![The four-metre-long painting "Sonntag der Bergbauern" [Sunday of the Mountain Farmers, 1923-24/26] had to be removed by a crane from the German Chancellery in Berlin for the exhibition in Bern.](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/12/01_Pressebild_KirchnerxKirchner.jpg?crop=1165px,0px,1670px,1670px&w=480&ver=a45b19f3)
Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The authorities have given the all-clear: the village of Brienz/Brinzauls, recently hit by a landslide, will reopen to the public during the day from Saturday.
We also look back at the smoking ban on Swiss trains, introduced 20 years ago, and explain why the Swiss artist Nemo has returned the Eurovision Song Contest trophy.
Best wishes from Bern,
A moment of relief for evacuated residents of the Graubünden village of Brienz/Brinzauls: from Saturday, they will be allowed back into their homes during the day.
The village has been threatened for months by a landslide, forcing residents to leave their houses indefinitely. New measurements now show that the mountain is unlikely to shift further towards the settlement in the near future.
Authorities will therefore allow controlled daytime access via a checkpoint on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between 9am and 5pm through the winter, reports Watson.
North of the village, however, access remains strictly prohibited due to the risk of falling rocks and debris. Conditions on the mountain will be reassessed at the end of January. In the best case, the evacuation could be lifted entirely.
The tug-of-war with the United States over the procurement of new fighter jets for the Swiss Air Force is entering its next round.
The Swiss federal government has decided to purchase the maximum possible number of F-35A aircraft within the CHF6 billion credit approved by voters.
Swiss voters at home and abroad narrowly approved the purchase of new fighter jets on September 27 2020, with 50.1% voting in favour. They accepted a credit of CHF6 billion ($7.5 billion). Since then, however, the cost of the aircraft that have not yet been delivered has risen significantly.
As a result, the deal has sparked intense debate in recent months, both within Swiss politics and in discussions with the United States, which has shown little willingness to make concessions. Instead of purchasing all 36 F-35A jets originally planned, Switzerland will now acquire only as many aircraft as the approved credit allows. The government argues that this approach avoids additional costs and could therefore avert the need for a new vote.
Defence Minister Martin Pfister also outlined Switzerland’s updated security policy. In light of the “changing geopolitical situation”, the federal government has defined ten objectives and 40 measures aimed at strengthening resilience, improving protection and defence, and enhancing the country’s defence capability. The consultation process opens today.
After Israel was readmitted to the Eurovision Song Contest, Swiss winner Nemo returned the trophy to the organiser – a gesture that sparked global headlines.
Nemo, from Biel, won the ESC in 2024, securing Switzerland’s first victory since Céline Dion in 1988. The trophy traditionally remains with the winning team.
However, Nemo announced they would send it back after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed at the beginning of December that Israel would be allowed to participate in next year’s contest in Vienna. According to Nemo, the decision whitewashes the image of a state accused of serious misconduct.
The move has resonated far beyond Switzerland. Several countries – including Iceland, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands – have since withdrawn from the 2026 competition in protest.
Do you remember the red seats in the old smoking compartments on Swiss trains? Exactly 20 years ago, Swiss Federal Railways abolished them.
Back then, the air in those compartments was often thick, and non-smokers had to pass through clouds of smoke when looking for a seat on crowded trains. That ended with the December 2005 timetable change, when all federal and private railways abolished smoking compartments. Although the move initially met resistance, it soon faded; occupancy in smoking carriages had dropped to around 25%.
A further step followed in 2019 with a general ban on smoking in stations and on platforms. Since then, smoking has only been permitted in designated areas – “even if some passengers still don’t comply”, writes Blue News.
The Advent calendar of Swiss Oddities
Every day until December 24, our newsletter features a surprise article from our Swiss Oddities series – interesting, unusual and sometimes bizarre stories from Switzerland.
Translated from German/amva
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