Culture
The culture of Switzerland is influenced by its neighbours, but over the years a distinctive culture with strong regional differences has developed. Traditionally Switzerland is not considered one of the centres of European Culture, but this perception might be deceptive.A number of culturally active Swiss have chosen to move abroad, probably given the limited opportunities in their homeland. This is particularly true for architects. At the same time, the neutrality of Switzerland has attracted many creative people from all over the world. In war times the tradition of political asylum helped to attract artists, while recently low taxes seem predominant. During the rise of facism in the 1930s and 1940s a number of German, Austrian and Italian writers have sought refuge in Switzerland, such as Thomas Mann, Stefan Georgeand Ignazio Salone.Strong regionalism in Switzerland makes it difficult to speak of a homogeneous Swiss culture. The influence of German, French and Italian culture on their neighbouring parts cannot be denied. The Rhaeto-Romanic culture in the eastern mountains of Switzerland is robust.
Folk Art
Folk art is kept alive in organizations all over the country. In Switzerland it is mostly expressed in music, dance, poetry, wood carving and embroidery. There are also a great number of regional and local rites demarcating times of the year. Yodeling, despite being stereotypical for Switzerland, is not widely spread and limited to some mountain areas. The same is true for the accordian which is sometimes called Schwiizerörgeli rather than Handorgel in German, implying that it was a Swiss musical instrument.The alphorn, sometimes called the alpenhorn , is a trumpet- like musical instrument made of wood. It is thought to have the perfect form for a musical wind instrument. The use of the alphorn is limited to mountainous areas, but like yodelling or the accordion, it has become an epitome of traditional Swiss music. The melodies of folk music vary between regions. Generally those in pastoral areas are floating and wide- ranging. In the inner and southern Alps, however, the melodies are more songlike but of more limited range. Common and popular themes are about love and the homeland, but patriotic and pastoral as well as hunting themes are also commonplace. The Alpine folk culture is characterized by very expressive dances. The Schuplattler is one example of such an expressive dance. Its rapid sequence of jumping and hopping make it visually attractive. Small musical ensembles can be found in the more mountainous areas, particularly in the French speaking part of Switzerland. The most common form of woodcarving is chip carving. Such carving is normally for the decoration of everyday objects, such as milk stools, neckband for bells, wooden spoons or walking sticks. Figure carving is also common, particularly of Nativity figures. In some areas the facades of houses are richly decorated using woodcarving. This is widespread in the Bernese Oberland region where Protestant Christianity predominates. In Roman Catholic regions this is far less common. Embroidery is common on traditional clothing, particularly women's clothing. Embroidery is often limited to prominent points, such as cuffs, hats and scarves. In the past embroidery was a home industry in the northeast and the east of Switzerland. Embroidery is also used for the decoration of fabric. In recent days, embroidery is confined to tourism, as traditional clothes are no longer in use.
Media
Newspapers have a strong regional character, but some are renowned for their thorough coverage of international issues, such as the Neue Zurcher Zeitung of Zurich and Le Temps of Geneva. As elsewhere, television plays a great role in modern cultural life in Switzerland. The national public broadcaster, SRG SSR idee suisse, offers three networks, one each for the German, French and Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. In the German-speaking part, television from Germany is popular, as is television from France in the French-speaking part and television from Italy in the Italian-speaking part. American movies and television series are influential in all areas. In film , American productions constitute most of the programme, although several Swiss movies have enjoyed commercial successes in recent years. Maybe due to the multilingual culture, almost all movie theatres play movies in their original language with subtitles, and films on television are often broadcast in original and synchronized versions.
Visual Arts
In the 16th Century Protestantism had a strong influence on visual arts in Switzerland. There was almost no influence from Italian or French Renaissance. Only in modern times Swiss artists began to emerge internationally. Alberto Giacometti said to have derived much of his inspiration from the Etruscans, but became internationally known. Jean Tinguely fascinated people from all over the world with complex moving sculptures constructed entirely from scrap materials. Paul Kleeis sometimes regarded as Switzerland's most original and impressive painter. The Dada movement originated in Switzerland during the 1910s. Despite the relatively small number of internationally famous artists, there are considerable art collections in renowned museums around Switzerland. These are not only found in the cities of Zurich, Basel and Geneva but also in smaller towns such as Schaffhausen, Martigny and Winterthur. The museums in the smaller towns pride themselves for their contribution to the arts, which exceed what is commonly found in provincial areas. Graphic arts flourish in Switzerland, as does creative photography. Examples of this can be found on calendars, magazines and outdoor billboard advertisements.