Swiss Review 1/2019

Swiss Review / January 2019 / No.1 5 Mailbag Vacant churches: Rent, sell, demolish? I’m an American; both my parents were Swiss, my father was an architect. I hope the decision of which churches to save and which to demol- ish is mademostly on aesthetics; if they’re of ar- tistic interest because of their design, they should be saved and renovated for other pur- poses. Beyond that, I don’t mind saying I find it delightful that there are decreasing numbers of religious people in Switzerland, and I wish that were the case everywhere, especially here in the US. CHRISTOPHER EGLI, DEVON, PENNSYLVANIA, USA There’s an acute housing shortage in Geneva. Why not turn them into emergency or community accommodation for the destitute and homeless? JOELLE OSMAN, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND Please do not demolish any churches, even though fewer peo- ple go to church these days. We must consider that we might be heading for harder times – and suddenly the churchesmight becomemore popular again. I visited Switzerland several times andwas always fascinated by the beautiful churches, especially in themany villages, but also in larger towns. It would be a pity if they would disappear. NIKLAUS DURRER, PERTH, AUSTRALIA To save them from closing down, quite a few churches have made efforts to widen their appeal. One example is the Swiss Church in Londonwhich dates from the 18th century. Follow- ing a dwindling congregation and rising costs, it was decided to expand its use, for example, allowing access for the hold- ing of cultural events such as music recitals, talks and exhi- bitions, whilst still remaining a Protestant place of worship where Sunday services, christenings and marriage ceremo- nies take place. After a major refurbishment project in 2011, the church is now a vibrant multifunctional centre, welcom- ing people of different religions and backgrounds including the homeless that live in the neighbourhood. SUSANNE SINGH, AMERSHAM, ENGLAND The printed book lives on Thank you for the information about printed books in Switzer- land. Here inAustralia it is similar.While large companies have pushed the little book stores out of business in the past, we see innovative action by the new younger generation. The local li- braries offer special readings, invite authors and have special events for adults or children. Often the schools do things to- getherwith libraries. Book enthusiasts open book storeswhere I can sit down, read books, have a coffee and enjoy the company of fellow book readers. I tried the electronic book. I lost inter- est soon. Also, I think the electronic books are overpriced. I prefer the feel of the printed book. I can easily go back to reread a passage, I can pass the book on in the family or give it to charity. My dad in Switzerland was a great book collector and the books found their way to Australia. This col- lection is part of my youth and an electronic book collection could never have the same meaning to me. GEORGE FARMER, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA Switzerland-EU: What exactly are they talking about? Thank you for the excellent article. It is indeed important to know that the idea of the framework agreement comes from Switzerland. The framework agreement would solve many problemswithout reducing the sovereignty of the people, since it is always possible to call a referendum. Furthermore, I don’t see a problemwith an arbitration tribunal based on equal rep- resentation. On the contrary, it would create legal certainty. It is also clear and understandable that the EU will not tolerate Switzerland’s ‘cherry picking’ forever. Let us hope for the sake of everyone concerned that a sensible solution will be found, since it is ultimately a question of Switzerland’s economic pros- perity and its status as a business location. RETO DERUNGS, HIGUEY, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Swiss Quality Language Summer Camps for 8-17 year olds Learn English, French, German or Italian in multilingual Switzerland With top destinations also in Germany, France & England We provide excellence in language teaching with an enriching extracurricular programme of exciting activities to provide students an experience of a lifetime! Call us on +41 (0) 21 621 88 88 www.alpadia.com