City Tour: Rough Heritage – On Colonial Trails through Baden

Description

Historian Hans Fässler shows how Baden was intertwined with colonialism and slavery – from railways to ethnological exhibitions to cotton. The city tour also addresses how we deal with this historical heritage today and invites joint reflection. At nine stations, St. Gallen historian Hans Fässler establishes connections between Baden and colonialism and slavery. The 90-minute tour tells stories of railways and ethnological exhibitions, the engineer of the “Crooked Bridge,” and the BCC, of slave cotton and a peace conference that brought no peace to the colonized. The question of how to deal with the legacy of colonialism, which was also formative for Switzerland, is always present. The health director of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Yves-Noël Balmer, aptly said in a speech at an exhibition about colonial entanglements of our country: “You cannot choose an inheritance – at least legally you can accept or reject it. However, a colonial inheritance hardly behaves like one under our civil code.” This can and should also be discussed on this tour. Meeting point and start: Meeting point in front of the entrance to the station building (city side, near the bus station) An event as part of the special exhibition “Help, I Inherit!” (28.8.2026–4.7.2027), Historical Museum Baden.

Highlights

• City tour with historian Hans Fässler
• Addressing colonialism and slavery
• Discussion about dealing with colonial heritage

General Information

The city tour in Baden highlights the colonial entanglements of the city and their effects to this day. At nine stations, historical connections to colonialism and slavery are addressed, while participants are invited to reflect and discuss.

Location

5400 Baden, Switzerland

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