How Did People Relate to one Another

Forming Societies

Permanent exhibition on the upper floor of the Forum of Swiss History Schwyz

Human beings do not live in isolation, but are in constant relationship with each other. The various networks of our relationships give rise to fixed forms of cohabitation, and thus to a society with hierarchies and rules.

From 1300 to 1800, the area now known as Switzerland was a mosaic of different societal forms, living side by side in symbiosis: cooperative organisations in the countryside, aristocracies in the cities, guilds and subject territories. Whether farm-maid, nun or mayor, everyone lived in a dense web of relations and was obliged to wear several hats at once. The upper floor looks at modes of communication, at political negotiation and at the fate of the marginalised. The exhibition pays special attention to the church and its decisive influence on the everyday lives of those who lived between 1300 and 1800.

Now, finish your journey on the ground floor.