My grandmother has lived in the same Swiss village for 100 years

Mutti talking about her life SRF

Marie Vogler-Gasser has lived in Lungern, central Switzerland, since she was born. She tells her grandson why she never moved away.

When my grandmother, Marie Vogler-Gasser, was born in the hamlet of Obsee in the municipality of Lungern, canton Obwalden, horse-drawn carriages were still the dominant means of transport. Carriages were still used not only in the countryside, but also in Swiss towns.

Together we look back on 100 years of life, 100 years that she spent in the village of Lungern. I meet my grandmother, who everyone in the family calls “Mutti” (mummy), at the retirement home where she has lived for around ten years. As a child, she lived in her parents’ house, later together with her family in a house in the centre of the small community. Three homes in 100 years.

The Lungerer district of Obsee, at the southern end of the lake. This is where Mutti was born and grew up. The picture was taken in 1989. ETH Bibliothek

“I can still remember when there were only a handful of cars in Lungern,” she says. And she can still remember the names of the early car owners perfectly. They included the doctor and a small businessman who transported tourists over the Brünig Pass.

The Brünig Pass road was opened in 1861 and the railway line between Central Switzerland and Lake Brienz in 1888. These connections also brought tourists. “However, the village changed the most in the 1950s,” according to Mutti.

The local farming families rented out their houses – they themselves lived in the cellar. “They used the money they earned to renovate their houses or build new ones.” Tourism in the village has also changed significantly. “An orchestra used to play during the summer holidays,” she recalls. “And there was also music in the restaurants and hotels.”

The Hotel Löwen in the village centre in 1930 is still standing, but has been empty and dilapidated for years. HTTPS://SWISS.NAILIZAKON.COM

Times change. Today, most of the restaurants are closed and the music has stopped. It’s very quiet in the village.

Too quiet

There are still foreign tourists in Lungern today, mainly from Asia. “But most of them only stop off for a quick photo opportunity,” she says. “And Swiss guests like to spend their time alone in their holiday home.”

Tourists from Saudi Arabia above Lake Lungern. Keystone

The village itself is often very quiet. Too quiet for Mutti’s taste. “In the morning, you occasionally bump into someone going shopping, but otherwise – nothing.” Even on the nicest days, the village is often deserted.

Most of the car traffic has also disappeared. As in many other villages, this is a double-edged sword. “Nobody misses the noise and the smell, of course,” says Mutti, but people travelling through used to stop off and bring life to the village.

My grandmother has spent her whole life in Lungern. She never wanted to move away. “I didn’t want to – and I wouldn’t have taken my husband away from here anyway,” she says.

A sister-in-law close to her was different: she emigrated to the US, near Chicago, but regularly returned to Lungern on holiday. “She had to promise her mother, otherwise she wouldn’t have been allowed to go,” Mutti says with a smile.

“When we visited her in the US, I could understand why she liked it so much there – and why Lungern was too small and cramped for her. However, living there wouldn’t have been for me.” For her, Lungern “was always everything”.