Part 1/4 Where the Swiss can only get home abroad
A sleepy little river in a lush green valley forms the border between Switzerland and France: blue News takes you on a trip between the two worlds where the clocks tick a little differently.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- blue News goes to the border, part 1/4: Our route runs along Laufenstrasse and the Lützel, aka Lucelle, which forms the border between France and Switzerland.
- Our 23-kilometer route leads from Kleinlützel SO via France and the municipality of Roggenburg BL to Ederswiler JU and the Löwenburg - and back via France to the Etang de Lucelle.
- We visit a Swiss organic farmer who can only reach his farm by driving via France: What's it like with customs?
Even before we reach Kleinlützel SO, it becomes clear that something is different here: a sign warns military personnel not to drive on in uniform. Because that would be tantamount to an invasion.
From here, the Swiss Postbus takes Laufenstrasse along the Lützel river to the west, and also serves French stops after the border - with Swiss signs.
Their names tell you what was once in this river valley. They are called Chlösterli, Neuhaus, Les Forges (the forge), Sägemühle or Neumühle.
The Lützel, alias Lucelle, forms the border between Switzerland and France here. When the little river crosses the road, signs indicate that you are now driving through France again - and a few hundred meters further on, Swiss territory begins again.
Leisurely life without cell phone reception
Nature bathes this border valley on the Lützel in lush green. Cows graze on the scattered pastures. We meet an organic farmer who can only reach his farm by driving across France. Markus Hebeisen regularly invites schoolchildren to his farm: "They mainly come from Basel-Land or Basel-Stadt. The project is called School on the Farm."
The aim is to introduce city children to nature. "It's mostly primary school children, and the border is a recurring theme there too. We've already had pupils standing on my bridge and singing French songs. It's something special for them."
It's a leisurely pace in this valley - not least because there is no network reception in places. Maybe that's why you can't pay by card or even Twint at the Moulin Neuf hotel and inn , aka Neumühle. Only cash is king, is the motto here.
Rumpelstiltskin charm and monastic Burgurine
Instead, there are delicious home-made dishes with organic vegetables - and a cheerful hostess who, at least to us, didn't want to reveal how to spin gold from straw. The opening hours are also rustic: Tuesdays, Wednesdays - and closed between November and February.
A detour away from the Lützel takes us through Roggenburg BL to the neighboring municipality of Ederswiler JU. Pascal Willemin is the president of the only German-speaking municipality in the Jura. He shows us the Löwenburg and its monastery complex.
It is important to Willemin that the children in the region grow up bilingual. "Our children have been going to the French school in Movelier-Soyhières for 30 years. Later they go to Delémont, but at the same time they have German lessons so that they don't forget their German."
This is important in order to be able to choose and continue their education in French-speaking or German-speaking Switzerland.
Editor's note: In the video, reporter Philipp Dahm incorrectly says that the Lützel originates "in Laufen". It is correct that the Lützel originates in the upper Laufental valley. The editors apologize for this error.
