Albrecht von Haller (1708 - 1777), although primarily a scientist, took Europe by storm with "The Alps," a poem he wrote in 1729. Its themes - the beauty of the mountains, the honesty of simple mountain dwellers in contrast to corrupt "civilisation" - may seem hackneyed to the modern reader, but it was the first time such sentiments had been expressed in German literature, and they revolutionised attitudes towards the mountains, which until then had been regarded at best as uncouth and at worst as terrifying.

"The Alps" was translated into several languages and was in great demand, including among the Swiss abroad. An elderly general of the French king's Swiss Guard reportedly burst into tears when he heard it. Although its emotional impact is rather less today, its attitude towards the Swiss landscape laid the foundation for the modern view of the mountains - and the ensuing tourism.

Haller's literary writings - which influenced a generation of German poets, including Goethe and Schiller - were merely a sideline to his real interests, which ranged from medicine to law to theology. His first biographer said of him that he had "read everything that had ever been printed." One of the many subjects in which he won a name for himself was as a botanist: among the purposes of his trips to the Alps was collecting plants. His first book on Swiss flora was published in 1742, and a fuller version in 1768, which helped to lay the foundations for the systematic study of the subject. He was a pioneer among botanists, in noting the location and frequency of the plants he described, although his naming system was rejected in favour of that of his great Swedish contemporary, Linnaeus.

Haller's face is familiar to those Swiss rich enough to use 500 franc banknotes: he featured in the 1976 series which went out of use in 2000.