Whale takes a trip in landlocked Switzerland
25.08.2026, dpa
An 11-metre-long whale was transported through the Swiss city of Fribourg on Tuesday.
It is, of course, not a live animal, but a 170-year-old specimen from the city's Natural History Museum. A hole had to be cut into the façade of the old building to extract marine mammal.
Weighing 1,650 kilograms, the whale was then moved to the museum's new premises, but will have to remain crated-up there for another two years. The museum is not due to reopen at the new site until 2028.
The young sei whale beached itself in the French city of Le Havre in 1852 and was embalmed there using a method that was experimental at the time, according to the museum. The museum says the specimen was then hauled across Europe on a horse-drawn cart for around 30 years and displayed as an attraction.
The owner went bankrupt during a visit to Fribourg - also known as Freiburg in German - in 1881, fled from his creditors and was never seen again. Left behind were the whale and several other exhibits, which the city authorities eventually purchased and handed over to the museum.
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