Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
One year ago today, the village of Blatten was destroyed by a landslide, devastating homes, livelihoods and an entire way of life. How are residents coping and what future does the village now imagine for itself?
Sunny regards from Bern,
One year after the landslide that destroyed the village of Blatten, Swiss and international media are taking stock of the emotions and the progress towards rebuilding the village.
At the centre of the media coverage are the people still grappling with the loss of their homes and community. One year on, many residents speak less about the disaster itself and more about deeply personal questions: homesickness, identity and whether they can ever return. Some dream of rebuilding their lives in the valley, while others no longer see a future there.
Former Blatten resident and hotel owner Esther Bellwald told the Tages-Anzeiger that in the months following the destruction of her hotel, she felt emotionally detached, as though protecting herself from the trauma. Together with Lukas Kalbermatten, Bellwald built a new hotel, Momentum, in Lauchernalp near Blatten, which was presented as a symbol of the valley’s resilience. But one year later, Bellwald says the distraction of building a new establishment was only temporary, and coping is more difficult now than in the months after the disaster.
How did the landslide affect the valley’s children, who until then had known no other home? Sixteen-year-old Jonathan Ritler dreams of returning. “It’s simply our home,” he says. For him, the mountains are more than geography – they are a sense of belonging. “A mountain person can’t live on the plains. That’s just how it is. You always come back.”
Seventeen-year-old Mattia Ebener feels the same way. Soon to complete his apprenticeship as a tiler, he hopes one day to run his own business in Blatten, said to the Aargauer Zeitung. “I want my own house and to be part of a happy community.”
For 69-year-old Rita Kalbermatten, the rebuilding of the village will take too much time. She and her husband left many of their belongings behind when they evacuated, believing they would soon return. They never did. Aside from six years away, she had spent her entire life in Blatten. Now living in Steg, she has accepted that she may never move back. “Waiting four or five years was too long at our age,” she says. Yet homesickness remains. “I miss Blatten very much. I’m a Blattner, and I always will be. Even if I can live well in Steg: it’s not Blatten. It’s not paradise.”
While support and solidarity remain strong, criticism and concerns were inevitable given the millions of francs now tied to reconstruction in Blatten.
The municipality hopes to make the village habitable again by 2029. But rebuilding is complex due to limited space and ongoing natural hazards.
There is also the question of land ownership. While most of the buildings were insured, the land itself was not. The municipality therefore negotiated compensation for lost building land with aid organisations and the federal government.
A total of CHF72 million ($91 million) has been donated, nearly CHF30 million of which went directly to the municipality. However, local authorities have not publicly shared how the funds are being allocated.
Valais Green Party parliamentarian Emmanuel Revaz said that with donations of this scale, politicians must guarantee “fair, proportionate and non-arbitrary use” of the funds. He argued that placing such a large financial responsibility solely on a small municipal government would not serve the region well.
Residents have also been invited to contribute ideas for the future village. Among their wishes is energy self-sufficieny. Fernando Lehner, head of the Blatten reconstruction commission, told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) that the “new Blatten” would be built according to “the most modern standards”.
Interest in the village’s future extends beyond the valley itself. Even renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron have offered assistance with reconstruction – an irony noted by the NZZ, given that the same firm sparked controversy two decades ago by proposing the depopulation of economically unprofitable Alpine valleys, including the Lötschental.
What lies ahead for Blatten remains uncertain. Buildings can be reconstructed. But for many displaced residents, the greater hope is to one day rebuild a sense of home.
A knife attack occurred this morning at the main train station in Winterthur, canton Zurich. Three people were injured and the suspected attacker was arrested at the scene.
At around 8:30am, a 31-year-old Swiss man armed with a knife attacked several people near the station and in the underpass. Three Swiss nationals aged 28, 43 and 52 were injured, one of them seriously. All were taken to hospital.
An eyewitness working in an office building overlooking the area told the Tages Anzeiger that the man shouted “Allahu Akbar” before attacking people nearby. A school class happened to be passing through the station at the time, and the teacher reportedly shielded the children.
“A passer-by fought back with all his strength,” the eyewitness told the Tages-Anzeiger. Security personnel arrived shortly afterwards and subdued the man. “It all happened incredibly quickly. If security staff had not reacted so fast, I don’t know what would have happened.”
At a press conference this afternoon, Zurich cantonal authorities described the attack as a “terrorist act”. Security director Mario Fehr said the suspect was already known to police. According to cantonal police commander Marius Weyermann, the man had previously been investigated in connection with the An’Nur Mosque in Winterthur and for alleged links to the terrorist group Islamic State. He moved to Turkey in 2024 and only returned to Switzerland earlier this month, authorities said.
One of the three victims has already been released from hospital, while a second is expected to be discharged soon. The third victim sustained a stab wound to the thigh and remains hospitalised.
This evening Switzerland faces Sweden in the quarter-finals of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich. Despite seven wins from seven games, the next challenge will not be easy.
Over the past two decades, Switzerland has worked hard to transform itself from a respected underdog into one of international ice hockey’s most consistent teams, writes Olympics.com. Yet the Swiss still face what the Luzerner Zeitung calls the “Sweden trauma”: repeated painful defeats against the Scandinavians over the years.
For national coach Jan Cadieux, however, the past no longer matters. “I don’t care what happened before. We can’t change it. What matters is that we want to achieve something special now,” he told the newspaper.
The Swiss national team has reached this level largely thanks to its players who play abroad. Swissinfo’s Camille Kündig recently spoke to several young Swiss hockey players seeking experience abroad. What attracts them overseas?
“I love my city and I always dreamed of wearing the Gottéron jersey. But after years with the same coaches and ideas, I needed to discover something else,” said Fribourg-born Kevin Nicolet.
Among the preferred destinations are Sweden, Canada and the United States. Scandinavia attracts players with its technical approach and player development, while North America fascinates with its intensity and media spotlight, Kündig writes.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
