Switzerland

IV

Culture

Switzerland has a rich and diverse cultural heritage. The German, French, Italian, and Rhaeto-Roman cultures embodied in the Swiss linguistic regions have all profoundly influenced the broader Swiss culture, even as they have retained their own distinctive forms of expression. Foreign influences have shaped Switzerland since early times. By the Middle Ages the country had achieved a high level of cultural development. Carolingian culture, especially painting and Romanesque architecture, flourished, and the Sankt Gallen (Saint-Gall) monastery emerged as a brilliant educational center. Since that time the Swiss have assimilated most important European cultural trends, including humanism and the Reformation. For centuries Switzerland’s tradition of neutrality enriched Swiss culture by attracting a wide variety of creative people to the country during times of turmoil and war.

Swiss contributions to science and philosophy over the centuries are numerous. The influential 16th-century Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus, who combined the study of chemistry and medicine, is sometimes considered the first modern scientist. Nicholas of Fluë, a 15th-century theologian, achieved wide recognition and was canonized in 1947. Mathematician Leonhard Euler made many important discoveries in the 18th century, as did Nobel Prize-winning chemist Alfred Werner in the 19th century. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the major writers of the Age of Enlightenment, and educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi laid the groundwork for modern elementary education in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Huldreich Zwingli and John Calvin, leaders of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, are claimed by the Swiss, as are the eminent 20th-century psychological theorists Jean Piaget and Carl Gustav Jung. Jakob Burckhardt, a Swiss historian of art and culture, wrote the acclaimed Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (1860; Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, 1878).

A

Literature

Though small in size, Switzerland has a great literary tradition. Swiss literature encompasses Latin-Swiss literature and German-Swiss and French-Swiss literatures, which are closely linked to the literatures of the neighboring countries. Latin-Swiss literature was important chiefly during the Middle Ages in religious and humanistic works. Historically less significant are the Italian-Swiss, Romansch, and Swiss-dialect literatures.

The most influential Swiss literature is in German, beginning with the poetry of the minnesingers of the Middle Ages and including the popular ballads and chronicles dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Celebrated 19th-century German-Swiss authors include Gottfried Keller, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Jeremias Gotthelf (pseudonym of Albert Bitzius), and 20th-century Nobel Prize winners Carl Spitteler (1919) and Hermann Hesse (1946). The works of 20th-century dramatists Max Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt are widely known and produced. Johanna Spyri wrote the children’s classic Heidi (1880; translated 1884). Among the best-known French-Swiss authors are Germaine de Staël, whose novel Corinne, ou l'Italie (Corinna, or Italy, 1807) had a deep influence on fiction of the era, and 20th-century novelist Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. Among Romansch writers, Peider Lansel gained a reputation as an outstanding poet in the early 20th century.

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B

Architecture

Much of Switzerland’s historic architecture has survived into the modern era, having been spared the ravages of two 20th-century world wars. Roman occupation of Switzerland in the 1st century bc gave rise to numerous colonies, and many Roman ruins and monuments are well preserved. Noteworthy examples of surviving Romanesque architecture can be found in the towns of Avenches, Martigny, and Windisch, and in numerous cathedrals and castles across the countryside. Later architectural styles, including Gothic, baroque, and Renaissance, found rich expression in Switzerland, and these styles are still visible in urban areas, especially Bern. In addition, no fewer than 20 styles of regional folk architecture have been identified. Switzerland is also known for its many covered bridges, which date from as far back as the 14th century.

The most influential modern Swiss architect is Le Corbusier, a pseudonym for Charles Édouard Jeanneret. A major force in modern architecture, Le Corbusier helped develop the International Style that dominated architecture in the early 20th century. Swiss engineer Robert Maillart won acclaim for his innovative bridge designs during the first half of the 20th century.

C

Visual Arts

A number of Swiss painters and sculptors have achieved international recognition over the centuries. Chief among them are painters Konrad Witz, Henry Fuseli, Arnold Böcklin, and Ferdinand Hodler. Perhaps the best-known Swiss painter is Paul Klee, considered one of the original masters of modern art. Sculptor Alberto Giacometti won renown for his highly distinctive elongated figures, while fellow Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely achieved recognition for his elaborate mechanical sculptures and junk art.

Noteworthy contemporary artists include sculptors Roman Signer and Thomas Hirschhorn, and mixed-media artists Pipilotti Rist and Sylvie Fleury. Virtually every city of consequence in Switzerland has one or more art museums. Switzerland also has a small film industry, which is subsidized by the federal government. The annual Locarno International Film Festival, which highlights the work of young filmmakers, is widely renowned.

D

Performing Arts

D

1

Music

Although Switzerland is best known for its rich tradition of folk music, Swiss composers have made notable contributions to European classical music since the Renaissance compositions of Ludwig Senfl and Heinrich Loris (called Henricus Glareanus). Influential Swiss composers in the 20th century include Arthur Honegger, Ernest Bloch, Othmar Schoeck, Frank Martin, Ernst Levy, and Conrad Beck. Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet gained worldwide fame as conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, based in Geneva.

Traditional Swiss folk music encompasses a wide range of instruments, including the alphorn, a long wooden instrument historically used by alpine herders to communicate. The yodel, a singing style characterized by rapid shifts to falsetto and back, offered another means of communication among isolated herders.

Music remains an important part of contemporary Swiss culture. Zürich, Geneva, and Lausanne each have their own opera houses as well as resident companies that offer a regular schedule of performances during the year. Lucerne hosts an annual international music festival, and numerous events devoted to folk, pop, country, and jazz are held throughout Switzerland. The Montreux Jazz Festival is especially well known.

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