Swiss oddities

What makes Switzerland unique? Interesting, unusual and sometimes bizarre stories from Switzerland.

Silvan, the man who smells the weather

This content was published on Jul 12, 2025 The Wetterschmöcker, the weather prophets of central Switzerland, make their predictions by observing nature.

The Zytglogge, the mechanical heart of the city of Bern

This content was published on Jul 5, 2025 The Zytglogge in Bern has one of the very few astronomical clocks in Europe that still works and is fully mechanical.

Mennonite movement turns 500 in Zurich, where it all began

This content was published on Jun 28, 2025 On its 500th anniversary, the worldwide Mennonite movement remembers its Swiss roots.

Velcro: how space race helped Swiss invention catch on

This content was published on Jun 21, 2025 Swiss engineer George de Mestral patented Velcro in the 1950s. But it had to overcome initial scepticism.

Cats climbing the cat ladders erected on the façade of a house in Bern

What a love of cat ladders says about the Swiss

This content was published on Jun 14, 2025 Visitors to Bern are often surprised by the number and variety of cat ladders snaking their way up houses.

The difficult search for real Swiss cows

This content was published on Jun 7, 2025 Swiss cow breeds have conquered the world but are struggling to survive in their homeland.

Feline felons: The issue with Switzerland’s free-roaming cats

This content was published on Jun 5, 2025 Cats kill millions of birds, frogs and other animals every year in Switzerland.

‘The chalet is the first prefab house in history’

This content was published on May 31, 2025 The chalet first conquered the world – and then Switzerland. So why is it considered a quintessentially Swiss building?

Absinthe: the return of the green fairy

This content was published on May 24, 2025 Absinthe is back in fashion – not only in Switzerland but around the world. We went to the Val-de-Travers, where it all began.

Cross purposes: the unique Swiss flag

This content was published on May 17, 2025 Square and versatile: Switzerland’s unusual national flag has a fascinating history.

The seven weirdest Swiss votes of all time

This content was published on May 10, 2025 Absinthe, car-free Sundays and cow horns: Swiss voters have certainly had to decide on some unusual issues.

Why the Swiss still like to have cash in hand

This content was published on May 3, 2025 Cash is losing out to plastic or digital cash in Switzerland, but it’s unlikely that coins and notes will become obsolete.

The Böögg, Switzerland’s exploding psychic snowman

This content was published on Apr 26, 2025 The Böögg is an exploding snowman with a famed ability to predict the weather. But how accurate is he?

Montreux has long been a magnet for Freddie fans

Don’t stop me now: Freddie Mercury and Montreux

This content was published on Apr 19, 2025 A growing number of fans flock to the Swiss town of Montreux every year in search of a Freddie Mercury experience.

Rock’n’hole: the awe-inspiring Martinsloch sun phenomenon

This content was published on Apr 12, 2025 Twice a year the sun pierces a hole in a mountain in eastern Switzerland and lights up a church.

Discovered thanks to lidar: Former castle site in the Bernese Emmental.

Why Switzerland is an archaeological treasure trove

This content was published on Apr 5, 2025 No other country offers such comprehensive, freely available, high-resolution radar scans – a unique resource for science.

The Federal Palace, symbol of the federal city of Bern since 1902.

Why Switzerland hasn’t got a capital city

This content was published on Mar 29, 2025 Bern is not officially the capital of Switzerland. Rather, it’s the “federal city”. Why?

Heimatort, sweet Heimatort: the unique Swiss concept of home

This content was published on Mar 22, 2025 Why do Swiss passports and ID cards care about your “place of origin” rather than “place of birth”?

Cars drive over the Astra Bridge on the A1 motorway.

Ups and downs: Swiss drivers benefit from world’s only mobile bridge

This content was published on Mar 15, 2025 A 257-metre bridge on wheels lets cars drive over Swiss roadworks. But its launch was a “debacle”.

Artist/Film maker Andrew Norman Wilson with a pig in front of a house.

The American who quit art to discover the odd side of Switzerland

This content was published on Mar 9, 2025 Andrew Norman Wilson talks about his shift from art to filmmaking and his enchantment with Swiss oddities.

Gentian, the ‘yellow fairy’ of the Swiss Jura

This content was published on Mar 8, 2025 A Jura treasure, gentian is a versatile plant that can heal, intoxicate and even polish.

Face time: the terrifying Swiss tradition of Tschäggättä

This content was published on Mar 1, 2025 When night falls, ancient, eerie figures roam the villages of a Swiss mountain valley. They are the Tschäggättä.

On Lake Geneva, the bise can lead to high waves.

The bise, the ill wind unique to Switzerland

This content was published on Feb 22, 2025 When a cold, dry wind sweeps through Switzerland, many people complain of headaches and other problems. They then often curse the bise.

Audrey Hepburn made Switzerland her home so she could lead a normal life

Audrey Hepburn valued the discretion of the Swiss Alps

This content was published on Feb 16, 2025 The sale of a Swiss villa which once belonged to film star Audrey Hepburn demonstrates Switzerland’s status as a haven for the stars.

Rocky landscape around the Stockhorn in the Simmental.

Spell check: the Swiss origins of the European witch craze

This content was published on Feb 15, 2025 The 15th-century description of a witch hunt in the Bernese Simmental became the blueprint for witch hunts across Europe.