Decorated streets during the Swiss National Holiday (01. August) in Aarau. People anticipate the coming event (with big fireworks) and stroll the streets of Aarau Downtown or have a drink sitting outside.
The Swiss National Holiday is going to be celebrated on an annual basis since 01. August 1891. To learn more about the background of this national holiday, you can go here.
It is nice to visit locations like Aarau around this day. Some governmental buildings will be decorated with flowers, and there will be Swiss flags or flags of the Kanton at many places. Due to Corona, the number of festivals and parties will be drastically reduced, of course. But usually, there is lots of places you can go to to celebrate the national holiday. There will also be fireworks. Public fireworks on the streets (as everybody is allowed to buy forworks for this day), and “official” fireworks. This year (2021) there were no restrictions in terms of fireworks, as the summer 2021 has been very cold and wet, so that there is no danger that wildfires will be triggered. But I remember years, where it has been very dry (especially around the 1st of August, basically in the middle of the summer), so that fireworks were forbidden in many areas of Switzerland. What a pity, but, of course, it’s better to stay on the safe side 😉 .
Some locations, like Engelberg, have the special tradition of lighting a so called “Höhenfeuer” (meaning “fire in big height”). A “Höhenfeuer” is a big fire created on a hilltop, so that it is widely visible. The Höhenfeuer in Engelberg, for example, has the shape of the Swiss cross. This tradition in Engelberg is more than 100 years old. Photographically, it is also a special event, and, if the weather conditions are right (usually that is nothing to worry about at the 1st of August), you will be able to have some atmospheric night shots during this day, or, let’s say, during this night.
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