'Good and true Men, freeborn, of mature and discreet age’ means that a Freemason must be personally and legally free, i.e. join the fraternity of his own free will. The ‘good reputation’ refers to the fact that he should have an irreproachable character and lead a morally orderly life. These requirements were intended to ensure that only men of integrity and responsibility were accepted into the fraternity.

The son of a Freemason is actually called Lufton (or Lewis), after a stonemason's tool that lifts heavy stones, symbolising that he carries on his father's ideals and continues the Masonic work.

In Freemasonry, the rough stone (ashlar) symbolises a person's imperfect, natural personality, which is to be refined through work on oneself. Just as a stone is hewn and smoothed to fit into a building, the Freemason should mould and improve his character traits. This symbolic process stands for personal development, ethical education and the constant search for (self-)realisation and perfection.

A Freemason does not have to be a Christian, but merely believe in a superior power or a principle of divine order. Many lodges include members of many different religions, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. While some Masonic systems are of Christian origin, Freemasonry itself is not a religious organisation.

The ‘Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland’ was founded in 1844 by 15 Swiss lodges as their umbrella organisation and is one of the few national grand lodges to have its own name.

The charitable commitment of Freemasons is reflected in regular donations and support for charitable causes, which are collected at lodge meetings. Many lodges support social projects, educational initiatives or charitable organisations at local, regional and international level. The focus here is on helping quietly, without public self-promotion or missionary intentions.

‘The Magic Flute’ contains numerous symbols and themes based on Freemasonry. The figures of Sarastro and his priests symbolise wisdom, humanity and enlightenment, while the Queen of the Night stands for darkness and superstition. Tamino, the hero of the opera, has to pass trials by fire and water, which symbolises his inner maturing process and the search for truth. The music also reflects this symbolism, for example through the recurring motif of the number three and the rhythmic hammering in the overture, which is reminiscent of manual labour.
Sarastro's aria ‘In diesen heilgen Hallen kennt man die Rache nicht’ is well-known as the quintessence and moral guide for all temple work in Masonic lodges.

After a pilot phase in 2017 that was only open to freemasons, the then Mayor of Bern, Alec von Graffenried, officially opened the Masonic Museum Switzerland to the general public on 3 November 2018.

In ‘War and Peace’, Leo Tolstoy describes Russian Freemasonry at the time of the Napoleonic Wars and links it to his protagonist Pierre Bezukhov's search for meaning. During a journey, Pierre meets the Freemason Osip Alexeyevich Basdyev, who familiarises him with the ideas of the society.

Tolstoy gives a particularly impressive account of Pierre's ceremonial initiation into the lodge, which is associated with symbolic trials and profound conversations about truth and knowledge. This passage reflects Tolstoy's interest in philosophical and spiritual questions and shows Freemasonry as a path of inner development.

Modern Freemasonry only emerged in 1717 - long after the death of Leonardo da Vinci in 1519. Although his works contain geometric and symbolic elements that also play a role in Freemasonry, there is no historical evidence of a direct connection. Theories about secret messages in his paintings are speculative and lack a reliable basis.

As a memento mori, the skull in Freemasonry symbolises the transience of human life and reminds the brothers that their existence is finite. As Freemasonry is not a religion and makes no promises of the afterlife, Freemasons are encouraged to work in the here and now. This symbolism is intended to encourage him to lead a conscious, virtuous life and to place wisdom and humanity above material transience.

The Capitol in Washington, D.C. was originally designed by William Thornton, built by Benjamin Latrobe and later completed by Thomas Walter, all three Freemasons. The cornerstone of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. was laid by President George Washington in 1793 according to the Masonic rite. The Marquis de La Fayette ceremonially presented him with the Masonic apron made for him by the Grand Lodge of Maryland.

Almost 3,500 members in over 80 lodges belong to the Grand Loge Alpina of Switzerland. In addition, around 1,000 freemasons are members of the Grand Orient de Suisse, the Grand Loge Féminine de Suisse, the Grande Loge Mixte de Suisse and the Droit Humain, which is also mixed-gender.

On 24 June 1717, four lodges met for the first time in the tavern ‘Goose and Gridiron’ in the parish of St. Paul in London to found the ‘Grand Lodge of London and Westminster’.

The Illuminati (lat. illuminati - ‘the enlightened ones’) were a short-lived order founded by Adam Weishaupt in Ingolstadt in 1776. Their aim was to create a society through enlightenment and moral perfection in which the rule of man over man would become superfluous. The order only existed until 1785, when it was banned in the Electorate of Bavaria.

Freemasonry is banned in many totalitarian states because it advocates individual freedom, humanity and freedom of expression - values that authoritarian regimes often see as a threat. As Masonic lodges are independent and do not accept state influence, they are seen as potential opposition groups in dictatorships. In addition, totalitarian regimes mistrust the discretion and international connections of Freemasonry, which is why they often categorise it as subversive or anti-state.

Since the office was founded in 1789, 45 people have held the office of US President. Of these, 15 are known to have been Freemasons, beginning with George Washington as the first president. The last undisputed Freemason among them was Gerald Ford. Ronald Reagan received an honorary membership in 1988, and Joe Biden was proclaimed a ‘Mason at Sight’ by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of South Carolina in 2025, although it is disputed whether he actually accepted the membership.

Even though many famous composers such as Mozart, Clérambault or Sibelius composed Masonic music or music for their lodges, and these are also regularly played in the lodges, there is no actual Masonic hymn.

The Masonic principles of liberty, equality, fraternity, tolerance and humanity have their roots in the European Enlightenment of the 18th century. They were influenced by the philosophical and political movements of the time, in particular the ideas of John Locke and the Freemasons Montesquieu and Rousseau. Freemasonry adopted these principles and combined them with its ethical and humanistic ideals. Liberty, equality and fraternity in particular later found their way into the French Revolution, while tolerance and humanity remained central values in the Masonic tradition.

There is no historical evidence that Napoleon Bonaparte himself was a Freemason. However, he had close ties to Freemasonry, and his father and several of his brothers were members. During his reign, he promoted Freemasonry in Europe by bringing it out of secrecy and uniting the French lodges under the Grand Orient de France.

Even though the foundation of the Nobel Prize has certain parallels with Masonic ideals, Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) was not himself a member of a lodge. Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) was a member of a lodge of the Grand Orient de France, Theodor Tobler (1876-1941) was a member of the Bernese lodge ‘Zur Hoffnung’ and André Citroën (1878-1935) of the lodge ‘La Philosophie positive’ of the Grand Orient de France.

An essential prerequisite for the founding of the Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland in 1844 by the founding lodges was that the lodges were able to retain their rituals, i.e. the freedom of ritual, which is still unusual internationally today.

There are no district grand lodges in Switzerland and each lodge conducts its ritual in the language that suits it. Nationality plays no role in lodge membership, the only requirement is that the member must live or work in Switzerland.

To become a Freemason, you have to register with a lodge or grand lodge independently, as Freemasonry does not actively recruit members. Motivation and personal suitability in relation to Masonic values are assessed in an examination procedure involving several interviews. Neither inheritance nor family connections or financial means are decisive for admission - only the personality and inner attitude of the candidate are decisive.

The Roman Catholic Church prohibits its faithful from becoming members of Freemasonry, as it considers its principles to be incompatible with church doctrine. The 1983 declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith emphasises that Catholics who become Freemasons are living in a state of grave sin and are not admitted to Holy Communion. The main reproach lies in the Masonic world view, which is regarded as relativistic and contradicts the exclusive truth of the Church.

Even though the essence of Freemasonry is discussed in the conversations in Thomas Mann's ‘The Magic Mountain’, Mann himself was not a Freemason.

Carl von Ossietzky was a member of the Hamburg lodge ‘Menschentum’, Lessing of the Hamburg lodge ‘Zu den drei Rosen’ and Tucholsky of the Berlin lodge ‘Zur Morgenröte’.