Switzerland was the focus country to present its program, which is partly due to a historic jubilee – 205 years of establishing diplomatic relations between Russia and Switzerland. The slogan of the festival was "German in diversity". 

The main idea of ​​the festival is to show the Petersburg public about the diversity of the culture of the German-speaking countries using the example of cinema, theater, literature, art and education with the help of screenings, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, performances, etc. 

The festival began at cinema hall “Velikan Park” with the «German-speaking cinema from Germany and Switzerland for children». There Switzerland was represented with a special edition of the Swiss short animation movies; a family animation “Molly Monster” and a new screen adaption of a well-known children’s book “The Little Witch”.    

The educational program SWISSDOCS (film + lecture) took place in the Creative Space OCHTA LAB. The main aim was to present Swiss culture and history of the 19^th-20^th century through 4 flamboyant representatives of Swiss culture: Irene Adler (a fashion icon from Zurich), Gotthard (a well-known Swiss rock band), Ferdinand Hodler (a Swiss painter) and Katarina von Arx (a Swiss journalist and photographer). 

On the occasion of the 500^th anniversary of the reformation (1519), a special event was organized in the State Museum of the History of Religion, including a public talk on “The History of Reformation in Switzerland” and a screening of a historical drama – “Ursula”, a movie based on a novel by G. Keller. 

The festival was closed in the New Hall of the City Sculpture Museum with the “Liechtenstein Day”: the exhibition project “Flowers of Liechtenstein” of the Swiss Russian artist Alex Doll and the concert in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in St. Petersburg. – “Organ in German: Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland” 

DACHLI_FEST was a great cultural event in St. Petersburg. We hope it will become a new tradition and unite all German-speaking countries to demonstrate their diversity to a St. Petersburg audience.