The hilly landscape in this beautiful area in Switzerland is unique far and wide. As if created artificially, the uniform hills conjure up a unique scenario depending on the mood. Whether as bright green waves in the evening sun, mystical islands under the Milky Way, or dreamy snowy landscapes in the moonlight, it is no coincidence that this area is listed twice in the Swiss Federal Inventory – as a landscape and natural monument of national importance and as a moor landscape of special beauty. Of course, science has known for a long time that these unique elevations, also called “drumlins”, were formed by debris deposits of the ice-age glaciers.
Unusual landscape features such as these drumlins caused the devout and superstitious population in ancient times to make all kinds of interpretations, resulting in a rich treasure of sagas and legends. Today, this is considered a valuable cultural asset of the region. A legend about the origin of the drumlins dates back to a time when geological research had hardly matured. It tells of the first inhabitants of this landscape. At that time, the population grew so much that the existing arable land was no longer sufficient, and the people asked God for more land. But God told them to remain modest and be content with what they had. The people did not follow this advice and turned to the devil. The devil granted their wish on the condition that they commit to him. He and his assistants then began heaving the ground upwards, forming the even hills. Initially, the people were joyful, but soon they discovered that cultivating the steep area was very difficult. In revenge, they placed a crucifix and/or a linden tree on each hill. Linden trees are considered to be detested by the devil due to their ancient sacredness and symbolism of power and love.
I first visited this place a couple of years ago during the summer and immediately fell in love. During my first visit, I had a long conversation with the farmer who owns these fields, after playing with his cute, friendly dog.
The hills are all on private property, so I always asked the landlord if it was alright to walk on his land to take pictures. He is a humble and nice guy, and of course, very proud to own such an amazing place. Back then, almost nobody knew of this place.
He told me to come back during the winter because it looks even better with snow. The next winter, I returned and took my first snow pictures.
I posted them on Facebook and Instagram, and everything changed. My picture went viral after a repost from an Instagram page with several million followers.
From one day to the next, the whole world wanted to photograph this place. The more pictures appeared on social media, the more people wanted to visit. The farmer was still very proud of his land and didn’t mind the nearly 30 people a day visiting. He even put up a sign with information at the spot where most people would shoot and mentioned me in it.
He eventually made a marker-point on Google Maps to ensure all photographers came to the right place because many crossed through the surrounding fields and often destroyed the property of his neighbors. I used to visit him at least five times a year, and we always had good talks and much fun.
But, as always, all good things must come to an end. The more people knew about it, the more people with a poor mindset visited. After too many problems with visitors, especially those who didn’t respect the property of his neighbors, the landlord received too many complaints from nearby farmers. So, he decided to close this place to the public.
For two years, from August 2021, it was not possible to take pictures of this amazing place due to conflicts with neighbors. However, as of the end of 2023, the place is accessible again, but only with official permission to prevent too many photographers from visiting at once.
This collection of 6 pictures is an homage to all the amazing moments I had in the hills over the past years. It contains my 6 favorite works from dozens of visits. I hope you like it as much as I do, and I hope you can feel the magic of the Swiss Hills.
