Switzerland Today

Greetings from Zurich!

A cold front is rolling in this week, promising the first snow in low-lying areas of Switzerland. The drop in temperature has also heralded the start of the flu season – and a return of Covid (albeit in a milder form than yesteryear).

But first, the news of the day.

This content was published on November 21, 2023 - 18:00

2 minutes

When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch's business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland - including the frozen lake of St Moritz. 

Watches on display — © Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

In the news: watchmakers celebrate, third country work permits and plans to cull wolves.

Swiss watch exports recorded yet another monthly rise in October, raising the possibility of a second successive record year for sales.
Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider wants to cut back on the number of permits given to non-EU workers, according to SRF.
Canton Valais has outlined how it plans to shoot around 34 wolves this winter to keep numbers to a manageable level.

Schloss Lenzburg — © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Preserving heritage

Switzerland boasts many historical buildings that represent the fabric of the country’s past. But their upkeep can prove expensive.

Because of this, the Villa Sonnenberg, which has stood for 250 years in the shadow of Lenzburg Castle (Schloss Lenzburg), has faced an uncertain future since it was sold by the Peter Mieg Foundation in 2017.

The local authorities thought about buying the property but deemed it too expensive for the public purse.

But a White Knight has emerged to buy and renovate the 18^th century building, reports Swiss public broadcaster SRFExternal link.

Villa Sonnenberg has been reopened to the public as a “cultural guest house” (B&B) and as a studio for book authors.

This is not the only historic building to be rescued by private investors: Lucerne’s Bodum Villas, the Erb Villa in Winterthur and St Gallen’s Villa Wiesenthal have all been saved in this way from the ignominious fate of dereliction.

Covid season returns

All around Switzerland, office chairs sit empty as their occupants shiver in bed with colds and flu.

The Blick newspaper also informs usExternal link that Switzerland is headed for “one of the highest Corona waves ever”.

Wastewater testing reveals that one in 60 people living in some areas have been struck down by Covid – double the infection rate of last month. The latest figures are “insane”, according to Swiss molecular biologist Dominik Steiger.

Some data are recording “the highest values ever measured”, says German microbiologist Ulrich Elling.

The good news is that current Covid strains are not nearly as bad as the first waves in 2020 and 2021 – meaning that the rate of deaths and hospitalisations is not expected to increase.