Lecture Announcement: “Ciphers, Spies, Secret Councils – Politics and Secrecy in the Ancien Régime: The Case of Solothurn”
The Historical Society of the Canton of Solothurn invites you to a fascinating lecture by historian Debora Heim, who explores how secrecy shaped political life in the 16th to 18th centuries. What did “secret” mean in the early modern period? How were ciphers invented, spy networks organized, and confidential political practices justified? And how did Solothurn’s so-called Secret Councils operate within the wider Old Swiss Confederacy?
Drawing on her research at the University of Bern, Debora Heim examines how controversial tools of secrecy influenced governance, diplomacy, and power—using Solothurn as a compelling case study.
Lecture Dates
- Olten – 26 January, 19:30, Haus der Museen, Konradstrasse 7
- Dornach – 26 February, 19:30, Library of the Klosters Dornach, Amthausstrasse 7
- Solothurn – 19 March, 19:15, Zentralbibliothek, Bielstrasse 39, 1st floor (Querbau)