SwissTraveling.com

A weblog about travel guides – tips, maps, photos and experience – in Switzerland.

Entries for August, 2008

Fribourg

Fribourg, German Freiburg, capital of Fribourg canton, Switzerland. It is located on a loop in the Sarine (Saane) River southwest of Bern. Founded in 1157 by Berthold IV, duke of Zähringen, to control a ford across the river, it passed to the sons of Rudolf of Habsburg in 1277. The Habsburgs abandoned it in 1452; [...]

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Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen (German), French  Schaffhouse,  capital of Schaffhausen canton, northern Switzerland, on the right bank of the Rhine, west of Lake Constance (Bodensee). The site was first mentioned in 1045 as Villa Scafhusun. About 1049 Count Eberhard III of Nellenburg founded there the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, around which the community developed. The town became [...]

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Zug

Zug (German), French  Zoug,  capital of Zug canton, north central Switzerland, on the northeastern shore of Lake Zug (Zugersee), at the foot of the Zugerberg (3,409 ft [1,039 m]), just south of Zürich. First mentioned in 1242 as a possession of the counts of Kyburg, it was purchased by Rudolf IV of Habsburg (later Rudolf [...]

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Einsiedeln

Einsiedeln, French  Notre-Dame-des-Ermites, town, Schwyz canton, northeast-central Switzerland. It is located on the right bank of Alp Stream, northeast of Schwyz city. It developed around the Benedictine abbey, founded in 934. The abbey became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1274 and belonged to Schwyz after 1386. Its wooden statue, the “Black Virgin” [...]

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Thun

The town of Thun located on the lake of the same name is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland and an ideal starting point for excursions to the nearby Alpine foothills and Alps. The impressive castle and historic old town, bathing beaches, promenades and Alps in the background provide a picturesque setting for Switzerland’s tenth-biggest [...]

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Interlaken

Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland between Lakes Thun and Brienz and at the feet of the three famous peaks Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau is a holiday and conference resort of international importance, and an ideal starting point for countless excursions to the region’s top destinations. The composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote: «If you haven’t seen the [...]

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Brienz

Brienz is located in the middle of charming mountains at the eastern end of turquoise-coloured Lake Brienz. The cosy village is starting point for excursions to the Bernese Oberland, the Ballenberg Open-air Museum but also to Lucerne or Interlaken or across the nearby Alpine passes. The probably most romantic part of Brienz is the Brunngasse [...]

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