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Bibliography & Sources

the stories behind our stories

Curiosity is at the heart of The Zurich Insider.

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Every tour, article, and itinerary begins with questions. Those questions often lead us to books and archives, museum collections and specialist publications, trusted digital resources and, just as importantly, conversations with people who know their subject deeply.

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The sources gathered here have helped us explore the many layers of Zurich and Switzerland: their histories and legends, landscapes and traditions, contradictions, personalities, and everyday life. Some provide scholarly context. Others reveal an unexpected detail, introduce a different perspective, or simply give us a reason to look again.

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Where a particular source is especially relevant to an article, it may also be credited or linked there. This page offers a broader selection of materials consulted across our writing, research, and tour development. It is a living bibliography rather than an exhaustive academic catalog, and it will continue to grow wherever curiosity takes us next.

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We are grateful to the authors, historians, researchers, institutions, museum teams, guides, and local experts whose work preserves knowledge and keeps these stories alive.

selected sources

 

Books​

 

From Our Zurich Bookshelves

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  • 111 Orte für Kinder in Zürich, die man gesehen haben muss — Simone Hausladen

  • Die Zürcher Altstadtkirchen: Eine Stadtgeschichte entlang der Sakralbauten — Yves Baer and François G. Baer

  • Geschichte der evangelisch-reformierten Kirchgemeinde zum Grossmünster Zürich: 1833–2018 — Matthias Senn

  • Nüwe Zyttungen: Der Briefwechsel des Reformators Heinrich Bullinger — edited by Luca Beeler, Gina Bucher, and Andreas Koller

  • Only in Zurich — Duncan J. D. Smith

  • Zürich — Patrick Krause

  • Zürich: Kleine Stadtgeschichte — Thomas Lau

  • Zürich: Spaziergänge durch 500 Jahre überraschende Stadtgeschichten — Barbara Hutzl-Ronge; photography by Martina Issler

  • Zürcher Liebesgeschichten: Ein Stadtführer der besonderen Art — Regula Sager

 

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Switzerland: History, Culture & Identity

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  • 111 Mystische Orte in der Schweiz, die man gesehen haben muss — Monika Mansour

  • A Concise History of Switzerland — Clive H. Church and Randolph C. Head

  • An Outline History of Switzerland — Dieter Fahrni

  • Discover Lucerne — Paul Rosenkranz and contributing authors

  • Historischer Atlas der Schweiz — François Walter and Marco Zanoli

  • How to Be Swiss — Diccon Bewes

  • L’avventura Svizzera — Hans Peter Treichler

  • L’image de la Suisse — Gianni Haver

  • Orte der Kraft in der Schweiz — Blanche Merz

  • Sagen und Legenden rund um den Zürichsee — Peter Ziegler

  • Schweizer Geschichte für Dummies — Georges Andrey

  • Slow Train to Switzerland — Diccon Bewes

  • So Sweet Zerland: The Little Book of Big Swiss Icons — Xavier Casile

  • St. Gallen City Guide with Abbey District — Nathalie Bodenmüller and contributing authors

  • Storia della Svizzera — Charles Gilliard

  • Swiss History in a Nutshell — Grégoire Nappey

  • Swiss Made: The Untold Story Behind Switzerland’s Success — R. James Breiding

  • Swiss Watching — Diccon Bewes

  • Swisstory: The Untold, Bloody, and Absolutely Real History of Switzerland — Laurie Theurer; illustrated by Michael Meister

  • Switzerland: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture — Kendall Hunter

  • The Expert Guide to Your Life in Switzerland — edited by Diccon Bewes

  • The Naked Swiss: A Nation Behind 10 Myths — Clare O’Dea

  • What Makes Switzerland Democratic? — Richard Wildblood

  • What Makes Switzerland Unique? — Richard Wildblood

  • Why Do the Swiss Have Such Great Sex? — Ashley Curtis

  • Why Switzerland? — Jonathan Steinberg

  • Zeitreisen: Ein Reiseführer durch die Schweizer Geschichte — Benedikt Meyer and contributing authors; published by Transhelvetica

 

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Official & Digital Resources

 

Our research also regularly leads us to official authorities, cultural institutions, digital collections, and specialist platforms, including:

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Museums, Collections & Conversations

 

Museums, archives, churches, exhibitions, and cultural institutions offer far more than facts. Their collections and the people who care for them help place history in context and continually introduce us to new perspectives.

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A particularly valued resource is the Swiss National Museum and Landesmuseum Zürich, including its exhibitions, collections, publications, library, and digital resources.

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Our research has also been enriched by conversations and exchanges with historians, architects, archaeologists, artists, craftspeople, religious communities, fellow guides, long-term residents, and local experts across Switzerland.

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Film & Multimedia

 

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Curiosity Has No Final Chapter

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Research is never truly finished. New publications appear, exhibitions open, archives become accessible, and familiar stories reveal another layer.

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We will continue to review and expand this page as our work evolves. If you are an author, contributor, institution, or rights holder and believe that a source or credit should be added or corrected, please [contact us]. We will be happy to review it.

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Perhaps one of these sources will spark a question, reveal an unexpected corner of Switzerland, or send you down a fascinating research rabbit hole of your own. We would consider that a rather good beginning.

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For further information about original and third-party material, please see our [Copyright & Content Use Policy]. General website information is addressed in our [Website Disclaimer].​

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