Scuol’s out: opening a nightclub in an isolated Swiss town

Before Juliane and Nici opened Cult, young people in the eastern Swiss town of Scuol had to drive for miles – even across the border into Austria – for a bit of fun. 

“Scuol was a ghost town in terms of nightlife,” Juliane admits. As a result, local youngsters organised a petition saying there needed to be somewhere in Romansh-speaking Scuol where young people could meet and dance or just have a few drinks with friends. Parents were also supportive as the risk of drink-driving was reduced. 

On a limited budget, the two created from scratch the wildly successful Cult, which is not just a bar and nightclub but also a platform for various cultural events.

They say everything’s going really well and they’ve received a lot of positive feedback, although they wish people would dial back the rock’n’roll behaviour and stop breaking doors and loos. 

“I have to say that I was really surprised at how much vandalism we were constantly getting in the club, right from the beginning,” Juliane says. 

“I think this makes communication extremely important so that we can make it very clear to people: Hey guys, we’re doing all of this just for you and not for anyone else. And it would be great if you’d respect that.”

In the lead-up to October’s parliamentary elections, this is the tenth in a video series dedicated to looking at how everyday people in Switzerland are affecting political and societal change.

Generation Global series