The Unexpected

In the summer of 2005, Switzerland experienced extreme flooding. Central Switzerland was particularly affected, most especially the Canton of Obwalden, which reported massive destruction. Never before had Sarnen experienced a natural catastrophe of such proportions. The entire canton suffered landslides, damaged infrastructure and flood-debris deposition on fields and meadows.
The book recounts this once-in-a-century event and opens the door to the past. It describes the long political process of finding a solution. In 2014, a highly sophisticated flood-control project was finally approved. In 2019, construction began on a drainage tunnel that will protect Sarnen from flooding in the future. Eight years later, in 2027, the tunnel will finally go into operation. However, this book is not simply factual. It also contains contributions on culture, art, and philosophy, buoyed by the motif of Das Unerwartete (The Unexpected) that flows through the publication. Heinz Pal’s mystical photographs of Barbara Gut’s Flussfahrt – Im Spiegel der Nacht (River Journey – In the Reflection of the Night, 2015) and Daniel Reinhard’s black-and-white photographs of the flooding in 2005 make this book a remarkable visual volume as well.

Edited by: Gianni Paravicini and the Kulturlandschaft – Landschaft und Kultur in Obwalden Association on behalf of the Canton of Obwalden
Hardcover, 16 × 24,7 cm, 400 p.
Essays: Roland Arnold, Seppi Berwert, Sandra Boeschenstein, Jana Bruggmann, Roland Christen, Ludwig Degelo, Caroline Gassmann, Ramon Hegglin, Josef Hess, Edwin Huwyler, Marie Catherine Lienert, Markus Liniger, Niklaus Oberholzer, Gianni Paravicini, Leila Ruppen, Christian Sidler, Philipp Unterschütz, Adrian Venetz, Daniel Vischer, Christian Volz, Rafael von Wyl
German
Design: Stephan Fiedler, Berlin
ISBN 978-3-907205-55-6

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