Exclaves in Switzerland (Minisode)

80 Days: An Exploration Podcast

In this minisode, Joe explores, literally, the idea of an exclave after wandering into one a couple of years ago. Although we’ve covered a couple of enclaves in the past (including San Marino and The Gambia), this episode is the first time we’ve examined the opposite concept – a tiny piece of a country marooned inside another’s borders.

https://media.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/content.blubrry.com/80_days_an_exploration/Swiss-Exclaves_80Days.mp3

This is also something of a personal episode for Joe (@anbeirneach), as it marks an end to his time living in Switzerland. Luke (@thelukejkelly) and Mark (@markboyle86) also feature, and we discuss briefly our upcoming fourth season, which is due in a couple of weeks.

For the curious, you can find more on the German enclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein here on Atlas Obscura, or read this article on BigThink. The New York Times article quoted in the episode can be found here, and further reading on Campione d’Italia can be found here and here. Photo’s from Joe’s trips to the exclaves can be found here.

Here is a summary of some data and statistics:

Name:	Büsingen am Hochrhein	Campione d’Italia
Population:	1,350 pop	2,190
Currency:	€, official (CHF, de facto; DM, formerly)	CHF, official (€, accepted)
Area:	7.62 square kilometres	1.6 square kilometres
	Border 17.141 km
Country:	Germany	Italy
Meaning:	Settlement of the People of Boso	Campilonum – a Roman fort
Separation from country:	Cut off by 500m	Cut off by 1 km

In addition to our theme music by the talented Thomas O’Boyle, this episode featured a lot of music and sound effects, graciously made available for free by contributors at FreeSound.org, Free Music Archive and Incompatech, for use under a Creative Commons license, by attribution.

The pieces of music you heard under the text were “Swiftwind” and “How I Used to See the Stars” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0. The Overture of Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” was performed by the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra (musical director Barbara Schubert), used under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Alphorn music and yodelling clips (from the Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest in Brig), as well as the Uileann pipes from the Uileann Pipers Club Schaffhausen Festival were recorded on location by Joe.

The side-by-side Swiss and German phone boxes in Buesingen

A beautifully Germanic house in Buesingen

The shorefront at Campione d’Italia, complete with Italian flag

Italian police car passing in front of the now-shuttered casino in Campione d’Italia