Reviews

LÖRRACH. On the map, the situation seems quite clear: from Stein, where the Rhine leaves Lake Constance, to Basel, where its pronounced bend turns the water northwards, the river runs broadly from east to west. This geographically well-defined section is called the High Rhine. In people's everyday experience today, however, it is scarcely perceived as a single entity. An illustrated volume by Johann Schmieder of Lörrach now aims to bring the High Rhine region back into public awareness as one coherent area to explore.

On the German side, the territory along the river is divided among the districts of Lörrach, Waldshut and Constance. In Switzerland, the High Rhine passes even more administrative units: the cantons and half-cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Aargau, Zurich, Schaffhausen and Thurgau. The situation is complicated further because the Rhine does not form the border everywhere. At several points in the eastern part of the High Rhine, Swiss territory extends north of the river; the canton of Schaffhausen even divides the German High Rhine region into two parts.

What now appears very heterogeneous was historically more of a single entity. The area was shaped by Further Austria, which is easy to explain given its proximity to the Habsburg ancestral seat just to the south. Only the reorganisation of Europe under Napoleon and at the Congress of Vienna produced the present situation. This is especially clear in the town of Laufenburg. After 500 years of shared history, it was divided into a German, or Baden, part and a larger urban area assigned to the canton of Aargau and therefore to Switzerland.

Kaiserstuhl was hit particularly hard

Further east, Europe's reorganisation hit the town of Kaiserstuhl particularly hard. With the dissolution of the Further Austrian Bishopric of Constance, Kaiserstuhl lost its entire territory on the right bank of the Rhine at the beginning of the 19th century—five sixths of its municipal area. This is why the attractive old town remains Switzerland's smallest municipality to this day.

Another historical feature shared by the High Rhine was its importance as a transport route. Salt in particular was carried west within the Habsburg sphere of influence, from the Salzkammergut across Lake Constance and along the Rhine. Places such as Schaffhausen and Laufenburg, located at what are or were rapids, served as points where goods were unloaded and then loaded again some distance downstream. This made them centres of trade.

Making the cultural region appealing through images

Johann Schmieder is not, however, a historian seeking to recount the story of a region drifting apart. He approaches the subject primarily as a photographer, travelling through the region with an observant and appreciative eye. The “165 Regio discoveries between Basel and the Schaffhausen region”, as the subtitle of the simply named book “Hochrhein” puts it, are intended above all to make the old landscape and cultural region appealing through sumptuous visuals. Johann Schmieder's magnificent photographs show distinctive landscapes as well as historic sites, castles, palaces, monasteries and town houses. Nor does Schmieder omit the technology that has shaped the present appearance of the High Rhine valley. A trained engineer, he understandably finds a remarkable degree of beauty in its power stations. And wineries appear time and again, of course, because they capture the character of the landscape in the glass.

Little-known corners also come into view

As he had already done in his book about Lörrach and Riehen, and especially in his volume on Markgräflerland, Schmieder combines the visual richness of an illustrated volume with useful information. The principle is simple: the photographs are intended to whet the appetite for first-hand experience, which the information in the short texts then makes very easy.

Schmieder first made these Regio discoveries himself. In doing so, he not only uncovered familiar cultural and natural treasures and, from a German perspective, brought some largely unknown corners of Switzerland into view. He also recalls several forgotten and suppressed stories. The eastern High Rhine region, for example, had sizeable Jewish communities. Gailingen is well known on the German side, while Lengnau was once one of the very few Jewish communities in all of Switzerland. Yet who would have known this: the Guggenheim family, which later emigrated to America, became wealthy through commodities trading and gave its name to the Guggenheim Museum, came from the High Rhine. Traces of the family can be found in Tiengen's Jewish cemetery.

Author: Willi Adam

Yes, that's right: Johann Schmieder's journey heads upstream. From the bend in the Rhine at Basel to Stein am Rhein, this stretch of the river is called the “High Rhine”. The former engineer explains why he chose this particular river for one of the books in his “Regio-Entdeckungen” series: “Although I have lived in the region for around 35 years—originally Viennese, now a resident of Lörrach—I never had the time or opportunity during my working life to explore the surrounding area. I have now chosen to do so in retirement.”

He finds the High Rhine particularly fascinating because “both its landscape and history make it a fascinating cultural region, yet there are very few current and coherent accounts of it”. To fill this gap, he travelled through six Swiss cantons and three German districts.

The work “Hochrhein” relies heavily on its photographs. With very few exceptions, Johann Schmieder took them all himself. The brief descriptions of the 165 places and stops are no less important: “I explored the area for several months, visited the places and had many conversations, with town archivists for example,” says the author. “Hochrhein” consequently reads like a travel guide. It contains brief descriptions of towns, museum opening times, and both historical and current events.

In terms of landscape, Johann Schmieder likes the stretch from Eglisau to Rheinau best because he considers it the most unspoilt. Where does the High Rhine flow along this section? Among other places, it passes the Thurauen Nature Centre in Flaach, with a detour to the birds of prey station at Berg am Irchel, and Rheinau with its monastery. The book then turns to the Rhine Falls and Laufen Castle. Anyone keen to discover where else the High Rhine goes beyond the Weinland—whether upstream or downstream—will find “Hochrhein: 165 Regio discoveries between Basel and the Schaffhausen region” the right book.

Eva Wanner

Schaffhausen. Anyone familiar with the Rhine knows that the High Rhine is probably the most beautiful and varied section of the entire river. Johann Schmieder, the German author of the book “Hochrhein”, clearly thought so too. Published in his “Regio-Entdeckungen” series last July, it provides 165 excursion ideas, information on sights and explanations of the region between Basel and the Schaffhausen area.

The High Rhine in five stages

The book is clearly divided into five chapters, each describing one section of the High Rhine. Schmieder travels upstream because he finds “river journeys upstream simply more leisurely than the other way round”. Our local region therefore appears only from chapter four onwards, beginning with the small town of Eglisau. The preceding chapters are nevertheless interesting for excursions because they offer an appealing look beyond the immediate area. Many small and large gems can be discovered along the Rhine by bicycle, public transport or car. Johann Schmieder briefly describes a piece of history or other useful details for each place, then answers the questions “What? When? Where?”—helpful when planning an excursion.

The author also ventures beyond the immediate riverbank and travels a little way inland. In our area, for example, the Beringen Randenturm and the local museum there are included. Simple maps provide a quick overview, although anyone wishing to inspect the route and its surroundings in more detail beforehand will need to consult additional sources.

The book is illustrated with many generously sized photographs from the different seasons. Most are excellent images; unfortunately, a few are not of a quality suitable for printing in such a high-quality volume. Readers would also occasionally appreciate a caption to help interpret what the photographs show. As this is the first edition, the typographical errors can be forgiven. They do not prevent interested readers from planning explorations of other parts of the High Rhine, for which the book is very well suited.

Ramona Pfund

MARKGRÄFLERLAND. The beautiful Markgräflerland attracts authors and photographers alike, and there is now no real shortage of books approaching the region from different perspectives. The new publication simply titled “Markgräflerland”, written and photographed by Lörrach resident Johann Schmieder, is nevertheless a genuine recommendation for every local enthusiast's bookshelf—a compact, comprehensive and highly informative handbook.

Has he forgotten anything? That question occurs even to readers who believe they know Markgräflerland quite well as they leaf through Johann Schmieder's volume. Born in Vienna and a resident of Lörrach for more than 30 years, the retired management consultant does indeed lay claim to a certain completeness. Johann Schmieder has assembled 160 Regio discoveries between Basel and Freiburg in his book: views of towns and landscapes, chapels and churches, palaces, castles, museums and much more besides.

The volume undoubtedly also has aesthetic qualities. With very few exceptions, the photographs were taken by Schmieder himself and stand out for their entirely unaffected clarity. Most notable, however, is the pragmatic and systematic approach on which the author has based his book.

Schmieder has divided it into five sections, each an independent chapter that takes readers on a journey from south to north. Every chapter is preceded by a clear map showing the locations of the tips and discoveries on the pages that follow. Each destination is generally given a double-page spread, and sometimes more, with plentiful illustrations and concise but important information.

Schmieder's “Markgräflerland” is not a book to read from cover to cover in the usual sense, but rather a reference work of immense practical value. Symbols accompanying each Regio tip show at a glance what type of destination it is, while information on opening times and accessibility—by both private car and public transport—is provided throughout.

The book is only partly suitable as a restaurant guide, as the selection here is noticeably more arbitrary than for the other excursion destinations. Readers seeking reliable recommendations for renowned winegrowers in the region, as well as inns, cafés and bistros, will nevertheless find them. It is also pleasing to see how Schmieder has incorporated a number of Markgräflerland's traditional events into his guide.

By Alexander Huber