In 1922, ten friends got together and established the Fishing Club Saanenland; 102 years later, it’s still going strong, with 75 active members plus passive members and patrons. But as GstaadLife learned, there’s more to the club than just fishing.
Five years ago Arnaud Guichard took over the reins of the Fromagerie Fleurette in Rougemont. Arnaud spoke to GstaadLife about his passion for cheese.
The new year 2024 was greeted with the traditional New Year's fireworks display at The Alpina Gstaad hotel. It was marvelled at by numerous visitors who had come to the Gstaad promenade for the occasion.
Sunday the 16 October marked the finisage of the cow exhibition at the Museum in Saanen, and so it was time for the cows to go home. The exhibition was curated by Franziska Haldi and was exceptional in its diverse collection of handmade toy cows.
It is commonly said that there are as many cows in Saanen as there are inhabitants. Currently, there are probably a few more as model cows from all over Switzerland are on display in the Museum der Landschaft in Saanen.
“Typically Swiss” – a symbol of home, originality and authenticity – a fitting theme for the fine art of paper cutting. The theme was deliberately chosen for the 10th-anniversary of the Swiss decoupage exhibition.
Mario Frautschi from Turbach is a multi-talented craftsman with a passion for his art – carving wood by hand in the traditional manner to create magnificent sculptures. He also carves intricate designs in leather and has been known to sculpt igloos in the winter too.
Simon Hefti from Turbach is a multi-talented musician who composes, conducts and teaches yodelling courses throughout the Saanenland and beyond. GstaadLife met with Simon to talk music, tradition and inspiration.
The 125 most beautiful cows were on display at the 32nd annual Bernese Elite Show on May 11th. The competition consisted of 14 categories of the three races—Simmental, Swiss Fleckvieh, and Red Holstein/Holstein.
Samichlous visited the Saanenland on 6 December, bringing all children a fine chlousäckli, a little bag of treats. Samichlous arrived with Schmutzli on a donkey, and stayed in the group of eager children who had gathered, letting them fawn over him.
The large wooden caquelon that spent the summer as a regional ambassador in the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt is now back home. On the 7 November it was inaugurated into the cheese grotto in Gstaad, the newest of the grotto's three caquelons.
Farmers in the Saanenland are busily preparing for this year’s “Cow Show Week”, set to take place the last week of October and feature a bevy of bovine fun.
Gery Ryter (Alp Mittenbach, Saanen) took 2nd place in the category of Hobelkäse at the 17th Alpkäse premiere at Olma, the popular Swiss agriculture and food fair held yearly in St. Gallen. The award is a strong confirmation for Ryter's hard work during the summer on the alp.
After the cattle show week in late October began with a very wet start, the finishing festivities at Topschau were picture perfect.