Switzerland [antikvár]

IntroductionSwitzerland as we know it today is the product of a unique geomorphological setting crossed with the vicissitudes and achievements of its variegated population. It is formed of three distinct regions - the Alps, the Jura and the Central Plateau or Mittelland. Since the late 18 th century, when the first people to explore the country as "tourists" were captivated by its picturesque beauty, their descriptions left no doubt as to the romantic impact of Switzerland and its landscapes. The stereotyped image put about by travellers of those days - whose Swiss experience hinged on unhurried, roundabout journeys in horse-drawn carriages and leisurely mountain walks - portrayed a land populated by "soaring peaks covered by eternal snows", "towers of granite and castles of ice", "flower-decked meadows" and "wild lakes, black forests, rocks, sheer cliffs and abysses".In distinct contrast was the perception shared by pioneers of the alpine regions, men whose "re-invented" mountains had little in common with the remote, inaccessible places that were the stuff of fanciful conjecture and fairy tales. In their view, mountains were an open-air laboratory in which to study the workings of nature, and a breathtaking spectacle to feast on, body and soul. Few peoples have been as successful as the Swiss in anticipating and intelligently benefiting from the thirst for knowledge and hunger for