Seven of the first 36 federal councillors came from Vaud. And all of them were lawyers. This is not surprising, as jurisprudence was highly valued in the west of Switzerland.

Despite the dangers, Jean Bucher, boss of a Swiss manufacturer of agricultural machinery, travelled to Germany several times during the First World War. With him he carried his travel diaries, in which he impressively captured daily life in a country at war.

Marie Josse d’Hemel was a distinguished lady who married a Lucerne patrician. She is also said to have died twice. The first time a gravedigger wanted to steal her expensive clothes, which prompted her to return from the dead and live on for another 20 years – a cautionary tale for any would-be grave robbers.