Museums that tell us who we are
Swiss abroad, stuffed penguins and...toilet museum anyone?
Welcome to Vignettes, our new weekly cabinet of curiosities. It’s part of our just-launched set of expanded offerings. Here you’ll find unexpected facts, intimate portraits of interesting people, interviews and more. Vignettes is for paid subscribers—thank you for your support! If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, what are you waiting for?
For many years, Switzerland had a museum dedicated to “Swiss people abroad.” The museum, which closed in recent years, featured the stories of the Vatican’s Swiss guard, Louis Chevrolet, inventor of the famous cars and numerous others who may not be as well-known to the wider world. The idea of a place dedicated to expat stories seems a bit surprising until you see that leaving home is a very Swiss activity—more than 800,000 Swiss citizens currently live abroad.
Photo from “Museums in Search of Lost Russia” by Lily Idov, Stranger’s Guide: Moscow
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Stranger's Guide to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.