Whatever happened to Heidi?

Previous Next

Heidiland: a motorway service station with various restaurants and a Heidi souvenir shop near Maienfeld, canton Graubünden, where Heidi grew up. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

Heidi Swiss chocolate in a souvenir shop in Heididorf, "Heidi's village" in Maienfeld. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

Heidi magnets and badges. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

Postcards of Heidi in Heidiland. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

People watch a coin-operated "Heidi performance" where Heidi comes out onto a balcony and tells a story. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

A cuckoo clock of Heidi's house on sale at Heidiland. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

A Heidi coffee cup on sale at Heidiland. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

Inside the Heidi Hotel even the laundry basket has a Heidi sign. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

The "Heidishop" in Heididorf, where you can also taste and buy wine. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

Menus from the Heidihof Hotel Restaurant in Maienfeld. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

The "Peter-Haus Spielhuette", a games room, just above the Heidihof Hotel Restaurant. The cow is plastic. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

A sign advertising the Swiss Heidi Hotel in Maienfeld; a goat in front of the Heidiland service station, which also includes a fastfood restaurant. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

The "Heidiweg", a hiking trail above Heididorf. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

The Heidiweg leads up to the Heidialp, with many surprising attractions along the way. Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4
• Picture 5
• Picture 6
• Picture 7
• Picture 8
• Picture 9
• Picture 10
• Picture 11
• Picture 12
• Picture 13
• Picture 14

Australian photographer Martin Mischkulnig’s interest in Heidi, Johanna Spyri’s plucky Swiss orphan, is the result of reading the story to his children, then visiting the places associated with her – “all the places which are in fact made up to serve the tourists interested in the story”. 

He says that ultimately the experience of visiting these places becomes “disappointing and sad” – what does a petrol station restaurant, a tea towel or a convention centre have to do with Heidi?

“In the story, Heidi was also passed from her aunt to grandfather and is then sent off to Frankfurt as a playmate to a rich man’s daughter,” he said. “So in the end Heidi is still being used against her will. Poor Heidi, the story continues…” 

Heidi, published in 1880, is by far the most popular work of Swiss literature. More than 50 million copies of Heidi books have been sold worldwide. The novels have been translated from German into 50 languages and filmed more than a dozen times, including a version starring Shirley Temple in 1937.

(Images: Martin Mischkulnig/13 Photo)