Swiss national exhibition

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The Swiss National Exhibition is a periodic national presentation of Switzerland .

Bronze sculpture readiness for military service by Hans Brandenberger , symbol of the country spirit from 1939, today in the park of the Federal Archives in Schwyz

prehistory

As early as the 19th century, there were sporadic exhibitions in Switzerland to showcase the achievements of art and industry . These were pure performance shows in which every company wanted to show the better, the more powerful product. At first these exhibitions were just sales fairs . The Swiss Trade and Industry Exhibition of 1857 can be described as the first national exhibition in Switzerland, because the organization of federal subsidies and the Federal Council Presidium of the Exhibition Commission gave it an official character. But the exhibition still predominated, in which the exhibiting companies fought for prizes that would boost sales . According to general counting, the exhibition held in 1883 is therefore considered the first state exhibition.

Swiss national exhibitions

1883 in Zurich

The large Tonhalleensaal in Zurich on the occasion of the opening of the Swiss National Exhibition on May 1, 1883

The official first national exhibition took place in Zurich in 1883 . With 1.7 million visitors, the event overshadowed all previous federal and cantonal events. At the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich, the focus was no longer just on industry: an important place was given to schools. The " Topographic Map of Switzerland " was presented as a special attraction .

1896 in Geneva

The next national exhibition was held in Geneva in 1896 . This was the first time that a pavilion of the military department was present, which the Swiss Army wanted to bring closer to the people, which it succeeded. The first Swiss congress for the interests of women took place from 8 to 12 September as part of the exhibition . In addition to the village suisse, a village noir with mud huts and 230 Sudanese could be seen in Geneva .

1914 in Bern

Catalog for the 1914 national exhibition in Bern
The Landidörfli from 1939 on the Zürichhorn , aerial photography by Walter Mittelholzer

In 1914 in Bern , the army pavilion demonstrated the will to armed neutrality. This exhibition coincided with the outbreak of the First World War . For the national show, the Dörfli was built in Bern's Länggass district according to the plans of the architect Karl Indermühle . One of the exhibits, the Dammahütte of the Swiss Alpine Club , has been preserved in its new location to this day.

1939 in Zurich (Landi)

The Landi (May 6th - October 29th 1939) was all about spiritual national defense . The main attractions of the exhibition included:

  • the Landidörfli, in which houses in the traditional architectural styles of different cantons were grouped
  • the Schifflibach, on which people drifted through the exhibition grounds in small boats
  • the aerial tramway that crossed Lake Zurich at a height of 75 m

The director of this national exhibition was the architect and politician Armin Meili . Over 10 million tickets were sold and the state show was considered a great success.

Like the national exhibition of 1914, its successor also fell into a troubled time. This in turn indicated the presence of the Swiss Army pavilion . The plastic readiness for military service designed by Hans Brandenberger hit the zeitgeist. The exhibition was clouded by the outbreak of the Second World War . On September 1, 1939, the first general mobilization was proclaimed and some were already thinking of the early end of the Landi . The exhibition was intended to promote the cohesion of the Confederates and the «spiritual national defense ». However, their image was now shaped by the uniforms of the Swiss soldiers ("Tenue Green").

The presentation of modern Swiss architecture and technology, for example with a pavilion for the aluminum industry, the first television screenings by ETH professor Franz Tank and design elements such as the “ Landi ”, contrasted with the more backward-looking exhibition parts such as the Dörfli -Stuhl »by the designer Hans Coray , which was very popular and was honored in 2004 with a stamp from the Swiss Post . The sober, light-looking architectural style of many pavilions went down in Swiss architectural history under the name “ Landistil ”.

The women's organizations organized a “Swiss women pavilion” in which they presented the benefits of women for the national economy and the spiritual defense of the country and drew attention to the political unequal treatment of women.

1964 in Lausanne (EXPO)

Swiss municipal coat of arms at Expo64

The EXPO in Lausanne opened its doors from April 30th to October 25th, 1964 . This national exhibition also intended to present a modern Switzerland and also used futuristic-looking means of transport in the form of a monorail and tele-canopy over the stream of visitors. With 10 million tickets sold, it was a great success.

The presentation of the Swiss Army in the Igel Pavilion was shaped by the experiences and security thinking of total national defense during the Cold War . One of the highlights was the trip in the Mesoscaphe submarine by Auguste Piccard into the depths of Lake Geneva.

As part of the project Switzerland in the mirror , five short films from everyday Swiss life were shown. At the end of the overall view of the Swiss Path , the flags of all 3,000 Swiss municipalities fluttered.

Failed exhibition 1991 in Central Switzerland (CH91)

It was planned to hold the next national exhibition in Central Switzerland in 1991 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation . Since this project failed in 1985 because of the electorate in the canton of Lucerne , a decentralized concept was drawn up for the other cantons in central Switzerland, but it did not arouse enthusiasm. The “bundle of events” did not materialize when, on the last Sunday in April in 1987, the cantons of Obwalden , Nidwalden , Schwyz , Zug and Uri also refused the required loans. Instead, the national research exhibition “ Heureka ” was held in Zurich .

2002 in Biel / Bienne, Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains and Murten (Expo.02)

The previous state exhibition was originally planned for 2001 (Expo.01) , but had to be postponed for a year at the last moment due to considerable planning difficulties and budget overruns. The Expo 02 , organized by five cantons, found at four locations on three lakes in a region with two languages instead. From May 15 to October 20, 2002 over 10 million visitors were recorded. A total of 40 different exhibitions, over 13,000 cultural performances on stages and squares and numerous art and other projects attracted the public to the four Arteplages (exhibition rooms) and the floating Arteplage Mobile du Jura .

Projects after Expo.02

Failed exhibitions Gottardo 2020

On the occasion of the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel , the Gottardo 2020 exhibition should take place in the cantons of Uri , Ticino , Graubünden and Valais from 2018 . In the cities of Lucerne, Bellinzona, Chur and Brig, topics such as environmental protection, energy, culture or mobility should have been presented, while in summer 2018 the actual exhibition with the official events would have taken place at the tunnel portals in Erstfeld and Biasca . The idea of ​​the “Alpen-Expo” was discarded, among other things, due to financing problems and severe time pressure.

Failed exhibition in Eastern Switzerland in 2027

In 2014 and 2015, plans were in progress for the next state exhibition in 2027 in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , St. Gallen and Thurgau . A concept competition was pre-selected in autumn 2014. The winning concept was called Expedition27: Three Landscapes. Two worlds. An adventure. In the cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen, the electorate rejected an in-depth discussion of the costs of implementation.

Possible next exhibitions

There are four projects for the next national exhibition in Switzerland.

Muntagna The AlpenExpo 2027+

The Muntagna Die AlpenExpo 2027+ association has set itself the goal of realizing an Expo in the Alps for the Alps from 2027. The project plans to realize the first state exhibition in the Alps and to develop the Alpine arches sustainably for the future. The project envisages a multi-year national exhibition that will take place for the first time in Romansh, Italian-speaking and central Switzerland. New work and life models are in demand, as well as leisure activities and a sustainable economy and mobility.

Project X-27 in Dübendorf

The private initiative X-27, organized as an association, wants to promote and coordinate civil society or public future projects, culminating in a meeting in 2027 on the grounds of the as yet not fully exploited innovation park at the Dübendorf military airfield . A key feature of the idea is that the independent projects start before the “rendezvous” in Dübendorf and continue beyond that.

Cities NEXPO

In 2017, ten Swiss cities agreed on a project for an Expo, which would take place in these ten cities in 2030 at the earliest.

Svizra 2027 in north-western Switzerland

The initiators of «Svizra 27» want to hold an expo in northwestern Switzerland in 2027 with topics from the world of work, but also volunteer work and social media.

See also

literature

  • Georg Kreis : State exhibitions. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Pierre Cordey: The book of the Lausanne Expo. Lausanne 1964.
  • Thomas Fässler: Father Albert Kuhn and the National Exhibition in Zurich in 1883 . In: Andreas Meyerhans; Peter Niederhäuser (Ed.): Abbots, officials, archivists . Zurich 2008 (= Communications of the Antiquarian Society in Zurich, Volume 76) pp. 141–148, ISBN 978-3-0340-0940-9 .
  • Rudolf Rast: Architecture.Expo.02 . Basel et al. 2003, ISBN 3-7643-6853-5 .
  • Udo Weilacher: Swiss National Exhibition, Landi 1939 . In: Udo Weilacher: Visionary Gardens. The modern landscapes by Ernst Cramer. Basel u. a. 2001, ISBN 3-7643-6568-4 .
  • Christian Koller : The national body exhibited: Sport at the Swiss national exhibition in 1939 , in: Georg Kreis (Hrsg.): Remembering and processing: To Switzerland in the years 1933–1945 (= Itinera, No. 25). Basel: Schwabe-Verlag 2004. pp. 89–117.
  • Béatrice Ziegler: “The braked catamaran”. National self-presentation at the Swiss national exhibitions of the 20th century . In: Swiss Journal for History SZG 51, 2001, pp. 166–180. ( Full text )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Photo Library: First Swiss National Exhibition in 1883 Zurich
  2. ↑ Marc Tribelhorn: The «Negro Village» of the State Exhibition 1896 - Begaffte «Exoten». In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , September 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Concept competition Swiss National Exhibition Expo2027 Jury report 1st stage ( Memento from February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) from December 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ Concept competition: Expo 2027. In: www.expo2027.ch. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016 ; Retrieved June 7, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Jörg Krummenacher: Referendums on Expo 2027: Eastern Switzerland buried the state exhibition. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved June 7, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Michael Surber: State Exhibition: Four projects vie for popular favor. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Muntagna | The AlpenExpo 2027+. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Motto “Meeting Point Future”: The state exhibition X-27 wants to bend arcs , AZ Limmattaler Zeitung, May 16, 2018
  9. ↑ X-27 Meeting Point Future ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.x-27.ch
  10. ↑ NEXPO - the new Expo: Ten cities for a state exhibition , media release from March 15, 2018
  11. ↑ Expo initiators must win the people , Aargauer Zeitung, December 21, 2017

Web links

Commons : Swiss National Exhibition  - collection of images, videos and audio files