Original subtitles

(wind howling)

(upbeat music)

- Our journey begins at the border

of Switzerland and Italy on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

From there we fly north passing ancient castles

and medieval villages.

It leads us along the San Bernardino Pass

over the souring Swiss Alps.

We then cross the border into the smallest

and wealthiest country in Europe, Liechtenstein.

Visiting the capital of Vaduz before heading back

into Swiss territory.

Northwest is the large, medieval town of St. Gallen,

a fascinating mix of ancient heritage and modernity.

We follow the Rhine to the town of Schaffhausen,

a centuries old merchant stop over along the river

before finally ending our journey

at the dramatic Rhine Falls, Europe's largest waterfall.

The deep brooding waters of Lake Maggiore

have inspired many writers over the centuries.

Not least was Ernest Hemmingway

who told of two lovers escaping together by boat

in a farewell to arms.

On the east side lies Bellinzona, a strategic gateway

to the Alps.

It was a site of contention between Italy and Switzerland

for centuries.

This constant jostling of power resulted in these castles

and watchtowers that now dot the mountainsides.

Most notable is Costello di Montebello,

erected on this hill in the 13th century.

Recognizing the power afforded by controlling this passage

through the Alps, the Dukes of Milan further

fortified the castle some 200 years later.

The site holds many tales and mysteries

like the story of Gwendolyn the albino daughter

of a feudal lord who one day vanished

while playing near the castle.

Legend has it the girl's voice can still be heard

whispering from the surrounding forests.

This also, Castelgrande sitting on a low, rocky ridge

which has been inhabited since 4000 B.C.

An ancient stronghold of the city,

the castle occupies a central and forbidding presence

while the surrounding walls follow the natural contours

of the rocky terraces.

In medieval times, it was often said the Castelgrande

could never be taken, so well was it defended

and fortified.

And although it was never destroyed by armies,

a devastating landslide in 1515

finally forced it's earlier walls to come crashing down.

Along the same ridge and overlooking Bellinzona,

the Castello di Sasso Corbaro reinforces the city's image

as a settlement that has been at the heart

of many a power struggle.

It was Milan's medieval rulers

who built the formidable structure now nestled

in these mountaintop forests falling slowly into ruin.

The very history of Switzerland

has been shaped by the Alps as have been the people

who made the peaks and valleys their home.

And as we weave our way inward through the twisting hills,

we stumble across quaint villages

which once served as stopping points.

Making our way up to a neighboring ridge,

we come to the church and castle of Santa Maria

in Kalinka, approximately 1,000 meters above sea level.

The village managed to charm the English novelist,

Samuel Butler who in 1881,

mused on the seemingly impossible task

of building a church at such a great height.

Butler also witnessed the famous spring thaw

resulting in myriad beautiful waterfalls

cascading into the Alpine valleys from the peaks of above.

He wrote how quiet and full of rest

does everything appear to be.

There is no dust nor glare and hardly a sound

save that of the unfailing waterfalls.

(tranquil music)

With such a backdrop it's no wonder that these hills

and forests are steeped in age old myths.

Indeed local children are told of the Barbegazi,

small white furred heavily bearded gnome-like creatures

who pass the summer in caves until winter comes

when they emerge to plod about through the deep snow.

(tranquil music)

As technology progressed, the Swiss found ways

of taming this forbidding landscape

as shown by the San Bernardino tunnel

running over six kilometers through the hills.

Switzerland's mountainous and often impassable terrain

has added much to the rich

and varied culture of the country

resulting in distinct regional identities and languages.

Crossings, like the San Bernardino Pass

are the thoroughfares for cultural interchange.

In this case between the German and Italian speaking regions

of the country Graubunden and Ticino.

With an elevation of over 2,000 meters at it's highest,

the pass snakes over the Swiss Alps

following a path that first became important

as a mule track in the 1400's.

It was only in the 18th century that the King of Sardinia

financed the building of a road

as a way to protect and improve trade in the region.

The modern version has been built with many hairpin bends

in order to provide a smooth gradient for travelers.

Despite such safety precautions, the pass remains closed

in winter and even in good weather

some areas of the crossing remain hazardous.

(dramatic music)

Since the Romans first began seriously navigating the area,

such mountain roads have been described as a mix

of stunningly beautiful, wild and threatening,

never short of falling rocks and dangerous waters.

The majestic, yet perilous Alps are ingrained

in the national identity.

They cover half of Switzerland's land area

making it one of the most mountainous countries in Europe.

(dramatic music)

And being the resourceful people they are,

the Swiss have made much use of their unique geography

harnessing hydropower from the many swift rivers

which collectively generate

over half of the country's electricity.

Indeed, the high Alpine Sufas Lake

was created by such a hydroelectric dam.

Peaks over 3,000 meters line the surrounding valleys.

Local myths and legends going back to the myths of time

speak of dragons and demons.

In the villages below, festivals are dedicated

to celebrating the majesty of the mountains

and subduing whatever magical creatures

that might reside here.

(dramatic music)

And in the mist of this rugged, forested landscape

stands Auenstein Castle perched on a dizzying cliff edge

it's admirable construction dates back

to the mid-13th century.

Perhaps the most notorious incident in the castle's history

concerns the ill-fated Count Andreas Fonnsonanburg

who in the 1500's provoked one Count Felix

by commenting on his small stature.

This resulted in Andreas being dramatically murdered

stabbed and lanced over 20 times by Felix

and his henchmen and then thrown from the castle top

and over the cliff's edge.

Less macabre is a place that's more associated

with well being.

Castle Rhazuns stands over the Hinterrhein River

whose waters are said to have healing properties

and is used to treat ailments from bladder infections

to rheumatism.

Now unoccupied, Rhazuns is one

of the many feudal era castles that line the banks

of the Rhine and it's tributaries.

(instrumental music)

Armies once struggled over the steep terrain

to reach this castle which is now easily accessed

by a handy cable car across the river.

Heading northeast, we arrive at the tiny country

of Leichtenstein one of the smallest in the world

with a population of only 40,000.

Surrounded by the Alps and bordered by the Rhine,

it shares a close relationship with Switzerland.

(slow instrumental music)

Further down the valley, we reach Gutenberg Castle

poised over the town of Balzers.

Believed by some to be a site of pagan worship

from as early as the third century B.C.

It still has connections with the ancient tradition.

Funkensonntag, literally fire Sunday

is celebrated throughout Liechtenstein.

In the run up to Easter, village folk of Balzers

use this site to light a bonfire

upon which they place the firework laden effigy

of a witch meant to symbolize the killing of winter.

Just eight kilometers north and nestled

amongst the mountains is the capital

of this small country, Vaduz.

The country was purchased in 1699

by the Liechtenstein family

and the billionaire royal lineage still rule here today

administering affairs from this tiny capital

of just 5,000 people.

As we work our way along the Rhine,

we find small isolated villages

scattered about the landscape.

However, the entire population of the country

do come together once a year to celebrate Leichtenstein Day

in the Vaduz Castle grounds.

Whilst the river snakes onwards through the valley,

farmlands and settlements, we turn westward

to traverse the souring Appenzell Alps

and back into Switzerland.

Many of the country's borders are defined

by such dramatic geological features.

Since the Middle Ages, various powers

has attempted to control this mountainous landscape

but the country's rugged inaccessibility

made it impossible for conquerors

to impose their lasting rule

and as a result the very existence of Switzerland

as a nation is tied intrinsically to these Alps.

For 700 years, speakers of four different languages

from wildly varying cultures and traditions

have operated under a unifying, equitable system

of government and consistently been able

to withstand the political pressures of the outside world

all thanks to these vast often

treacherous ridges and valleys.

But the mountains serve as more than just Switzerland's

natural borderlands.

They're also the nation's primary source of recreation.

During the romantic movement, Europeans flocked here

to witness the singular beauty of the landscape

and the tourists are still coming today.

Inns like this one, the Asha standing at almost 1500 meters

served the thousands of intrepid hikers

that pass over and across these hills every year.

It's said in Switzerland that when one crosses

into the Appenzell district

they should set their clock back 10 years.

Thought to be the most traditional of the Swiss regions,

the people here hold fast to old-fashion values.

(upbeat folk music)

This rural mentality is considered by some

to define the Swiss character.

Predisposed to hard work, organization

with a deep appreciation of nature and community.

(upbeat folk music)

Switzerland's relative isolation from foreign entanglements

over the last century has allowed it to preserve

many of it's charming medieval villages.

(slow instrumental music)

One example which is now grown into a sizeable town

is St. Gallen the most elevated, major settlement

in the country.

A medieval textile powerhouse,

the town has retained it's ideals of quality,

production and traditional workmanship.

In the year 1612, a wondering Irish monk named Gallus

withdrew into the surrounding hills to live as a hermit.

His story reverberated throughout the Christian world

and a century later a monastery for Benedictine monks

was established here where the St. Galan Cathedral

now stands.

It's abbey holds one of the richest medieval libraries

in the world with a most comprehensive collection

of German writing from that era.

But another ecclesiastical building holds

particular significance for St. Galan.

The Church of St. Laurenzen was at the heart

of religious turmoil in the 16th century

with the town mayor and abbot leading the opposing factions

of Catholics and Protestants.

(slow dramatic music)

Today, it enjoys a more sedate existence

serving primarily as a meeting place for locals.

Moving north and across the Alpine foothills

we arrive at the massive Lake Constance.

Though it serves as a natural border

between Switzerland, Germany and Austria

the exact demarcations are unclear.

The Swiss holds the opinion that it runs

through the center of the lake

while their neighbors believe the body

to be international waters.

(dramatic music)

Located 400 meters above sea level

the lake is the third largest in central Europe.

Amongst the swaths of farmland lining it's banks,

and numerous settlements

the largest of which is the town of Konstanz

straddling a border half it's population

lives in Switzerland and the other in Germany.

For this reason, it's unique for accepting both

the Swiss Franc and the Euro.

A city of great importance during the Middle Ages

it was here that the great western schism was adjudicated.

Two men competing for the papacy in the early 1400

threatened a massive riff in the Christian world.

It was a council of Konstanz that had both men deposed

and cleared the way for a new pope to step forward.

The town and lake are better known in modern times

to be the location of the first zeppelin flight in 1900.

The airship took off from the town

and drifted for five kilometers over the lake.

The Rhine weaves from Lake Constance down into

it's subsidiary Lake Obersee.

Though this region and it's lakes achieve fame

through the first zeppelin, it's history goes back

over 10,000 years when hunter/gatherer tribes

roamed these shores.

But it was the Celtic settlements around 500 B.C.

that were the catalyst for the many small villages

that still line the shores today.

Centuries later the entire region was incorporated

into the Roman empire around 15 B.C.

At the point where Lake Obersee flows into the Rhine River

is the town of Stein am Rhein.

The city has been of strategic importance

throughout it's history

but the town was mistakenly bombed

so it was claimed by allied forces in World War II.

It was the heaviest onslaught of it's kind in Switzerland

and a number of lives were lost.

(slow instrumental music)

The damaged areas have since been well restored

with the new architecture actively preserving

it's old charm.

Although Switzerland claimed neutrality

in both World Wars, it's for this very reason

that it attracted considerable interest

as a place for diplomacy, espionage

and a safe haven for refugees.

Managing to squeeze through both wars

with relatively little damage to infrastructural loss

of human life, the country soon emerged

as one of the major banking powers in Europe.

On the outer edges of the town

stands the Hohenklingen Castle.

It was erected in the year 1200 to protect the feudal manor

from marauders and peasant uprisings.

The castle also played an important role

in the Swabian War of 1499 and served as an outpost

in World War II.

(slow instrumental music)

For many years, Hohenklingen had no buyers

and was threatened with destruction

but today it has a popular inn with spectacular views

of the river below.

As we travel further down the Rhine,

we come to Diessenhofen, a small market town

compared to other cities on the river,

it held importance in the 13th century

under Habsburg rule.

Once the region started growing

the people here fiercely protected their right

of self government within the Helvetic Republic

which eventually became modern-day Switzerland.

(slow instrumental music)

Connecting the towns of Diessenhofen and Gailingen

across the Rhine is this covered bridge.

Built in 1814, it replaced it's ancient predecessor.

In the 12th and 13th centuries this crossing

served as a major thoroughfare for goods

moving north to south and tolls received here

were the main source of income for the two towns.

Traveling along the river close to the German border

we come to Schaffhausen, the northern most city

in Switzerland.

The town drop near the Rhine Falls,

a major waterfall where we're headed.

The drop would mark the end of the river journey

for the early merchants

and this was a good place to unload their goods

so over time a settlement developed.

Although it's the nearby falls that brought prosperity

to the city, the Munot Fortress is it's undisputed symbol.

50 meters in diameter, walls four meters thick,

artillery domes hidden in the dry moat

and mounted upon the apex, the fort was quite sophisticated

when built in the 1500's

but the only action it ever saw

was during the Napoleonic invasions of 1799,

Afterwards it's stone was pilfered for use

in the fast growing city until it was officially protected

and restored.

But Schaffhausen's very existence is wholly attributable

to these majestic Rhine Falls.

(inspirational music)

While navigating down the river,

merchants and travelers alike

disembarked here out of necessity

but often stayed in the city for extended periods by choice

and this magnificent site is possibly one of the reasons.

The falls have been only slightly developed since then

including small unobtrusive water mills

and tourist lookout points.

Many proposals for hydroelectric dams

and other power plants near the falls

have been accepted in theory

but have always been actively opposed

by prominent Swiss figures as well as the general public.

Such is the desire to maintain the integrity

of this natural wonder.

(inspirational music)

However there are some who pay their respects

to this national monument in ways other

than simply standing and admiring.

In 1999 the falls was successfully navigated

for the first time in history by a kayaker,

a daring feat that now comes

with a five and half thousand dollar fine.

(inspirational music)

It's the deep tradition of respect

between man and nature which so characterizes

the Swiss landscape and identity

that makes these powerful falls the perfect place

to end this journey.

(inspirational music)

(dramatic music)

(dramatic music)