Few visitors to Switzerland know that the country is still a military fortress where every male not only has to serve in the armed forces but also keeps his assault rifle, along with a soldered-up can of ammunition, in his wardrobe at home.
Somehow this is a tradition, for in the Middle Ages, Swiss soldiers were known
for their crossbows, halberds, and bravery. On many occasions, they had fought
and won battles against the Kaiser and the Habsburgs. As a
result, the Eidgenossen (confederates) eventually gained independence
from the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Swiss soldiers were coveted by European powers and were fighting on all
fronts. In many a battle, Swiss stood against Swiss, and the country
frequently suffered a high death toll. Nowadays, the only Swiss soldiers
serving outside Switzerland are those of the Swiss Guard protecting the Pope.
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| Defending the Swiss border in 1914 (© DLM) |
Extraordinary caves inside the foundations were permanently filled with TNT to
be exploded in case of an invasion from the north. If not for the Germans, it
was aimed at Warsaw Pact forces during the Cold War.
Only recently did Switzerland empty all bridge foundations of their permanent
TNT loads. Red Baron does not know how often he had passed over tons of TNT
crossing the Rhine between Switzerland and Germany in the past. Swiss experts
assured the somewhat astonished traveler that in case of a fire, TNT would not
explode but simply burn and stink. For an explosion, you need a detonator, and
they were always kept apart in good custody.
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Even the historical wooden bridge crossing the Rhine at Bad Säckingen
had explosive chambers filled with TNT (©dpa) |
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| Explosive chamber in the Bad Säckingen bridge (©Lipp/Der Sonntag) |
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Thanks for the article! It's great seeing all this information all in one place, I've gleaned much of this on several trips to Switzerland. On one occasion, I had driven to the end of the road above Elm, I had crossed the last one lane bridge where I was greeted by soldiers with rifles, they were completing their yearly service by guarding the military installation built into the mountain. Since then I have also visited a de-commissioned installation on the Gotthard Pass. We attended a lecture in a underground muster room and viewed several underground living quarters and mechanical rooms before heading on a 3 km tunnel walk (straight and uphill!) we surfaced quite a distance from where we entered! The TNT issue was also brought to our attention about destroying the big guns that were also in the installation. We stayed overnight at the hotel at the top of the pass. The next day we stopped when we saw the old Post carriage pulled by a team of horses, this was in 2011 the same year we crossed paths in Murten!
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