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Face to face
Family pictures tell their stories

01.04.2010 - 31.10.2010

In his memoirs, the Bernese dialect writer Rudolf von Tavel described his experience of a home crammed with pictures of ancestors. “The walls were completely covered in family portraits. The venerable ladies and gentlemen conversed with us every day... I sense that they are keeping an eye on me, and their gaze is a constant reminder of the debt I owe them. I think of all their sufferings and struggles, their battle for the wellbeing of their souls and the happiness of their children. They would have had so much to tell me, that would warn me and make my life easier.”

Like Rudolf von Tavel’s home, Wildegg Castle is filled with portraits of the people who once lived there. A brochure guides visitors through the building to eleven selected pictures that even today still have something to tell us. Behind every portrait lies a fascinating history and a moving fate. In the old days, pictures were more than merely ornament and decoration. They linked the past to the present, offering guidance to the living and comfort in difficult times.