Mansions and private mansions to visit German-Speaking Switzerland

Ital Reding started building the manor house in 1609. In front of the house is a baroque garden, surrounded by two pavilions. But it is inside that the jewels of the residence are to be found: the large garden room on the ground floor, the vaulted cellar and, on the first floor, in accordance with tradition, the rooms decorated with rich wood panelling and ceilings. On a stone base, there is a room decorated with murals, built in the 16th century.

Above St. Moritz, you can discover the original alpine hut from the film Heidi. For your information, the adventures of the little alpine girl were set by the author, the Zurich writer Johanna Spyri, on the slopes of the Falknis, near Maienfeld, on the Austrian border. The film was made in 1952 and made the courageous and endearing little Swiss mountain girl famous all over the world.

The Gstaad-Saanenland holiday region is characterized by its typical architecture and the chalet village of Saanen. In 1575, the village was almost completely destroyed by fire. Some of the houses, however, pre-date this reconstruction. The Trachselhaus is the most famous of the village's many wooden houses, typical of the region with their square shapes and wide, canopied roofs. Some date back to the ^16th century. An audioguide is available to take you on a tour of the village.

The Fronwagplatzin Schaffhausen is a must-see. The former market square is very large and houses the Herrenstube, the house of the Schaffhausen noblemen's society, which was rebuilt in the late Baroque style in the 18th century. At No. 3, you will find a beautiful Baroque portal. There is also the Fronwagturm from the same period with its astronomical clock, as well as two colourful fountains, one of which is the Mohrenbrunnen from the 16th century. All around, numerous shops welcome tourists.

Nicknamed the "House of the Knight", this building is remarkable for the paintings on its facade, created in the late ^16th century by local artist Tobias Stimmer. Built in 1492, this bourgeois house owes its name to the knight Hans von Waldkirch, who had it rebuilt a century later. The paintings, some of which are scenes from Homer's Odyssey, are considered to be the most important Renaissance-style frescoes north of the Alps. Discovered in 1935, they have been replaced and preserved in the Tous-les-Saints museum.

A little outside the historic heart, on Alpine Vorstadt, it is a rather pleasant th century construction of late Gothic style.