In this new day and age of technology, our phones and cameras are with us everywhere we go. But what if someone told you that you weren’t allowed to take photographs, better yet, what if a country told you it is illegal to take a selfie. In Bergün, Switzerland that is exactly what happened. The municipality claims that their town is so adorable it will cause a sort of depression for anyone who sees a photo of it. Lawmakers have recently instituted a $5 fine for anyone who takes a photo in this picture-perfect town.
Naturally, the town refusing to allow visitors to take photographs has become a topic talked about all over social media. Mayor Peter Nicolay posted on the towns website is quoted as saying “The community would never have thought that the action would trigger such a large media echo. It turned out that the interest in Bergün was huge.”
The town boasts a beautiful landscape, an 800-year-old church and a train that takes a picturesque route from Thusis to St. Moritz. “Bergün is beautiful. We don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape, and we cordially invite you to visit Bergün to experience it for yourself,” Nicolay's office said in a press release.
Whether this is just a ploy to get more tourists to visit the town or if it genuinely will cause FOMO (fear of missing out) for those seeing it on social media is yet to be determined. The small municipality used the marketing tool of denying people the opportunity to take photos in the hopes of creating more tourism for the small town. Ironically enough, it seems to be working, with media outlets covering the new ban and giving viewers a new dose of wanderlust.
