The culture and traditions of Switzerland attract a huge number of tourists, and the point is not only in quality watches, delicious cheese and the best chocolate in the world! Extremals are attracted by ski resorts, ecotourists - the cold landscapes of alpine glaciers, and lovers of cultural values - ancient monuments. The article contains interesting places, traditions and facts from modern life.
Swiss culture
The inhabitants of this beautiful country have many of their own special traditions that are unique in their kind.
For example, it is customary for modern Swiss peasants to carry 50 kg sacks of hay on their own backs to this day. This quality was very much appreciated during the Renaissance, since it was possible to save on mules.
Every year, livestock descends from the Alps to spend the winter, and this is a big and colorful event for the people! Cows become the center of attention, pacing importantly in lovingly woven wreaths on their heads. This is a real celebration for both children and the elderly.
But most of all, Switzerland is famous for its cheeses, which are produced in the country of 450 varieties, and you can choose for every taste and color. On the territory of this richest state, 600 cheese makers are working in full force.
Ethnic dance
Ordinary people like to sing and dance, so every corner of the country has its own folk costume. Roundabouts and bird polka prevail in the movements of the Swiss. To familiarize with rich customs, folklore festivals are held. Dancing can tell a lot about the culture of Switzerland, briefly telling about the traditions that have developed over centuries.
Wrestling schwingen
This type of struggle has deep roots, is firmly entrenched in the culture of Switzerland, and only German-speaking residents can show the art of playing it. The action is played out in a special arena, the area of which is 12 meters, the participants are dressed in a sports uniform, on top of which must be jute shorts. They almost allotted the main role in the fight, because grabbing the enemy for them, you can easily decide the outcome of the battle. A prize can be any thing suitable for the household, but not money. The game is held to distract from the usual everyday routine and to support a healthy fighting spirit.
Hornussen
This game is tightly embedded in the traditions and culture of Switzerland. It has a similarity with both bast shoes and golf, characterized in that the role of the ball is played by small rounded stones, which are fed by curved clubs. The task is that with special tablets, bits need to intercept a pebble, and everything happens at great speed.
The game is so popular among residents that the team has its own flag, and this is permitted by law.
Song yodel
The Swiss mountains are sung daily at sunset by the singing of thousands of shepherds, who, according to ancient tradition, end each day with a special prayer that drives bad spirits away from the cattle.
In addition, the beautiful sounding yodel song is a kind of communication method in the vastness of the Alps. Having heard it for the first time, it is difficult to understand all the charm and unusualness of shepherd’s trills, because the sound is really very original. But after listening to the prayer longer, you begin to involuntarily admire the strange twists of the voices of the mountain inhabitants. Against the backdrop 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, but without long trainings, are simply delighted to execute a yodel.
Horn
This wind musical instrument is the most important in the culture of the people of Switzerland. Create it manually, strict and sawing from a tree. The length of the hearth is not one meter! The sound is striking in its power, but without hearing it once live, it is very difficult to describe.
Once upon a time, the horn was used for communication between shepherds of different pastures among themselves. In our time, the bugle can be heard mainly at village festivals. In addition, annual international festivals are held in Nenda, in which alpine mountaineers take part. Musicians stand up, forming a circle of 150 people, and at the same time play. Sound is just beyond imagination!
Bellinzona castles
In the vicinity of this city are three ancient castles: Sasso Corbaro, Castelgrand 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 during the time of the Roman Empire. Over the entire period of its existence, the castle withstood many attacks, but at the moment many buildings are so corroded by time that only stones remained from them. Anyone can calmly walk between the ancient walls and reflect on the “eternal”.
The walls of Montenbloo are connected to the walls of Castelgranda. The castle is built in the form of a geometric figure of a rhombus in a rocky area. Huge ditches were dug around him, 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 study the rich culture of Switzerland of the 15th century for certain. It exhibits many exhibits, such as glass and clay utensils, jewelry, manuscripts and weapons.
Unterwalden Castle (Sasso Corbaro) during its existence was both a prison and a garrison. Often there were fires in it caused by lightning strikes. Date of construction of the XV-XVI century.
Mount Matterhorn
This is a real miraculous pyramid, as if created by nature to set the banners of its conquerors. Many climbers tried to conquer the Matterhorn rock several times, but managed to do this only in 1865. The slopes, of course, are steep, and the height is 4478 m, but these are not the main obstacles to the conquest of the summit. The worst condition is abruptly changing weather conditions, when quiet calm can instantly turn into a terrible snowstorm. In addition, rockfalls often occur, so climbing the Matterhorn is associated with a great risk to life.
An interesting fact is that the Matterhorn rock is about two peaks that are located 100 meters from each other. Its location is just on the border of Italy and Switzerland. On one side is the resort of Bray – Cervinia (Italy), and on the other - the Swiss resort of Zermatt.
Swiss waste management 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. Tidy residents solved this problem by sending it for recycling. For the convenience of residents and garbage collectors in the city, special separate containers for glass, plastic and paper are installed.
By the mid-80s, the environment was so “messed up" that residents began to suffocate from foul-smelling fumes, and it happened because a large population growth had occurred in the country by this time, and the culture of Switzerland could suffer. The economy, industry, and with it the waste, has grown. The country almost turned into one big garbage heap. A small state could not afford to allocate a place for a general landfill, so the residents had two options:
- to be buried in their own garbage;
- come up with a solution to the problem.
The government resolved the issue in a very original way by introducing a special garbage tax. For example, to throw out 5 kg of waste, an amount of 2 to 5 francs should be paid, depending on the region. Each garbage bag was marked with a special brand that indicated its “legality”. Of course, there were tricks who evaded the “garbage tax”, which occurred to them to take the waste to another area. Therefore, the authorities had to establish a state duty and organize a special police force.
Now, with the help of the latest technologies, unmarked garbage is analyzed, and experts can easily find a negligent owner who has to fork out a rather big fine.
At the same time, a network of points for recycling was opened, so the innovation took root, and the situation in the country improved. From this moment in the culture of Switzerland a new milestone of development began.
