Culture of Switzerland: features, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The culture and traditions of Switzerland attract a huge number of tourists, and it's not just about quality watches, delicious cheese and the best chocolate in the world! Thrill-seekers are attracted by ski resorts, eco-tourists are attracted by the cold landscapes of alpine glaciers, and lovers of cultural values are attracted by ancient monuments. The article contains interesting places, traditions and facts from modern life.

Switzerland culture

The inhabitants of this beautiful country have many of their own special traditions, which are unique in their own way.

For example, modern Swiss peasants still carry 50-kilogram bags of hay on their backs. This quality was greatly appreciated during the Renaissance, as it was possible to save money on mules.

Every year, livestock descend from the Alps to spend the winter, and this is a big and colorful event for the people! Cows become the center of attention, striding importantlyin lovingly woven wreaths on their heads. This is a real holiday for both children and the elderly.

But most of all, Switzerland is famous for its cheeses, of which 450 varieties are produced in the country, and you can choose for every taste and color. On the territory of this richest state, 600 cheese factories are working at full capacity.

Ethnic dances

Ordinary people love to sing and dance, so every corner of the country has its own folk costume. Round dances and bird polka prevail in the movements of the Swiss. Folklore festivals are held to get acquainted with the rich customs. Dance can tell a lot about the culture of Switzerland, briefly telling about the traditions that have evolved over the centuries.

Struggle Schwingen

This type of wrestling has deep roots, has firmly entered the culture of Switzerland, and only German-speaking residents can show the art of playing it. The action is played in a special arena, the area of which is 12 meters, the participants are dressed in a sports uniform, over which there must be jute shorts. They are assigned almost the main role in the struggle, because by grabbing the enemy for them, you can easily decide the outcome of the battle. The prize can be any thing that is suitable for the household, but not money. The game is played to distract from the usual everyday routine and to maintain a he althy fighting spirit.

Hornussen

This game is deeply embedded in the traditions and culture of Switzerland. It has a simultaneous resemblance to both bast shoes and golf, differing in that the role of the ball is played by small rounded stones, whichserved with curved clubs. The task is that you need to intercept the pebble with special bit-tablets, and everything happens at great speed.

The game is so popular among the residents that the team has its own flag and it's legal.

Yodeling song

The Swiss mountains resound daily at sunset with the singing of thousands of shepherds who, according to ancient tradition, end each day with a special prayer that drives away evil spirits from the cattle.

Besides, the beautiful-sounding yodel song is a kind of communication method in the expanses of the Alps. Hearing it for the first time, it is difficult to understand all the charm and unusualness of shepherd trills, because the sound is really very original. But after listening to the prayer longer, you begin to involuntarily admire the strange windings of the voices of the mountain dwellers. Against the background of the majestic slopes, among which the echo walks, the symphony of voices sounds lovely! Even North American cowboys who have visited Switzerland at least once are delighted, but it is simply impossible to perform yodel without long training.

Horn

This wind musical instrument is the most important in the culture of the people of Switzerland. It is created by hand, strict and sawing out of wood. The length of the forge is more than one meter! The sound is striking in its power, but without hearing it live, it is very difficult to describe.

Once upon a time, the bugle was used to communicate between shepherds of different pastures. In our time, the bugle can be heard mainly at village holidays. In addition, there areannual international festivals in Nende, in which alpine buglers take part. The musicians stand up, forming a circle of 150 people, and simultaneously play. The sound is beyond fantasy!

Bellinzo Castles

In the vicinity of this city there are three ancient castles: Sasso Corbaro, Castelgrande and Montenblo. They are under the protection of UNESCO, as they are a world cultural heritage.

The defensive walls of Castelgrande reliably protected their inhabitants in the days of the Roman Empire. Throughout its existence, the castle has withstood many attacks, but at the moment, many buildings are so corroded by time that only stones remain of them. Anyone can safely walk between the ancient walls and meditate on the "eternal".

Montainebleau's walls connect with those of Castelgrande. The castle is built in the form of a geometric rhombus figure in a rocky area. Huge ditches were dug around it, which perfectly protected the walls. Around 1600, a chapel appeared near the walls of the fortress. Nowadays, a large museum has been created on the territory of the castle, by visiting which you can truly study the rich culture of Switzerland in the 15th century. It contains many exhibits, such as glass and clay utensils, jewelry, manuscripts and weapons.

Castle Unterwalden (Sasso Corbaro) during its existence was both a prison and a garrison. Often there were fires caused by lightning strikes. Date of construction XV-XVI century.

Mount Matterhorn

This is a real miraculous pyramid, as ifcreated by nature to set the banners of her conquerors. Many climbers repeatedly tried to conquer the Matterhorn rock, but they managed to do it only in 1865. The slopes, of course, are steep, and the height is 4478 m, but these are not the main obstacles in conquering the summit. The worst condition is abruptly changing weather conditions, when a quiet calm can instantly turn into a terrible snow storm. In addition, rockfalls often occur, so climbing the Matterhorn is associated with a great risk to life.

An interesting fact is that the Matterhorn is about two peaks, which are located 100 meters apart. Its location is just on the border of Italy and Switzerland. Breuil-Cervinia (Italy) is located on one side, and the Swiss resort of Zermatt is located on the other.

Swiss waste culture

One of the most important features of this country is cleanliness. Here you will not find ugly dumps and you will not see garbage scattered somewhere in the middle of the sidewalk or highway. Clean residents solved this problem by sending it for recycling. For the convenience of residents and garbage collectors, special separate containers for glass, plastic and paper have been installed around the city.

By the mid-80s, the environment was so “polluted” that the inhabitants began to suffocate from fetid fumes, and this happened because the country by this time had a large increase in population, and the culture of Switzerland could suffer. The economy, industry, and at the same time waste have grown. country a littledidn't turn into one big trash heap. The small state could not afford to allocate space for a general dump, so the residents had two options:

be buried in your own garbage;
come up with a solution to the problem.

The government decided the issue in a very original way by introducing a special tax on garbage. For example, to throw away 5 kg of waste, you had to pay an amount of 2 to 5 francs, depending on the area. Each garbage bag began to be marked with a special brand, which indicated its "legality". Of course, there were cunning people evading the "garbage tax" who had the idea to take waste to another region. Therefore, the authorities had to establish a state duty and organize a special police force.

Now, with the help of the latest technology, unmarked garbage is analyzed, and specialists can easily find a negligent owner who has to fork out a rather big fine.

At the same time, a network of recycling points was opened, so the innovation took root, and the situation in the country improved. From that moment on, a new milestone in development began in Swiss culture.