Today, Ascension Day 18/05/2023 at 9:30AM my wife (she's Swiss) cut our grass for exactly 4 whole minutes using our manual (non-motor) reel mower when she suddenly noticed our neighbor filming her doing so with her phone. This is our private property (back yard) and the neighbor kept filming even when my wife asked her to stop.

I know it is illegal to film someone's private yard. We have had multiple disputes with this neighbor already and those are documented with the police already. I do have a camera point at my yard (and not outside of it) where it shows my wife mowing the grass and telling the neighbor to stop filming her on our own property.

So my questions are.. is it not allowed to use a mower which is without a motor to cut the grass on this holiday? And also, can I report this to the police that the neighbor films us on our own private yard and provide them the video of my wife telling them off? It does not show them, and they do not reply. They just kept filming and eventually went inside their home.

The police is already aware of our previous disputes.

Thanks in advance for all your feedback. I really appreciate this!!

Happy holidays :-):

Yes, it is not allowed, and they have probably already shown the video to the police.

Tom

I think I checked this once before and I think I found it is legal.

Many people here seem get confused working in the garden on public holidays with noise on public holidays.

It isn’t work which is prohibited on Sundays – it is noise. Even a manual mower will make some noise (consider the noise level very high when your neighbours really hate your guts) and perhaps it wasn’t the mower making a racket but the laboured panting of your poor wife which aroused the pity of your mortal enemies…

I just wonder if it was before or after the church bells. I planned to sleep late....until church went loud for 20 min or so

For me, unbearable noise is the sound of zealous caretakers armed with leaf blowers. Fortunately they are banned on public holidays.

I suppose it's possible - ask your local police. But yeah, as other's said, it's noise that's an issue. And if it's an emergency then it's ok too - like using a drill to fix a bike or something. (I know nothing about fixing bikes...).

Church bells? We had cannon fire from 6am!

Actually, work too.

Tom

Actually, they're called muskets

...

Care to show where any prohibition on non-noisy private work on Sundays is explicitly outlined?

Paid work except for certain exempt jobs.

I don’t think it’s prohibited to do work for yourself in your own property on a bank holiday as long as it is not noisy.

Around here nobody gives a stuff anyway, people work in their gardens all the time on Sundays and bank holidays. If they were breaking up their concrete path with a jackhammer I expect people would complain but not for a bit of gardening work, even mowing.

Well, I was woken up this morning at 6:36 am by the neighbors above us, who now get up very early to take their Labrador Retriever out for a walk... which means, in turn, that we also have to get up early because of their dog.

Then 15 minutes later, at 6:51 am, I heard their washing machine spinning. And they're church people.

I'd imagine she is documenting her next complaint... at least where I live it not allowed to cut lawns etc... today. And I know one neighbour two streets over that would make it his business to find out who dared to do it.

My neighbour is painting their garage door today, no idea if that is allowed; anyway does not bother me and it is very quiet

I recommend the OP register as a farmer, they seem able to do whatever they want whenever

Would you be allowed to cut it with a pair of scissors? Do Robot cutters have to be turned off on Sunday?

My point is, what does the law actually state?

I have read somewhere that local rules banned mowing laws explicitly with a motor mower. I take this as push mower being allowed.

I think it is basically illegal to film someone in a private setting,

It fully depends on your Gemeinde. Mine refers to "Gartenarbeit mit Maschinen, wie Rasenmähern und anderen lärmerzeugenden Geräten" - this would clearly include a hand lawn mower. But you have to check for wherever you live.

Who cares about federal and cantonal rules - or even communal bylaws. The OP freely admits to forcing his wife to arduous physical labour on an important religious holiday. Why is nobody concerned about her well-being? That she stopped mowing after 4”, seems a clear indication to me that she was operating well above her endurance level.

The federal law is quite vague
"Art. 684
2 In particular all harmful effects that are not justified by the location and character of the land or by local custom such as air pollution emissions of noxious vapours, noise, vibrations, radiation or the deprivation of sunlight or daylight are prohibited"

Canton Zurich also has laws, I found a Press release (For Sundays it states- Here the tolerance limit is set higher than for the actual night's rest.);
Immissionsschutz
Noise
Protection against noise and immissions is fully integrated into the APV and is no longer regulated in a separate noise protection ordinance.
A distinction is no longer made between different types of noise such as work, household, gardening and leisure noise.

Rest periods
The night's rest lasts from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., during summer time on Fridays and Saturdays the night's rest begins at 11:00 p.m.
During the night's rest, disruptive behavior is prohibited.
At lunchtime from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the evening from 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays, the public's need for relaxation must be taken into account in particular, in that noisy behavior is to be avoided.
Here the tolerance limit is set higher than for the actual night's rest.

More details here.

Just for comparison-in Melbourne the law is Sunday before 9 am and after 10 pm is forbidden to cut the lawn. Not recommended to tell an Australian to stop the mowing unless you want a beer can on your head.