Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Switzerland became a theatre of war between revolutionary France and the old European monarchies and was occupied by French troops. In 1799 the Russian tsar ordered a victorious general to withdraw from the battlefields in Italy and head for Switzerland to fight the French. This general was Alexander Suvorov.

The dramatic campaign fought by the Russian general in the Swiss Alps soon became the stuff of legends that live on today. The exhibition traces Suvorov’s arduous journey across the Alps, describes the tremendous ordeals the Russian troops faced, and tells of the incredible hardships the local mountain population suffered. In addition, the exhibition puts the campaign into the historical context of the French Revolution, the Coalition Wars, and the fate of the Helvetic Republic.