The “Hobby” Side of Switzerland – Photography about Quirky Swiss Hobbies

Switzerland is a country of hobby clubs and leisure organizations. There is even a saying that all Swiss belong to at least one club. Two Swiss artists have spent the better half of seven years uncovering the "hobby" side of Switzerland, documenting at least 50 such clubs.

The result of all this work is an ingenious collection of photographs. Ursula Sprecher and Andi Cortellini are both based in Basel. Their project started with the essential question: "How do the Swiss spend their free time?"

I feel that in return, they have found out more than they had asked for. They have portrayed Swiss people from all walks of life. So of course, there was the oh-so-typical coffee-cream-lid trading club. But they also found the kind of things you and I will never know existed.

Take the butchery enthusiasts club, for instance. Or the legion of Star Wars fans - or dare I say, geeks? I love realistic photographs, so I immediately fell in love with these authentic depictions of Swiss hobby clubs.

A selection of quirky Swiss hobby clubs from the book:

Pipe Smoking Club

Pool Billard Club

Firefighters Club

Cheerleading Club

Diving Club

Chess Club

Friends of Butchery Club

Swiss Poodle Club

Tram Enthusiasts Club

Swiss Garrison (Serving the 501st Legion)

HobbyBuddies - Freizeitfreunde - The Collection

Sprecher & Cortellini have released the entire collection of photographs in a book: HobbyBuddies - Freizeitfreunde. We think it is a must-have book for anyone striving to better understand Swiss culture and society:

(All photographs copyright by Sprecher & Cortellini)