Murders, plagues, executions and grim legends across Switzerland. Browsing 80 curated facts.
In Uster, a devastating accident occurred at the Hallenbad swimming pool in 1985, where the ceiling collapsed, killing 12 people and injuring 19. The cause of the disaster was attributed to the failu…
Hallenbad Uster · Switzerland ·
On May 9, 1985, the ceiling of the indoor pool in Uster collapsed, trapping people under the debris and resulting in 12 deaths. The tragic incident was caused by a fatal decision made by the architec…
Hallenbad Uster · Switzerland ·
Felix Manz, the leader of the Anabaptist movement, was drowned in the Limmat river in 1527 as a heretic, a brutal punishment that highlights the intense religious conflicts of the time.
Limmat river · Switzerland ·
In Wasterkingen, 12 people were accused of witchcraft in 1701, and after forced confessions, 7 women and 1 man were sentenced to death and executed in the last witch trial in Zurich.
Wasterkingen · Switzerland ·
In Glarus, a maid named Anna Göldi was beheaded in 1782 for allegedly poisoning her employer's daughter, marking the last witch trial in Western Europe. The trial was a culmination of centuries of wi…
Glarus · Switzerland ·
The former chemical factory in Uetikon, Zurich, released toxic materials like arsenic, lead, and radium into the Zurich Lake for decades, contaminating the soil and water. A specialist warned about t…
Uetikon · Switzerland
The city of Bülach was almost completely destroyed by fires three times: in 1386, 1444, and 1506. The fires were so devastating that the city had to be rebuilt each time.
Bülach · Switzerland ·
On September 6, 1970, a DC-8 plane from Swissair was hijacked by terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine after taking off from Zurich Airport, with 15 people on board being…
Zurich Airport · Switzerland ·
On February 21, 1970, a Convair CV-990 plane from Swissair exploded and crashed near Würenlingen, killing all 47 people on board, with investigations suggesting a terrorist attack.
Würenlingen · Switzerland ·
The anarchist movement in St. Imier was later linked to violent acts, including the assassination of Austrian Empress Elisabeth in Geneva in 1898, carried out by an Italian anarchist.
Geneva · Switzerland ·
In Grossaffoltern, a tragic accident occurred in 2022 when a basket with four people fell from a height of 12 meters during the ringing of stork chicks, resulting in the death of Robert Schoop, a lon…
Grossaffoltern · Switzerland ·
In 1985, the ceiling of the indoor pool in Uster collapsed, killing 12 people and trapping others under the debris. Some survivors managed to escape through a hole.
Uster · Switzerland ·
The anarchist movement in St. Imier was later influenced by the actions of a Italian anarchist, who assassinated the Austrian Empress Elisabeth in Geneva in 1898, an event that shocked the world and…
Geneva · Switzerland ·
In the woods behind the Würzbrunnen church, human sacrifices to the goddess Hela were allegedly made in pre-Christian times. Archaeological findings, including ancient bricks, ritual knives, and rust…
Würzbrunnen church · Switzerland ·
Friedrich Leib, born in 1889, was forcibly admitted to the 'Heilanstalt' Grafeneck on July 24, 1940, and murdered the same day as part of the T4-Aktion, a horrific event in Switzerland's dark history.
Grafeneck · Switzerland ·
Eugen Bofinger, born in 1884, was forcibly admitted to the 'Heilanstalt' Reichenau and later murdered in 1940 at the 'Heilanstalt' Grafeneck as part of the T4-Aktion, a horrific event in Switzerland'…
Grafeneck · Switzerland ·
Ernst König, a resident of this location, was forcibly admitted to the 'Heilanstalt' Grafeneck in 1940, where he was murdered as part of the T4-Aktion, a horrific event in which thousands of people w…
Unknown · Switzerland ·
Anton Hölzle, a resident of this location, was forcibly admitted to the Grafeneck Euthanasia Centre in 1940, where he was murdered on the same day as part of the T4-Aktion, a horrific event in which…
Unknown · Switzerland ·
Maria Großelfinger, born in 1879, was forcibly admitted to Grafeneck and brutally murdered on November 20, 1940, as part of the infamous Aktion T4 program, a dark chapter in Swiss history.
Grafeneck · Switzerland ·
Josefine Renker, a resident of this location, was forcibly admitted to the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Reichenau in 1931 and later murdered in 1940 as part of the Aktion T4 program, a dark chapter in Swi…
Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Reichenau · Switzerland ·
Emma Wippler, born Schweizer, was a victim of the T4-Aktion, a forced euthanasia program, and was murdered on the same day she was admitted to the Grafeneck 'healing center' in 1940.
Grafeneck · Switzerland ·
Karl Huber, a resident of this location, was forcibly admitted to the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Reichenau in 1939 and later 'transferred' to Grafeneck, where he was murdered on November 13, 1940, as pa…
Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Reichenau · Switzerland ·
The Sophie Hauser Memorial in Switzerland honors Sophie Steingruber-Hauser, born in 1863, who was forcibly relocated to Vienna in 1940 and ultimately murdered in Treblinka in 1942.
Sophie Hauser Memorial · Switzerland ·
In Brugg, a horrific event known as 'Mordnacht' occurred, where women and children were forced to watch as their homes were burned down and their men were taken away on July 30, 1444.
Brugg · Switzerland ·
In the last days of World War II, five teenage forced laborers from Eastern Europe were executed by Hitler Youth members, who were part of the Werwolf guerrilla group, on the orders of an SS officer…
Werwolfmorde Memorial · Switzerland ·
Arthur Bloch, a Swiss citizen, was brutally murdered by Swiss anti-Semites in 1942, leaving a dark stain on the country's history. This tragic event is commemorated by a Stolperstein in Payerne. The…
Payerne · Switzerland ·
Luise Fischer, a resident of Hindenburgstr. 11, was forcibly admitted to the Reichenau sanatorium in 1916 and later 'transferred' to Grafeneck, where she was murdered on November 28, 1940, as part of…
Hindenburgstr. 11 · Switzerland ·
Nikolaus Honsell, a resident of Scheffelstr. 3, was forcibly admitted to the Heilanstalt Reichenau in 1923 and later 'transferred' to Zwiefalten and then Grafeneck, where he was murdered on June 12,…
Scheffelstr. 3 · Switzerland ·
Hermance Bloch, a resident of this location, was arrested on February 25, 1944, and deported to Auschwitz, where she was assassinated just 17 days later.
Hermance Bloch Memorial · Switzerland ·
In 2022, two dogs died after swimming in Greifensee, likely due to the toxic algal bloom caused by the bacterium Microcystis. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of water pollution in the lake.
Greifensee · Switzerland ·
The people of Pfäffikon suffered greatly during the Helvetik period, with French and Austrian troops causing widespread destruction, plunder, and even murder, resulting in damages of over 24,000 Guld…
Pfäffikon · Switzerland ·
A labor camp for over a thousand Jewish refugees was operated in Bonstetten from 1943 to 1945, where they were forced to work on land reclamation and clearing projects.
Bonstetten · Switzerland ·
On February 22, 1945, a US air raid intended for the train station and Nagoldtalbahn line mistakenly dropped 40 bombs on the city center of Wildberg, killing 53 people and destroying much of the town…
Wildberg · Switzerland ·
On August 29, 1872, a steamship called Concordia collided with another ship, St. Gotthard, while carrying 450-500 school children from Meilen. Miraculously, all the children were rescued, but the cre…
Meilen · Switzerland ·
A massive fire destroyed half of the town of Elgg in 1876, leaving 42 homes and 47 outbuildings in ashes, a devastating event that led to the town's rebuilding.
Elgg · Switzerland ·
The Münchensteinerbrücke, built by Gustave Eiffel, collapsed in 1891 under a train from Basel, killing 73 people and injuring 171, making it the worst railway disaster in Swiss history.
Münchenstein · Switzerland ·
A brandkatastrophe during the construction of the Hauenstein-Scheiteltunnel in 1858 killed 63 workers, making it one of the deadliest tunnel construction accidents in European history.
Hauenstein-Scheiteltunnel · Switzerland ·
On February 22, 1945, an erroneous American bombing raid killed nine people, including five children, and destroyed several houses in Stein am Rhein.
Stein am Rhein · Switzerland ·
Thayngen was mistakenly bombed by 11 American B-26 bombers on December 25, 1944, due to a navigation error, targeting the town instead of Singen, located about 10 km away.
Thayngen · Switzerland ·
At the Execution site in Glarus, Switzerland, a slaughterhouse now stands where Anna Göldi was executed in 1782, a grim reminder of Glarus' dark history.
Execution site · Switzerland ·
A tragic plane crash in 1963 killed 43 people from the village of Humlikon, including the entire village council. Jakob Peter, a social democratic city councilor, later helped the affected families a…
Jakob-Peter-Weg · Zurich ·
Waserstrasse is named after Johann Heinrich Waser, a pastor and statistician who was executed in 1780 for criticizing the administration of the Zürcher Kriegsfonds and possessing stolen state documen…
Waserstrasse · Zurich ·
A failure of the Sihlsee dam could lead to an 8-metre high flood wave reaching the city of Zurich within 2 hours, which has led the city to develop evacuation plans for the affected areas.
Sihlsee · Zurich
A Siberian tiger mauled a zookeeper to death in front of visitors at the Zurich Zoo in 2020, making international headlines.
Zurich Zoo · Zurich ·
The Kunsthaus Zürich has been embroiled in a heated debate over the display of artworks from the collection of Emil G. Bührle, a Swiss arms manufacturer, due to concerns over the provenance of the pi…
Kunsthaus Zürich · Zurich ·
In 2025, the University of Zurich conducted a controversial experiment on Reddit's 'Change my View' subreddit, using Large Language Models to change people's views, sparking widespread criticism.
University of Zurich · Zurich ·
Roman Polanski was arrested upon entering Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival in 2009 and was placed under house arrest for nine months. He returned to the festival in 2011 to collect his…
Zurich Film Festival · Zurich ·
The Zurich Film Festival made headlines in 2009 when Roman Polanski, a renowned filmmaker, was arrested on his way to receive the 'A Tribute to ... Award' due to an outstanding international arrest w…
Zurich Film Festival · Zurich ·
Neuberg on Hirschengraben in Zurich is tied to Alfred Escher's family, who owned a coffee plantation in Cuba that employed slaves between 1815 and 1845.
Neuberg on Hirschengraben · Zurich ·
Credit Suisse, a major bank in Zurich, was involved in financing 12,000 former Nazis in Argentina after World War II, using funds estimated to be around 35 billion euros, which were stolen from Jewis…
Credit Suisse Headquarters · Zurich ·
Swiss Re was a lead insurer of the World Trade Center at the time of the September 11 attacks, which led to a high-profile insurance dispute.
Mythenquai · Zurich ·
The Friedmatt psychiatric hospital in Zurich is where Emilie Kempin-Spyri, a pioneering figure in women's rights, tragically died alone and impoverished in 1901.
Friedmatt psychiatric hospital · Zurich ·
A 13-year-old boy took his own life at his home on Engelstrasse in 1905, after being punished by his teacher and fearing further punishment from his parents, who were known to be abusive.
Engelstrasse · Zurich ·
On March 4, 1945, a bombing raid by American planes targeted the area around the Landwirtschaftliche Schule in Strickhof, killing 5 people and injuring 15. The Frohburgstrasse was heavily damaged, wi…
Frohburgstrasse · Zurich ·
A lightning strike in 1652 destroyed the Geissturm, a 115-foot-tall tower, and sent massive stones flying over the city, even landing on the other side of the lake in Wollishofen. One of these stones…
Geissturm · Zurich ·
During the War of the Second Coalition in 1799, a double house in Riesbach was set on fire by howitzer grenades and burned down, and a man was shot under the door of his house. In another incident, a…
Riesbach · Zurich ·
In 1349 and 1401, two pogroms occurred in Schaffhausen, targeting the Jewish population, resulting in significant violence and bloodshed.
Schaffhausen · Schaffhausen ·
The city of Schaffhausen was bombed by the United States Army Air Forces in 1944, despite being a neutral country during World War II. The bombing was an accident, as the planes had strayed from thei…
Schaffhausen · Schaffhausen ·
The Schaffhausen train station was bombed by American planes on April 1, 1944, killing 18 people and injuring many more. A direct hit destroyed the station and ticket office. The damaged south wing w…
Schaffhausen train station · Schaffhausen ·
On April 1, 1944, a formation of 50 B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces mistakenly bombed Schaffhausen, killing 40 people and injuring about 270, due to navigational errors and bad w…
Schaffhausen · Schaffhausen ·
The city of Schaffhausen was mistakenly bombed by the US Air Force on April 1, 1944, resulting in significant damage and loss of life. This event led to the creation of the 'David' statues, one cloth…
Schaffhausen · Schaffhausen ·
The Schaffhausen massacre occurred on July 4, 1401, at this very location, resulting in significant bloodshed and a dark stain on the city's history.
Schaffhausen · Schaffhausen ·
The Spreuerbrücke features a unique and extensive 'Totentanz' (Dance of Death) painted on 45 wooden panels, showcasing the inevitability of death across all levels of society. This striking artwork,…
Spreuerbrücke · Lucerne ·
The Lion Monument in Lucerne commemorates the brutal slaughter of over 760 Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries Palace in Paris during the French Revolution. The monument features a dying li…
Lion Monument · Lucerne ·
The Lion de Lucerne, a sculpture designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen, commemorates the massacre of the Swiss Guards during the French Revolution. The sculpture depicts a dying lion, mortally wounded by a…
Lion de Lucerne · Lucerne ·
The Lion de Lucerne has been a rallying point for extremist movements in the past. In the 1940s, it was a gathering spot for right-wing groups, and between 1989 and 1992, it was used by opponents of…
Lion de Lucerne · Lucerne ·
On September 27, 2001, a gunman named Friedrich Leibacher opened fire in the Canton Parliament building, killing 14 people in what is known as the Zug shooting.
Canton Parliament building · Zug ·
In 1435, a quarter of the city of Zug sank into the Zugersee, resulting in a massive loss of life and property. This catastrophic event was likely caused by a combination of natural and human factors…
Zugersee · Zug ·
A catastrophic landslide occurred on July 5, 1887, in Zug, causing a portion of the shoreline and several houses to collapse into the lake, resulting in approximately 15 deaths and earning the area t…
Katastrophenbucht · Zug ·
The Attentat Zug 2001 was a shocking event that took place in Zug. On September 27, 2001, a gunman opened fire in the Zug cantonal parliament, killing 14 people and injuring 18 others.
Attentat Zug 2001 · Zug ·
The last execution of a witch by beheading in Central Europe took place in Glarus in 1782. This dark event marked the end of an era of witch hunts and trials in the region.
Glarus · Glarus ·
On the night of April 9, 1388, the Austrian army, while plundering villages and farms, was taken by surprise by the Glarners, who emerged from the snow and fog, leading to a brief but decisive battle…
Näfels · Glarus ·
The residents of Weesen secretly opened the city gates to the Habsburg troops, leading to the 'Mordnacht von Weesen' where many Eidgenossen, mostly Glarner, were killed in their sleep. This event ult…
Weesen · Glarus ·
In the chaos of the Battle of Näfels, many Austrian knights drowned in the Linth river while fleeing, as a bridge collapsed under their weight. This dramatic event marked the end of Austrian dominanc…
Linth river · Glarus ·
In the 10th century, the St. Gallen monastery was a major cultural center, but it was also a target for raids. In 926, the Ungarn overran the city, burning down houses and killing the recluse Wiborad…
St. Mangen Church · St. Gallen ·
Sainte Wiborada, a female saint, was brutally killed during the Magyar invasion of the Abbey of Saint Gall around 925, and later became the first woman to be canonized by Pope Clement II in 1047.
Abbey of Saint Gall · St. Gallen ·
The Säntis mountain was the site of a gruesome double murder in 1922, where the weather station keeper Heinrich Haas and his wife Maria Magdalena were killed. The murder was only discovered due to mi…
Säntis · St. Gallen ·
Davos was a centre of Nazi activity in Switzerland during World War II, with many German-led sanatoria and schools flying Nazi flags and using Nazi salutes. The town had the highest proportion of NSD…
Davos · Davos ·
The Kirchner Museum has been involved in a provenance research project to investigate the origins of around 80 artworks in its collection, including works by Kirchner, Jawlensky, and Kandinsky, due t…
Kirchner Museum · Davos ·
The Benedictine monk Meinrad was brutally murdered by vagrants on January 21, 861, at his hermitage on the Etzel mountain. According to legend, two ravens pursued the murderers and led them to justic…
Einsiedeln monastery · Schwyz ·
Hidden stories of Switzerland beneath your feet
Facts are sourced from various open websites and may have been edited. Copyright of original content belongs to their respective owners.
Finding your location…