The French Embassy in Switzerland is opening the doors of the Villa von Tscharner in Bern. The former embassy, used as a residence, houses rare furniture, wall hangings, vases and paintings.
C. Boillat / Französische Botschaft
The former Laufenburg town hall was built in 1525 and decorated in Baroque style in 1771; some rooms are known for their spectacular stucco.
Kantonale Denkmalpflege Aargau, Christine Seiler
Ruins of the Rüeggisberg Priory Church in canton Bern.
Patrick Schmed
The "Rois de l’Arquebuse" room showing a mural and paintings from Geneva's historical shooting club
Ceux d'en face
The ruins of Saxon castle in canton Valais, built between 1278-1285
Jean-Christophe Moret
Lucerne's Villa Bellerive was built in 1889 in an Italian New Renaissance style. Today, it is part of Lucerne's Teacher Training School.
Kantonale Denkmalpflege Luzern
A view inside Lausanne's Montbenon Court Building in Lausanne, which was built in the 1880s to house the federal court. Today, it is the seat of the Lausanne district court.
Ceux d'en face
The Ital Reding manor house in Schwyz was built in 1609. Today, it houses the Schwyz cantonal library.
Stiftung Ital Reding-Haus
Certain buildings embody power – monumental in stature, luxurious in design and found in prime locations. Dozens of official buildings are opening their doors to the Swiss public this weekend as part of the European Heritage Days.
This content was published on
Thomas Kern was born in Switzerland in 1965. Trained as a photographer in Zürich, he started working as a photojournalist in 1989. He was a founder of the Swiss photographers agency Lookat Photos in 1990. Thomas Kern has won twice a World Press Award and has been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. His work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.
Castles, palaces, courts, town halls, farm houses and churches are just a few of the structures that will be welcoming the public as part of Switzerland’s heritage weekendExternal link that goes under the slogan ‘Power and Glory’.
Held in September each year, European Heritage Days take place in 50 countries that are party to the European Cultural Convention. Doors are opened to numerous monuments and sites, allowing citizens to enjoy free visits, workshops and events, and to learn about their shared cultural heritage. The annual event also aims to encourage people to get involved in preserving this heritage for future generations.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.