Station 9

Former Hotel Union in Lucerne
Former Hotel Union in Lucerne, where the Swiss Conservative People's Party (later CVP) was founded in 1912 (Photo: Wolfgang Schatz)
Caricature 1888 in the satirical magazine "Der Nebelspalter"
Caricature 1888 in the satirical magazine 'Der Nebelspalter'

A culture war

After the Sonderbund war, a brief civil war from 3th to 29th November 1847 between the conservative Catholic cantons and the liberal cantons, the conflict between tradition and modernity continued at the cultural level.

As a result, the second half of the 19th century witnessed a divergence in the development of the society, economy, schools and education policy in Switzerland according to the religious affiliation of each canton. The policy on religion also became a bone of contention between the Catholic Church and the state. The Higher Education Insitution in Lucerne was caught up in this conflict.

You can find out more about this in the audio contribution or in the complete text "A culture war".