In search of…

The Swiss National Library (NL) holds extensive and unique collections on Switzerland. The NL’s research services help users search for information and documents. “In search of…” provides an insight into this work.

In this close-up shot, two horned Hérens cows face each other with lowered heads. They have wide open eyes and stand forehead to forehead, putting their endurance to the test. They wear cowbells on thick leather straps around their necks.

In search of the quarrelsome queens

There was great disappointment when the scheduled cow fighting competitions had to be suspended indefinitely in August 2025 due to the threat of LSD cattle disease. This tradition stems from the combative nature of Hérens cows, who fight to determine the top cow within their herd.

A wide shaded path leads left past a row of stone houses with grottos. In front of one house, a man sits at a stone table, barely visible. On the right side of the road stands a chestnut tree, its branch reaching across the street.

In search of... Cool air and levity in the grottos of southern Switzerland

Grottos are quintessentially southern Swiss taverns that have their origins in cleverly constructed rock cellars used for food storage. Grotto culture is listed among Switzerland's living traditions.

In search of Alpine fascination

People have been conquering Swiss peaks since the 19th century. Born of a fascination for the mountains, alpinism is one of Switzerland’s living traditions and is inscribed on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A small group of schoolchildren in traditional dress are standing with their teacher in front of the typical imposing buildings in Guarda, ready for their singing performance. The bells in the foreground indicate Chalandamarz. The public can be seen in the background.

In search of the start of spring in Graubünden

Chalandamarz on 1 March heralds the arrival of spring in many parts of Graubünden. The custom is featured on the Inventory of Living Traditions in Switzerland.

The inscription on this floor slab made of grey mottled stone commemorates the laying of the foundation stone by Federal Councillor Ruth Dreifuss on 18 July 1995.

In search of the traditional laying of the foundation stone at the NL

During the construction of the NL from 1929–1931, no foundation stone was laid. Thus, the ceremony was held later in 1995: a loud and smoky affair that took place in the 26-metre-deep foundation pit for the library’s new underground stacks.

In search of the Chaindon Fair

The Chaindon Fair (la Foire de Chaindon) is a major annual event which was originally a livestock fair. Held in Reconvilier in the Bernese Jura on the first Monday of September, it has been on Switzerland’s list of living traditions since 2017.

Depiction of three boys at the Marzili open-air bath. They are simultaneously jumping off two diving boards at the edge of the bath in a tributary of the Aare River. Other boys and an older man look on with interest.

In search of Aare swimming in Bern

The appeal of swimming in a river is just as great as the danger it poses. Dive into the history of this living tradition, starting with its origins in the 18th century extending into the present day.

The image shows trails of light in the night sky produced by a young man who starts by swinging a glowing wooden disc on a long rod before hurling the disc into the valley below using a catapult.

In search of everything there is to know about disc beating

“Scheibenschlagen”, or disc beating, is a fire ritual that takes place during Lent and has been on Switzerland’s list of living traditions since 2012. The custom is known by various other names locally.

In search of heavenly messages on Swiss soil

Digitalised Swiss reporting from e-newspaperarchives.ch sheds light on meteorites that have hit Swiss soil: the Chasseron, Rafrüti and Twannberg meteorites as well as the legendary Dragon’s Eye of Lucerne.

In search of a life stripped bare

What values and principles are associated with naturism? This brief history takes a look at how the movement developed.

In search of the secret chalet vault

The chalet: a nostalgic place, somewhere between a palace and a fortress? The NL has a trove of surprising documents awaiting anyone who researches chalets.

In search of the words “war” and “peace”

Words also have boom and bust cycles, being used with different frequencies over time. The use of the word “war” is closely tied to global events.

Illustration from the book "Jack sur le chemin de Noël" in which we see Father Christmas walking with his donkey in a snowy forest.

In search of Father or Mother Christmas

At this time of year, many of us have a renewed desire to put pen to paper as we are surrounded by festive poems, greetings, stories and songs. The NL holds a whole collection of texts that will inspire you this Christmas.

Top view of an SN recorder with a red and a grey tape spool.

In search of non-existent sources

In the absence of written sources, oral history allows witnesses to record their memories in spoken form. Were Swiss men who changed their minds about women's suffrage ever interviewed?

A pair of owls with big red eyes looking through a narrow opening in a grey stone wall.

In search of the artist with the owls

Celestino Piatti – known as “the artist with the owls” – would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. His simple style is well-known and the owl has become his trademark. There are even one or two of Piatti’s owls in the NL.

A diver performing a swan dive from the diving board of an open-air pool

In search of more (paid) holiday

In Switzerland, the introduction of holiday and paid leave was directly linked to the development of tourism and social advances. The NL delved into its collections to explore the issue.

Two snowmakers being instructed on how to use a Larchmont-type snow cannon on the first day of operation of Europe’s first large-scale snowmaking system in Savognin. On the left: Not Spinatsch, on the right: unknown.

In search of the first snow cannons and their impact

Yearning for snow is a thing of the past because the wonder in white can be manufactured by machines at the touch of a button. But the use of snow cannons is a topic of debate. The NL tracks their history in the digital newspaper archive.

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