Swiss Review 5/2020

Swiss Review / September 2020 / No.5 11 ple were cold as well, whereas in fact, the cold doesn’t change anything. We just go about our business as usual,” comments Jean-Daniel Oppliger, man- ager of the restaurant and new hotel, the Hôtel-de-Ville. Oppliger partici- pated in the launch of the Fête du froid (Cold festival), which first took place in 2012, in glacial winds. Warmer winters and 30-degree summers The teeth-chattering weather has been transformed into a marketing strategy. “We’ve had up to 5,000 visi- tors from Switzerland and France come to celebrate the cold,” enthuses the mayor who was in charge of the renovation and transformation of the Hôtel-de-Ville restaurant. Thismunic- ipal property now offers accommoda- tion for up to 27 tourists, as well as a large room at the back for hosting lo- cal events. La Brévine and its popula- tion of 630 are quite prosperous. “Fi- nances are stable,” says Jean-Maurice Gasser. All the same, he would like to welcome some newpeople to the area, as it is “gradually growing smaller”. At Siberia Sports, Pascal Schnei- der, who supplements his income by working as a carpenter during the summer, relies on the snow to keep his business running. He watches the winters go by in the knowledge that the years of snowfall perfect for snowshoeing and cross-country ski- ing belong to the past. “Last winter there was almost nothing. People were only able to go cross-country skiing three or four times. We could only use 30 kilometres of the 163 km track in the valley,” he remarks. Sch- neider grew up in the area and has seen the temperatures in Little Sibe- ria change completely during his life- time. “When I was younger, the tem- peratures would stay between -15 and -30 degrees for three weeks at a time. These days, we might see -25 degrees one morning and then rain two days later. In summer 2019, it was 30 de- grees for two whole weeks,” he says. La Brévine, known as the “Siberia of Swit- zerland”, remains relatively cool over the summer months. The village inhabitants are quite used to the chilly weather. Pictured here: mayor Jean- Maurice Gasser (left); farmers Kevin and Grégory Huguenin (centre); and Geneviève Kohler, who chairs the village’s society for local development (right). Photos: Danielle Liniger Higher, further, fast- er, more beautiful? In search of the somewhat different Swiss records. This edition: The coldest munici- pality in Switzerland. e tremes Swiss