Architecture of Switzerland
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The architecture of Switzerland was influenced by its location astride major trade routes, along with diverse architectural traditions of the four national languages.
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and later Italians brought their monumental and
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
north over the Alps, meeting the Germanic and German styles coming south and French influences coming east. Additionally,
Swiss mercenary The Swiss mercenaries (german: Reisläufer) were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among ...
service brought architectural elements from other lands back to Switzerland. All the major styles including
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, Romanesque,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
,
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
,
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, Neoclassical,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
,
Modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...
and
Post Modern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
are well represented throughout the country. The founding of the
Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...
in
La Sarraz La Sarraz is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Morges. History La Sarraz is first mentioned in 1149 as ''Sarrata''. It is also known as the place of establishment of Le Congrès International d'Archi ...
and the work of Swiss-born modern architects such as
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
helped spread Modern architecture throughout the world. The relative isolation of villages in the
Alpine foothills The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (german: Voralpen; french: Préalpes; it, Prealpi; ), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavar ...
, the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
and the
Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...
as well as different languages led to great diversity in the vernacular style. Due to differing traditions, climate and building materials, villages in each region are distinctly different. The
Swiss chalet style Swiss chalet style (german: Schweizerstil, no, Sveitserstil) is an architectural style of Late Historicism, originally inspired by rural chalets in Switzerland and the Alpine (mountainous) regions of Central Europe. The style refers to traditi ...
, which was popular in the 19th century represents only one of a number of traditional designs. Today, due to historic preservation laws and tourism, large and small communities have retained many of their historic core buildings. Since 1972 the
Swiss Heritage Society The Swiss Heritage Society (SHS) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of Switzerland's architectural heritage. Its focus is on the preservation of important landmarks, the development of the structural environment, and the pro ...
has awarded the
Wakker Prize The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...
to encourage communities to preserve their architectural heritage.


Ancient architecture

Some of the earliest known buildings in Switzerland were prehistoric
stilt houses Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...
which were built by the
Pfyn Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered on intensive pig farming and trading, datin ...
,
Horgen Horgen is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municipali ...
,
Cortaillod Cortaillod is a municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Neolithic Cortaillod culture was named after Cortaillod, where four Neolithic villages have been discovered. History Cortaillod is first mentioned in 1311 as ''Corta ...
and
La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defini ...
s between 4000 and 500 BC. A number of these early buildings have been rebuilt near the sites where the ruins were discovered. Following the defeat of the
Helvetii The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celts, Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their Switzerland in the Roman era, contact with the Roman Republic in the ...
at the
Battle of Bibracte The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle of the Gallic Wars. Prelude The Helvetii, a confederation of Gallic tribes, had begun a total ...
of 58 BC, over the next decades much of Switzerland was incorporated into the Roman Empire. The principal Roman settlements in Switzerland were the cities of
Iulia Equestris Noviodunum or Colonia Iulia Equestris was a Roman era settlement in what is now Nyon in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Origin of the name Noviodunum is a name of Celtic origin, meaning "new fort": It comes from '' nowyo'', Celtic for "new", a ...
(
Nyon Nyon (; outdated German language, German: or ; outdated Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilomet ...
),
Aventicum Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland (Helvetia or Civitas Helvetiorum). Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches. The city was probably created ''ex nihilo'' in the early 1st century AD, as the capital of t ...
(
Avenches Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of th ...
),
Augusta Raurica Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst. It is the site of the oldest known Roma ...
(
Augst Augst ( Swiss German: ''Augscht'') is a municipality in the district of Liestal in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It was known as Augusta Raurica in Roman times. History Augst is first mentioned in 615 as ''Augustodunensem prae ...
) and
Vindonissa Vindonissa (from a Gaulish toponym in *''windo-'' "white") was a Roman legion camp, vicus and later a bishop's seat at modern Windisch, Switzerland. The remains of the camp are listed as a heritage site of national significance. The city of Br ...
(
Windisch Windisch may refer to: * Windisch (surname) (including a list of people with the name) * Windisch, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Aargau * Windisch (ethnonym), German word Wends for Slavs * Windisch Kamnitz, German name of Srbská Ka ...
). Evidence has also been found of almost twenty Roman villages ('' vici'') established in the 1st to 3rd century AD, as well as hundreds of
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s of varying sizes built in the western and central part of the
Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
. The
Legio XIII Gemina , in English the 13th Twin Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legion ...
, was based in the permanent camp of Vindonissa (Windisch) and Aventicum (Avenches) was the capital of the Helvetii. Under pressure from internal and external forces, the Roman Army retreated and Switzerland became a border province in the 4th century. Nyon and Augusta Raurica were permanently abandoned during the 4th century, the stones of their ruins serving to fortify
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
.Ducrey, p. 104. Aventicum never recovered from its pillages:
Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...
noted in around 360 that "the city was once very illustrious, as its half-ruined buildings attest."Ducrey, p. 101. There are a number of excavated or rebuilt Roman sites in Switzerland. Some of the ruins of Roman settlements were later incorporated into houses, churches and city walls. All four of the major Roman cities have some relics of the Roman era. Augusta Raurica has parts of the amphitheater, aqueduct, the main forum and a theater. At Avenches the eastern gates and a tower, a thermal bath, the 16,000 seat amphitheater and temple ruins are still visible. At Nyon, the Roman ruins were lost until their rediscovery in the 18th century, which included the amphitheater and
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
. At Windisch the legionaries camp, an amphitheater and an aqueduct are all visible. Ancient indigenous architecture includes rock shelters called "splüi", grotti and other anonymous architecture using rock.


Pre-Romanesque

The
Pre-Romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...
period is considered to stretch from the emergence of the
Merovingian kingdom The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
in about 500 to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesque period, though there is considerable overlap. During the early centuries of this period, the area that would become Switzerland was sparsely populated and almost nothing remains of any buildings from the period between 500 and the late 8th century. During the
Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. It occurred from the late 8th century to the 9th century, taking inspiration from the State church of the Roman Emp ...
of the 8th and 9th centuries, many new monasteries and churches sprung up across Western Europe.
Carolingian architecture Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian dynasty dominated west European politics. It was ...
borrowed heavily from
Early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...
and
Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until th ...
and helped lead to the
Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...
in the following centuries. To begin expanding their power into the deep forests and isolated mountain valleys, the Carolingian kings established several monasteries in Switzerland. One well preserved example of this style in Switzerland is Saint John Abbey, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, which was probably founded around 775 either on orders of
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
or his Bishop in
Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...
. Many of the
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es in the chapel are from the first half of the 9th century. Another well known example of Carolingian architecture is the World Heritage Site
Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot w ...
which, while it was rebuilt in the
Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
between 1755 and 1768, is based on the much older Carolingian monastery. The
Abbey library of Saint Gall The Abbey Library of Saint Gall (german: Stiftsbibliothek) is a significant medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1983, the library, as well as the Abbey of St. Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site, as “an outst ...
contains around 2,100 manuscripts from the 8th to the 15th centuries including the
Plan of St. Gall The Plan of Saint Gall is a medieval architectural drawing of a Christian monasticism, monastic compound dating from 820–830 AD. It depicts an entire Rule of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastic compound, including Church (building), churches, ...
, the only surviving major architectural drawing from the 6th to the 13th centuries. The Plan is a drawing of a proposed, but never built,
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monastery.


Romanesque architecture

Some of the defining characteristics of Romanesque architecture is solid walls with few, small, semi-circular, paired windows,
groin vaults A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...
and in religious architecture rows of columns that separate the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
from the
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s. In the 11th and 12th centuries, architecture in Switzerland can be roughly divided into three zones of influence, the
Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
in the south,
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
in the west and Germanic in the north and east, though there is significant overlap. The Lombard and Burgundian craftsmen experimented with
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
and groined vaults and carved
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s. In the Germanic parts of Europe, the ecclesiastical Romanesque style often included an
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
on both the eastern and western ends of the nave, such as was shown in the Plan of St. Gall. The western apse was often flanked by two symmetrical, square towers which may include a
westwork A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior ...
. When the
Cluniac reforms The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wit ...
spread through Switzerland in the late 10th and 11th centuries, it triggered a wave of church and monastery construction. All five Bishops in the area (Basel, Chur, Geneva, Lausanne and Sion) built Romanesque cathedrals, which included a full range of Romanesque and later Gothic elements.
Romainmôtier Priory Romainmôtier Priory is a former Cluniac priory in the municipality of Romainmôtier-Envy in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The monastery was founded by Romanus of Condat, after whom it was named. It is entered on the Swiss inventory of ...
and
Payerne Priory Payerne Priory (also known as Payerne Abbey, Abbey of Our Lady of Payerne or Peterlingen Priory; Latin: monasterium Paterniacense) was a Cluniac monastery at Payerne, in Vaud, Switzerland. The monastery is a Swiss heritage site of national signi ...
were both
daughter house A dependency, among monastic orders, denotes the relation of a monastic community with a newer community which it has founded elsewhere. The relationship is that of the founding abbey or conventual priory, termed the motherhouse, with a monastery ...
s of
Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...
and were built in the Cluniac inspired Romanesque style. Romainmôtier was built by Lombard trained craftsmen by
Odilo of Cluny Odilo of Cluny (c. 962 – 1 January 1049) was the fifth Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, holding the post for around 54 years. During his tenure Cluny became the most important monastery in western Europe. Odilo actively worked to reform the monastic p ...
around the end of the 10th century and has remained generally unchanged since then. The central nave features pillars with simply carved capitals and a groined ceiling. The cathedrals at
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and
Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...
and the monasteries at
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and
Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...
were all built with two symmetric square towers flanking the main
portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
like Cluny. Though all four of these examples were later rebuilt in other styles, the Romanesque floor plan is generally still visible. The
Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great Minster (church), minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church, Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche Zür ...
in Zurich also shows Lombard elements despite being firmly in the Germanic zone. In addition to church and monastery construction, a number of Romanesque forts and castles were built throughout the country side. In German Switzerland wooden forts were replaced by stone towers, though in the French and Italian areas stone castles had remained common since the Roman era. These new castles featured a large, multi-story tower with thick, heavy walls. The central tower was then surrounded by a ring wall with towers and a gate house. As long-distance trade increased, the castles were placed along rivers and mountain passes to collect tolls and regulate movement. The
Counts of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the ...
built castles with square ring walls and towers on the corners such as
Grandson Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
and
Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...
. The Counts of Zähringen built large
donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
like residence towers such as
Thun Castle Thun Castle (german: Schloss Thun) is a castle in the city of Thun, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It was built in the 12th century, today houses the Thun Castle museum, and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. History During the ...
. The
Counts of Kyburg The Kyburg family (; ; also Kiburg) was a noble family of ''grafen'' (counts) in the Duchy of Swabia, a cadet line of the counts of Dillingen, who in the late 12th and early 13th centuries ruled the County of Kyburg, corresponding to much of wha ...
built their castles with massive stones, visible in
Kyburg Castle Kyburg Castle (german: Schloss Kyburg) is a castle in Switzerland, overlooking the Töss river some 3 km south-east of Winterthur, in Kyburg municipality, canton of Zürich. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Histo ...
.


Gothic architecture

Originating in 12th-century France and lasting into the 16th century, its characteristics include the
pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earlie ...
, the
ribbed vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
(which evolved from the joint vaulting of Romanesque architecture) and the
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
. Today, the style is known mainly from numerous Gothic churches and cathedrals scattered across Europe. In Switzerland many Romanesque churches and monasteries were built in the bishop's seat or were supported by the bishops. In contrast, Gothic churches were often built in growing towns and cities as a symbol of their wealth and power. The newly founded mendicant orders built Gothic churches,
plague house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...
s and hospitals for much the same reason. By the late Gothic era a number of smaller Gothic
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
es were being built across the country. The style spread quickly into French-speaking Switzerland with the construction of
Lausanne Cathedral The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Lausanne is a church located in the city of Lausanne, in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It belongs to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Vaud. History Construction of the cathedral began as ea ...
beginning around 1170–90. The
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
(1210) and the statue decorated portal (1230), had come from France and in the following centuries would be widely copied throughout Switzerland. Around 1215, the Gothic upper part of Geneva's Cathedral was completed on the Romanesque lower part. From there Gothic spread gradually throughout the region driven by trade and the growing wealth of the mendicant orders. Between 1270 and the 14th century the
Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
built Gothic churches or monasteries in
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
,
Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...
and Basel, the
Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
built two in Basel along with complexes in Bern, Zurich and at Königsfelden Monastery and the
Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...
built one in Fribourg. As the population grew during the 13th to 16th century, a number of new
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
es were established. For example, around Zurich in the period between 1470 and 1525 over half of the approximately 100 parishes had a new Gothic church. Many of these new churches included a polygonal choir, lit with large windows and topped with a ribbed roof. The
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
nave had smooth walls and was topped with a flat roof. Many of these new parish churches included rich
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows, some of which are still in place today. A French trained school of
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
painters developed in
Waltensburg/Vuorz Waltensburg/Vuorz is a former municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and Waltensburg/Vuorz merged into the municipality of Breil/Brigels. History ...
and decorated churches throughout Graubünden with Gothic frescos. After the
1356 Basel earthquake The 1356 Basel earthquake is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and had a moment magnitude in the range of 6.0–7.1.Rayonnant In French Gothic architecture, Rayonnant () is the period from about the mid-13th century to mid-14th century. It was characterized by a shift away from the High Gothic search for increasingly large size toward more spatial unity, refined decora ...
style. The towers and west façade were rebuilt in Gothic style during the 15th century. In 1421 construction began on the
Bern Minster Bern Minster (german: Berner Münster) is a Swiss Reformed cathedral (or minster) in the old city of Bern, Switzerland. Built in the Gothic style, its construction started in 1421. Its tower, with a height of , was only completed in 1893. It ...
, one of the most important late-Gothic buildings in Switzerland. Its size and ornate design were a testament to the growing wealth and power of the new
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
. Throughout Zurich, Graubünden and Valais a number of new Gothic parish churches sprung up throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. However, in Inner Switzerland, the only new construction was the parish church of St. Oswald in
Zug , neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri , twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina) Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
. In contrast to the ornate and distinctive Gothic churches, Gothic secular buildings tended to be understated and include only a few Gothic elements. Wealthy traders and
patricians The patricians (from la, Wikt:patricius, patricius, Greek language, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Rep ...
built houses with pointed arch windows or other Gothic decorations. The city halls of newly powerful cities such as Bern, Fribourg and Basel include a few Gothic elements (the ceiling in Bern, the star-ribbed vaulting in Fribourg) but lack a unified motif.


Renaissance architecture

The
Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
spread into Switzerland around the 16th century, reaching
Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
earlier than the rest of Switzerland. Renaissance style places emphasis on
symmetry Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...
,
proportion Proportionality, proportion or proportional may refer to: Mathematics * Proportionality (mathematics), the property of two variables being in a multiplicative relation to a constant * Ratio, of one quantity to another, especially of a part compare ...
,
geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
and in particular
ancient Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one ...
, of which many examples remained. Orderly arrangements of
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s,
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s and
lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
, as well as the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
s, niches and
aedicula In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...
e replaced the more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of Gothic buildings. As the Renaissance spread north from Italy, many churches in Ticino were decorated or rebuilt in the new style. In 1517, the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence in
Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
was rebuilt with a massive Renaissance façade. The façade of the Church of Pietro e Stefano in
Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...
was begun in the Renaissance style, but completed in Baroque. A third major Renaissance work in Ticino is the church of S. Croce in
Riva San Vitale Riva San Vitale is a municipality in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland, located in the district of Mendrisio. History Riva San Vitale is first mentioned in 774 as ''Primo Sobenno''. In 1115 it was mentioned as ''Ripa Sancti Vitalis''. The ...
. S. Croce was built in the late 16th Century and could be argued to represent either the late Renaissance or early Baroque. North of the Alps, mostly secular buildings were built in the Renaissance style. The first Renaissance buildings were in Basel in 1556, but were built by master craftsmen from Ticino. This was followed by the Ritter'sche Palast and town hall in Lucerne and a town hall in Zurich. The
Munot The Munot is a circular 16th century fortification in the center of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen. It is surrounded by vineyards and serves as the city's symbol. The ring-shaped fortress was built in the 16th century. Today, it is a tourist attra ...
in
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and the fortifications near Bellinzona are the only two large Renaissance structures in Switzerland. The Munot was built in 1564–89 on a design of
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
, while the fortifications were built in the 15th century by Milan to defend against the Swiss and were later used by the Swiss to defend against Milan.


Baroque architecture

Baroque was a reaction to the changes of the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
within the Catholic Church, and often followed the expansion of the new reform orders, the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s and the
Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars *Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters *Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...
. It first entered Switzerland from Italy in the Graubünden following the destruction of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. Some of the features of the style included broader naves and oval shapes in churches, pear shaped domes, fragmentary architectural elements, dramatic use of light, rich colors and ornaments, large ceiling frescoes, ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' illusions and a façade that often included a dramatic projection. By the mid to late 17th century, there were a number of master craftsmen families from
Roveredo Roveredo is a municipality in the Moesa Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Geography Roveredo has an area, , of . Of this area, 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 75% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.1% is ...
, San Vittore and surrounding communities in Graubünden, who led construction projects throughout Europe. To help repair the damage of the Bundner Wirren and the Thirty Years' War, Graubünden craftsmen built numerous Capuchin
hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
s throughout the Canton before spreading out throughout Switzerland. New parish churches, monasteries,
pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the graves ...
es, chapels and roadside shrines were built across the country by both local and foreign craftsmen. In addition to religious buildings, hundreds of country manors and city houses along with town halls, hospitals, granaries and fortifications were all built in the new style. Since a key part of the Baroque style was the use of colors, realistic paintings and frescos and statues, many projects now included specialized artists who finished the exterior and interior as part of construction. Both local and foreign artists were active in Switzerland leading to rapidly spreading ideas. North of the Alps, each area had local families who specialized as sculptors, plaster workers and wood carvers. As they learned of the new style they incorporated its aesthetics into the numerous new churches. In the early 17th century, artists from Ticino began to travel to Rome to learn the Baroque style of painting. Some of them, such as Giovanni Serodine from
Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( lmo, label= Ticinese, Scona ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yea ...
and
Pier Francesco Mola Pier Francesco Mola, called Il Ticinese (9 February 1612 – 13 May 1666) was an Italian painter of the High Baroque, mainly active around Rome. Biography Mola was born at Coldrerio (now in Ticino, Switzerland).''Ecstasy in the Wilderness: Pier ...
from
Coldrerio Coldrerio is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Coldrerio is first mentioned in 852 as ''Caledrano''. In 1170 it was mentioned as ''Calderario'', in 1185 as ''Caldirera'' and in 1187 as ...
, remained in Rome, while others returned to Ticino to work. As the Baroque style spread, it was taken up by artists north of the Alps as well. Some of the most notable examples of Baroque include the church at
Arlesheim Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance ...
, the Jesuit Church in Lucerne,
Pfäfers Abbey Pfäfers Abbey (german: Kloster Pfäfers), also known as St. Pirminsberg from its position on a mountain, was a Benedictine monastery in Pfäfers near Bad Ragaz, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Situated at the junction of the Tamina an ...
,
Disentis Abbey Disentis Abbey (german: Reichskloster Disentis) is a Benedictine monastery in the Graubünden, Canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, around which the present town of Disentis ( rm, Mustér) grew up. Early history Formerly the date of the f ...
,
Rheinau Abbey Rheinau Abbey (Kloster Rheinau) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Rheinau, Switzerland, Rheinau in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778 and suppressed in 1862. It is located on an island in the Rhine. Histor ...
,
Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...
and the
Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot w ...
.


Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassicism was a style that grew out of the neoclassical movement of the mid-18th century to around 1850. The style was based on a return to
Classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
and the
Vitruvian The ''Vitruvian Man'' ( it, L'uomo vitruviano; ) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Inspired by the writings by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two s ...
architectural principles. It often included pillars supporting
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
s and other geometric shapes such as cubes, cylinders and circles. During the mid to late 18th century, Switzerland was a haven for poets, artists, authors, philosophers, revolutionaries and architects. In Zurich, the German speaking poets and authors
Johann Jakob Bodmer Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet. Life Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In 1 ...
,
Johann Jakob Breitinger Johann Jakob Breitinger (1 March 1701 in Zürich – 14 December 1776) was a Swiss philologist and author. Life Breitinger studied theology and philology and first earned recognition from 1730 through a new edition of the Septuaginta. From ...
,
Johann Kaspar Lavater Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian. Early life Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the '' Gymnasium'' there, where J. J. ...
,
Salomon Gessner Salomon Gessner (1730–1788) was a Swiss painter, graphic artist, government official, newspaper publisher and poet; best known in the latter instance for his ''Idylls''. Biography His father, Hans Konrad Gessner (1696–1775), was a printer, ...
and
Johann Heinrich Füssli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as ''The Nightmare'', deal with supernatur ...
wrote letters and shared ideas with their counterparts in Germany. In Geneva,
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
and
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
developed philosophies that influenced governments and revolutionaries throughout Europe. In
Coppet Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''. Geography Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, o ...
, Madame
Germaine de Staël Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (; ; 22 April 176614 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël (), was a French woman of letters and political theorist, the daughter of banker and French finance minister Jacques Necker and Suzan ...
led an influential
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
of Parisian exiles. In Italy Swiss artists were exposed to both classical art and architecture as well as Neoclassical works. The ideas of Classicism,
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
,
Humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
and
Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...
, among others, flooded into the country. At the same time, the foundation of the Helvetische Gesellschaft in 1761 helped develop Switzerland's national identity and unify the country. The idea of a shared foundation of
Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
(the
Landsgemeinde The ''Landsgemeinde'' ("cantonal assembly"; , plural ''Landsgemeinden'') is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating by majority rule, which constitutes one of the oldest forms of direct democracy. Still at use – in a few places ...
), pastoral life in alpine meadows and the legend of
William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
were all part of the Classicism interpreted in Switzerland. Beginning in the 1760s many skilled architects, builders and artists from Ticino relocated to Imperial Russia. Over the following decades entire families worked to build many of the buildings in the Russian Empire's two capitals of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Only a few religious buildings were built in
Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...
, but one of the largest is the Cathedral of St. Ursus in Solothurn. The majority of classicist buildings were government, business or mansions for the wealthy. One interesting example of neoclassical sculpture is the ''
Lion Monument The ''Lion Monument'' (german: Löwendenkmal), or the ''Lion of Lucerne'', is a rock relief in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 17 ...
'' in
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
, based on the design of
Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
. It commemorates the
Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala) is ...
s who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. The monument uses nature to honor Swiss heroes, both elements of Classicism. During this period the traditional Swiss
chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...
, a small house tucked away on a high alpine meadow, began to spread outside Switzerland. The chalet first appeared in
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
's writings where it spread to France and then throughout Europe. The
Swiss chalet style Swiss chalet style (german: Schweizerstil, no, Sveitserstil) is an architectural style of Late Historicism, originally inspired by rural chalets in Switzerland and the Alpine (mountainous) regions of Central Europe. The style refers to traditi ...
became a symbol of a simple, pastoral life built on democracy, freedom and a connection with nature. The wide variety of local styles and building materials was reduced to a wooden cottage with a gently sloping roof and wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house. At first, chalets appeared in the gardens and forests of wealthy European aristocrats, before spreading to spa resorts and other tourist destinations. By the second half of the 19th century, the chalet was a symbol of Switzerland and the word became common throughout the country. The design was well suited to be partially factory built and several companies manufactured chalet kits, which were shipped throughout Europe.


Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
was a style of art, architecture and decoration that was popular from the 1880s until about 1914. It was inspired by natural forms and shapes and featured whiplash lines and flowing shapes. It was a "total" art style embracing
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
,
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
,
interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
, and the
decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
, Art Nouveau furniture, furniture, textiles, jewellery, glass and metal art, ceramics and mosaics. In French Switzerland it was known as Art Nouveau after
Siegfried Bing Samuel Siegfried Bing (26 February 1838 – 6 September 1905), who usually gave his name as S. Bing (not to be confused with his brother, Samuel Otto Bing, 1850–1905), was a German-French art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who ...
's gallery
Maison de l'Art Nouveau The Maison de l'Art Nouveau ("House of New Art"), abbreviated often as L'Art Nouveau, and known also as Maison Bing for the owner, was a gallery opened on 26 December 1895, by Siegfried Bing at 22 rue de Provence, Paris.Martin Eidelberg and Suzan ...
in Paris. In German Switzerland it was known as
Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...
after the magazine '' Jugend'' in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, while in Italian Switzerland it was the
Liberty style Liberty style ( it, Stile Liberty) was the Italian variant of Art Nouveau, which flourished between about 1890 and 1914. It was also sometimes known as ''stile floreale'', ''arte nuova'', or ''stile moderno''. It took its name from Arthur Lasenby ...
after the London department store
Liberty & Co Liberty, commonly known as Liberty's, is a luxury department store in London, England. It is located on Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London. The building spans from Carnaby Street on the East to Kingly Street on the West, where ...
. Art Nouveau was brought to Switzerland by designers from across Europe. The style took hold in the industrial cantons, but also appeared in mountain and spa resorts, which catered to foreign visitors. While a few complete Art Nouveau buildings are scattered across the country, the industrial watch-making city of
La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...
was the centre of Art Nouveau in Switzerland. One of the leaders of this style in La Chaux-de-Fonds was
Charles l'Eplattenier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, who helped develop the local Style Sapin or "Pine Tree Style", so called due to its intense study of nature and natural shapes. L'Eplattenier designed the town's crematorium and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds (Beaux-Arts Museum of La-Chaux-de-Fonds).


Heimatstil

At the same time as Art Nouveau was spreading into Switzerland, a branch of Modern architecture known as ''Heimatstil'' or ''Heimatschutzstil'' was developing in Germany and German Switzerland. In contrast to Art Nouveau, the Heimatstil was a reaction to industrialization and urbanization and wanted to return to traditional living. This style focused on using traditional elements in modern buildings, while preserving historic buildings and cityscapes, traditional rural living and agriculture. Particularly in Switzerland the image of the Alps, alpine herding and agriculture became a key part of the movement. Each region of Switzerland began to incorporate local traditional materials and designs into modern houses, apartment buildings, hotels, schools and even industrial buildings. Heimatstil architects included Nicolaus Hartmann in Graubünden, Armin Witmer-Karrer in Zürich, Karl Indermühle in Bern,
Alphonse Laverrière Alphonse Laverrière (16 May 1872 – 11 March 1954) was a Swiss architect. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and was professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. In 1912, he won a gold me ...
in Lausanne und Edmond Fatio in Geneva. In La Chaux-de-Fonds, René Chapallaz and his better known pupil
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
built several buildings that connected Heimatstil and Art Nouveau, including
Villa Fallet Villa Fallet is a traditional chalet located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland designed and built by the eighteen-year-old Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (1887–1965), who later became better known as Le Corbusier. Jeanneret was teaching himself ...
which was Le Corbusier's first commission. Out of a desire to preserve the traditional, the
Swiss Heritage Society The Swiss Heritage Society (SHS) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of Switzerland's architectural heritage. Its focus is on the preservation of important landmarks, the development of the structural environment, and the pro ...
was created on 1 July 1905 and by 1910 had over 7,000 members. The Society published a monthly magazine which included examples of "good" and "bad" architecture, which reinforced the use of traditional designs. Later they led political campaigns against hydroelectric projects and highways and in 1962 were able to include protection of natural and architectural heritage in the
Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...
. Since 1972, the Heritage Society has awarded the Wakker Prize to recognize a community for exceptional preservation work.


Modern architecture

Modern architecture is a group of styles of architecture which emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was based upon new technologies of construction, particularly the use of
glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
,
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
; and upon a rejection of the traditional
neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
and Beaux-Arts styles that were popular in the 19th century. The first school of architecture in Switzerland was the
ETH Zurich Faculty of Architecture Founded in 1854, the Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland is an architecture school in Zürich, providing education in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design. It has arou ...
(ETHZ), which opened in 1855. The Zurich school trained architects quickly found work across the country and the world, designing private and public buildings. While the school initially focused on classical architecture, in 1915 Karl Coelestin Moser, an early leader in the Modern movement, was appointed a professor at ETHZ. In 1927, he designed St. Antonius Church in Basel, which was the first concrete church in Switzerland. In the 1920s,
Hans Benno Bernoulli Hans Benno Bernoulli (17 February 1876 – 12 September 1959) was a Swiss architect and city planner. Family Bernoulli was born in Basel, the son of Theodor Bernoulli, an office clerk. He was descended from the Bernoulli family of mathemat ...
built the Wasserhaus housing development, a novel cooperative settlement outside Basel. Following the model of the
Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (English: "German Association of Craftsmen"; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The Werkbund became an important element in the development of modern arch ...
, in 1913 the
Schweizerischer Werkbund Schweizerischer Werkbund, (translated as ''Swiss Werkbund'') is a Swiss association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists established in 1913, inspired by the mission of the Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (English: ...
(SWB) was established in Zurich which helped spread Modern architecture to German-speaking Switzerland. Additionally, one of the founding members of the SWB was the painter
Charles L'Eplattenier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, who returned to
Yverdon-les-Bains Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...
and founded a French sister organization known as L'Œuvre (OEV). Both organizations encouraged close cooperation between artists, architects, designers and industry, though they differed in their approach to mass production and traditionalism. Both organizations continued to publish journals and influence design into the 21st century, though in 2003 the OEV was absorbed into the SWB and became a regional chapter. One of the most influential Modern Swiss architects was Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
. Le Corbusier studied art under Charles L'Eplattenier and René Chapallaz in La Chaux-de-Fonds and was initially influenced by his teachers' involvement in Art Nouveau, Heimatstil, and L'Œuvre (OEV). He was a member of OEV for a few years before leaving in 1918. In the 1920s he developed a style that made use of reinforced concrete to create a weightless, open space with non-weight bearing facades that could be freely designed and decorated. In the 1940s he began working on
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
and designed large, concrete modular buildings for offices and apartments, culminating in the design of the
Chandigarh Capitol Complex Chandigarh Capitol Complex, located in the sector-1 of Chandigarh city in India, is a government compound designed by the architect Le Corbusier and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is spread over an area of around 100 acres and is a prime man ...
in
Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
in the newly formed
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state in the 1950s. Two of Le Corbusier's buildings in Switzerland, the
Immeuble Clarté Immeuble Clarté is an apartment building in Geneva designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret starting from 1928 and built in 1931–32. It has eight stories comprising 45 free plan units of diverse configurations and sizes. It is one of Le Cor ...
and
Villa Le Lac The Villa Le Lac, also known as the Villa "Le Lac" Le Corbusier, is a residential building on Lake Geneva in Corseaux, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, designed by Swiss architects and cousins Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret between 1923 and 192 ...
are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement". Under the leadership of Swiss architects including Le Corbusier, Hélène de Mandrot and
Sigfried Giedion Sigfried Giedion (sometimes misspelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, ''Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mechaniza ...
, the
Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...
(CIAM) was organized in
La Sarraz La Sarraz is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Morges. History La Sarraz is first mentioned in 1149 as ''Sarrata''. It is also known as the place of establishment of Le Congrès International d'Archi ...
in 1928. Over the years that the CIAM was active, they formalized the architectural principles of the Modern movement and developed principles of urban planning that spread throughout the world. After World War II, Modern architecture became the dominant style throughout the country. At the same time it began to divide into many different forms and regional styles. In Ticino, a group of architects including Tita Carloni,
Luigi Snozzi Luigi Snozzi (29 July 1932 – 29 December 2020) was a Swiss architect, born in Mendrisio, Ticino. He worked in Locarno and Lugano. Life He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. From 1962 to 1971, Snozzi worked in asso ...
, Bruno Reichlin,
Fabio Reinhart Fabio Reinhart (born 23 March 1942 in Bellinzona) is a Swiss architect. Biography Reinhart studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Zürich, where he graduated in 1969. In the 1970s he got associated with Bruno Reichlin and opened a practice ...
and
Mario Botta Mario Botta (born 1 April 1943) is a Swiss architect. Career Botta designed his first building, a two-family house at Morbio Superiore in Ticino, at age 16. He graduated from the Università Iuav di Venezia (1969). While the arrangements of spa ...
developed a style based on Functionalism and
Rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
and incorporating contrasts often with geometric designs and using local materials. The Graubünden Movement consists of a number of Swiss architects who build modern structures that blend into the local villages. One of the most famous is
Peter Zumthor Peter Zumthor (; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. E ...
, who builds simple, down to earth buildings with minimal use of resources. Other Graubünden Movement architects include
Valerio Olgiati Valerio Olgiati (born 1958) is a Swiss architect. He initially studied architecture at ETH Zurich, a public research university in Zurich, Switzerland, after which he lived in Switzerland, followed by Los Angeles in the United States. He mad ...
, Andrea Deplazes and
Gion A. Caminada Gion Antoni Caminada (born 8 August 1957) is a Swiss architect and professor of architecture at the ETH Zurich. He is known for his works in and around the Swiss village of Vrin, including the ''Stiva da morts'' mortuary. Many of Caminada's proje ...
.


Vernacular architecture

Traditional Swiss farm and village house design depended on a number of factors including the local climate, type of agriculture, materials available, local tradition and location. Each region in Switzerland developed their own style of
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
to meet these factors. Migrations such as the spread of the
Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named af ...
into
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
, the spread of Germanic culture into the Romansh regions of Graubünden and the Swiss invasion of Ticino allowed mixing of different traditional styles. The growth of
alpine transhumance Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer (German language, German ' from the term for "seasonal mountai ...
, were cattle summered in high alpine meadows and wintered in the valleys, required different designs for housing. Until the end of the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
most farms consisted of several separate buildings, each with a specific purpose. Beginning in the 11th century many of the out-buildings began to be combined into a single multi-purpose farm buildings. Farm houses now often contained living quarters,
larder A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...
s, stalls and feed storage under a single roof, but isolated by walls. The kitchens were generally chimney free until the 17th century, though in some poorer areas chimneys remained uncommon into the 19th century. However, using stone ovens or fireplaces to heat rooms became common by the 14th century in the northern Alpine foothills and Alpine valleys. External decoration became increasing visible on both wood and stone buildings after 1500. Façade decoration reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries before becoming less common and simpler in the following centuries.


North-west and Jura

In western Switzerland and the Jura mountains most houses were built of stone due to limited timber supplies. However, in northern Switzerland and the Bernese Mittelland plentiful wood meant that most construction was either all wood or wooden with a stone foundation. In both regions, by the 15th century, the local style had evolved into a multi-story, multi-purpose
byre-dwelling A byre-dwelling ("byre"+ "dwelling") is a farmhouse in which the living quarters are combined with the livestock and/or grain barn under the same roof. In the latter case, the building is mostly called an housebarn. This kind of construction is f ...
with animals,
fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
, storage and living quarters under one roof. Houses in the high Jura mountains were built with small windows to protect them from winter wind and snow, while those in the more temperate
Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
usually had lighter walls and larger windows. Shallowly sloping shingle roofs were replaced with ones with a steeper, tiled roof beginning in the 16th century. Other farmhouses remained
thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
until the introduction of fire insurance in the 19th century after which they gradually disappeared. In the Bernese Oberland, the ''Stöckli'', a residence for the owner's aging parents, became a common sight in the 19th century.


North-east and eastern

In the north-east along the
Rhine river ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...
,
half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
construction was imported from southern Germany and gradually spread into the eastern Middlelands. Other houses were built with
stacked plank construction American historic carpentry is the historic methods with which wooden buildings were built in what is now the United States since European settlement. A number of methods were used to form the wooden walls and the types of ''structural carpentry' ...
, such as the example from Wila below. Despite the different building materials, multi-story byre-dwellings developed in north-eastern and eastern Switzerland around the same time as they did in the west. In the 16th century restrictions on building and the rise of the home textile industry (the
Putting-out system The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
) led to the creation of the ''Flarz'', a complex of smaller apartments created by expanding existing buildings, in the Zurich Oberland.


Alpine foothills

In the foothills of the Alps cattle breeding and dairy farming were common after the second half of the 13th century, which led to a different style. Unlike the more northern byre-dwelling, here the house and barn remained separate. Generally, they were each built as simple block structures made of heavy, square beams. The
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
ends often have a windows and are protected by large
eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...
. In the Bernese Oberland the gable ends are often richly decorated. The design remained basically unchanged from the 12th century until the 19th, and is still built today. There is no clearly defined border between the byre-dwellings of the Swiss Plateau and the separate structures of the foothills so both designs may be present in a single village.


Valais

In Valais the entire valley was originally French speaking until the 13th century when upper valley was settled by German speaking colonists. This led to differing architectural styles as well as extensive borrowing from the other culture. In the French speaking part, stone construction is much more common, while in the German speaking area, wooden beam styles dominate. However, in the
Val d'Illiez The Val d'Illiez is a valley in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. It separates the northern foothills of the Chablais Alps from the Dents du Midi. Starting from Monthey, the valley splits at Troistorrents: *Val d'Illiez itself with the villages ...
region the houses are generally wooden, but with a distinctive roof ridge that projects much further forward than the bottom of the roof.


Ticino

The modern
Canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
was an Italian province conquered by the
Old Swiss Confederation The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
in the 15th century. The local architecture is more similar to that of northern Italy, though each small, isolated valley developed their own style. The southernmost parts of the Canton the villages are small and compact while the farms are isolated, sprawling stone and wood complexes that developed over centuries as apartments, storage and production buildings were added. In the northern part, narrow alpine valleys limit the size of fields and villages. Northern Ticino was conquered and administered by
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...
,
Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...
and
Nidwalden Nidwalden, also Nidwald (german: Kanton Nidwalden, ; rm, Chantun Sutsilvania; french: Canton de Nidwald; it, Canton Nidvaldo) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the ...
. These foreign overlords brought the wooden block construction from the Alpine foothills into Ticino. In the last 200 years stone construction has replaced the earlier wooden structure in most villages in Ticino.Ballenberg Museum - Ticino
accessed 12 October 2016


Graubünden

Following the destruction of the local
Bündner Wirren The Bündner Wirren ( rm, Scumbigls grischuns/Scumpigls grischuns/Sgurdins grischuns, french: Troubles des Grisons, it, Torbidi grigionesi, English: ''Graubünden disturbances'' or ''Revolt of the Leagues'') was a conflict that lasted between 161 ...
(part of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
) in the 17th century, many of the houses in Graubünden had to be rebuilt. The new houses were built of stone, often on top of or surrounding an earlier wooden building. In the
Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...
valley they built stone byre-dwellings, typically with a ''Sulèr'', a wide passage through the residential section into the
hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
storage section. The kitchen, dining and storage rooms were branched off the ''Sulèr''. The upper story included a large hall known as the ''Stuva süra'' as well as bedrooms. The basement housed the
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
s. Many of the houses were decorated with
sgraffiti ''Sgraffito'' (; plural: ''sgraffiti'') is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive laye ...
.


See also

* List of Swiss architects *
Swiss Architecture Museum The S AM Swiss Architecture Museum (german: S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum) is an architecture museum in Basel, Switzerland. Through its program of temporary exhibitions and events, it contributes to international debates on architecture ...
*
Ballenberg Ballenberg is an open-air museum in Switzerland that displays traditional buildings and architecture from all over the country. Located near Brienz in the municipality of Hofstetten bei Brienz, Canton of Bern, Ballenberg has over 100 original buil ...
*
Swiss Chalet Revival architecture Swiss chalet style (german: Schweizerstil, no, Sveitserstil) is an architectural style of Late Historicism, originally inspired by rural chalets in Switzerland and the Alpine (mountainous) regions of Central Europe. The style refers to traditio ...
*
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
*
World Heritage Sites in Switzerland The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Switzerland rat ...


Notes


Sources

*


External links


Ballenberg Open Air Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Architecture Of Switzerland