Annual Review 2008 - Hyposwiss Privatbank AG

A spectacular natural phenomenon
The Goldau landslide made headlines all over Europe. Thanks
to wood engravings, a new means of reproduction, the story
quickly spread in graphic detail. As a stage backcloth or projected
with a camera obscura, the disaster even became something
of a fairground attraction in several European cities. It was an
event that was easily staged, exploiting Switzerland’s image as
a world of nature. Brought to life in visual form, the “pastoral
Swiss countryside” was transformed into a “scene of devastation”.
It has to be said, however, that all this media attention
was instrumental in making the Goldau rockslide the subject
of Switzerland’s first fundraising campaign for humanitarian
disasters.