina web di Svizzera Turismo sono elencate le 15 più grandi manifestazioni: https://www.myswitzerland.com/it-ch/scoprire-la-svizzera/estate-autunno/listicles/principali-eventi-tradizionali/

Sul sito dell'amministrazione federale, una sezione è interamente dedicata alle feste e alle tradizioni, separate a seconda della stagione: https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/it/home/gesellschaft/traditionen.html

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR