Obermutten opens the International Museum of Friendship / With 44,000 Facebook fans, a Swiss mountain village has more than the capital city of Berne

Obermutten, Switzerland (ots) - Obermutten now has a museum - the Obermutten International Museum of Friendship (OIMOF). "Since we opened the OIMOF in our barn, we have received over 80 friendship gifts," beams mayor Martin Wyss. A year ago, the village in the Swiss canton of Graubünden started a Facebook page, promising that everyone who "Likes" the page will be immortalized in their village notice board. The story soon spread, with reporters from Japan to Mexico covering the story. One year later, the small village of just 80 people has over 44,000 fans from 52 countries.

People from all over the world sent letters and presents to Obermutten. Sarah Urban, from Texas, personally delivered a t-shirt, Catrin Bilger from Hamburg sent a Lebkuchen heart, and a German TV magazine left a flag which had previously been raised on an Antarctic expedition. The gifts and the stories behind them are being presented to fans at www.facebook.com/obermutten. The museum's postal address is on the fanpage.

Swiss mountain villages very popular

Over 75 million people to date have heard of Obermutten. Dozens of people have visited the village, including tourists from South Korea, New York, and Mozambique. Graubünden's tourism organization is supporting the village. "We are absolutely delighted that we can show millions of people worldwide the beauty of Graubünden's mountains," says Gaudenz Thoma, CEO of Graubünden Tourism. Read more about inclusive offers in mountain villages at: www.graubunden.com

Images and videos

Facebook: www.facebook.com/obermutten

OIMOF YouTube (English): http://youtu.be/T9DG9qE4fIo

OIMOF YouTube (German): http://youtu.be/YPtQpUq4WCw

Facebook campaign on YouTube (English): http://youtu.be/e91c0mWP960

Facebook campaign on YouTube (German): http://youtu.be/ED5gntVw3ao

Image gallery: http://bit.ly/Rx5TAI (GRF FTP, bit.ly)

Contact:

Gieri Spescha

Graubünden Tourism

Tel.: +41/81/254'24'31

E-Mail: gieri.spescha@graubuenden.ch