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CULTURE

10 unmissable events in Switzerland in July 2023

From free access to the Federal Palace to Switzerland’s biggest music festivals, and enticing water shows to city runs, here are all the events you shouldn’t miss this July in Switzerland.

Published: 21 June 2023 16:16 CEST
Freddie Mercury Montreux
Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux, Switzerland. Image by Yves from Pixabay

Zuger Seefest

The canton of Zug’s largest festival with some 20,000 visitors each year, takes place on Saturday, July 1st.

Though this year’s iconic Zuger Seefest will not feature an air show nor fireworks, visitors will instead be able to enjoy the ZugMAGIC, a magic water show on Lake Zug in addition to the usual programme featuring live music, refreshing drinks, and unique atmosphere.

Federal Palace

This year, Switzerland celebrates 175 years since it signed the first modern Swiss constitution in 1848. To commemorate this, visitors will have the unique opportunity to peek behind the curtains of the Swiss Parliament on July 1st and 2nd July for free.

Openair Frauenfeld

Summer is the season for music festivals in Switzerland and the Openair Frauenfeld 2023 promises to deliver a musical act for every hip-hop taste. The festival takes place from Thursday, July 6th, through to Saturday, July 8th, with headliners such as Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Wizkid and Stormzy.

Montreux Jazz Festival

Switzerland’s iconic jazz festival returns to Montreux from June 30th through to July 15th with acts such as Seal, Sam Smith, and Juliette Armanet. The programme of the festival’s free stages features more than 400 concerts, DJ sets, and activities.

During the festival, a box office, located at the entrance hall of the Music and Convention Center (2M2C), floor B4, will be open every day from 4 pm until the end of the concerts.

Paléo Festival

While you’re in French-speaking Switzerland, we suggest extending your festival stay for another week as Nyon’s Paléo Festival – the country’s biggest open-air festival – will be well worth your time and money. It takes place from June 30th to July 15th.

Every year, around 250,000 festival goers flock to the six-day music event to rock out to more than 300 concerts across seven stages and browse its 150 stalls and bars.

BernPride and EuroGames

Bern’s annual Pride Festival will be held on July 29th, but it is far from the only Pride highlight in Switzerland’s capital city.

If you’re in Bern hoping to wave your rainbow flags even sooner, then we have good news. The city will launch the EuroGames, the largest queer sports event in Europe, from July 26th until July 29th, and you can even take part in the 5K/10K PrideRun – if you can handle the heat, that is.

POLLEN Festival

Sion’s POLLEN Festival takes place on not one, but two summer weekends in front of the Théâtre de Valère. Visitors can head to Sion’s Old Town on July 1st and 2nd, and between July 6th to July 9th to enjoy a diverse programme combining music, performing arts, and visual arts.

Züri Fäscht

Following a three-year break, the Züri Fäscht is back to take over the city in full force. This summer, the festival, which attracts around two million visitors take over the streets along the River Limmat and around the lake basin, will take place from July 7th through to July 9th 2023. The event features the very Swiss Chilbi, a multitude of food stalls, music and fireworks.

Sommerfest Iseltwald

Iseltwald is often referred to as the pearl of Lake Brienz, and rightfully so. The fishing village is located on the left bank of the river and is one of the smallest communities in the canton of Bern.

The quaint Swiss village was recently forced to limit the number of tourists after fans of a South Korean Netflix hit show flocked to the region in droves sparking a backlash from locals.

So, if you are among the horde of visitors headed to the village for its annual Sommerfest between July 7th and July 9th, make sure to read our article on the steps you need to take in order to be permitted ‘entry’ to the village:

Swiss village forced to restrict visitor numbers after Netflix success

Swiss National Day

While August 1st marks Switzerland’s National Day, festivities to celebrate the day usually start across Swiss villages, towns, and cities on July 31st. For instance, Basel kicks off its annual Swiss National Day celebrations with a must-visit festival on the Rhine from 5pm on July 31st.

You can find similar events in other cities by browsing MySwitzerland’s events page, or simply checking in with your local municipality for any regional festivities on the day.

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CULTURE

Swiss museum to remove five paintings linked to Nazi looting

The Kunsthaus Zurich, one of Switzerland's most prestigious art museums, has announced it will remove five paintings after a review of their provenance under new guidelines for dealing with artworks looted by the Nazis.

Published: 15 June 2024 12:30 CEST
Swiss museum to remove five paintings linked to Nazi looting

A sixth painting also came in for additional scrutiny, the foundation responsible for the Emil Buhrle Collection said, though it did not believe the new guidelines applied to the work.

The foundation’s namesake was a German-born arms dealer who made his fortune during World War II, and there have long been suspicions about the Nazi-era origins of one of Europe’s most prestigious private art collections.

“The Kunsthaus Zurich has been informed by the Foundation E.G. Buhrle Collection that the Foundation is seeking solutions with the legal successors of former owners for six works in the collection,” the museum said in a Friday statement.

“The Kunsthaus welcomes this approach, but in the interests of visitors very much regrets that five of the paintings will be removed from the Kunsthaus premises” by the foundation on Thursday, it added.

The paintings in question are by Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.

In a statement of its own, the foundation explained it had “subjected its artworks to a further assessment” of their provenance based on new best practices from the US State Department for dealing with Nazi-looted art.

For the five works being removed from the museum, “the Foundation will seek just and fair solutions with the descendants or other legal successors of the former owners.”

The foundation determined that “based on established facts”, a sixth painting by Edouard Manet “does not fall under the scope of the ‘Best Practices'”, though the case still merited “particular attention”.

“Due to the overall historical circumstances relating to the sale, the Foundation is prepared to offer a financial contribution to the estate of Max Silberberg in respect to the tragic destiny of the former owner,” it said.

The Kunsthaus has previously run into trouble showing the Buhrle collection, with critics last year saying its attempt to put the works in context did not focus enough on the fate of the art’s former Jewish owners.

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