Author: Maarten Koning

Gardens of the Pierre Gianadda Foundation

The gardens of the Pierre Gianadda Foundation in Martigny (Canton of Valais) feature interesting Gallo-Roman remains and a rich flora in a setting of ponds, streams, and rocks.

Each ancient building shown inside the Fondation belonged to a large sacred enclosure, a temenos, measuring 85 m in width and more than 135 m in length.

The indigenous temple was built at the time of the Celts, about 50 BC. A Celtic Mercury was adored there. The wall of the sacred enclosure was constructed about 50 AD. The temenos included Roman bathhouses and staterooms.

Sculptures occupy an increasingly important place. The 1991 Swiss sculpture exhibition marked the beginning. Since then, the park has presented new exhibitions every year, often in addition to the Foundation’s exhibitions in the museum.

The foundation continues to expand its collection of sculptures. Today, there are forty-seven works in the park, created by the greatest artists and new talents. The park is open to the public.

(Source and further information: Fondation Pierre Gianadda (www.gianadda.ch); Léonard Gianadda, La Sculpture et la Fondation, Martigny, 2008).

Cornaux and the Celtique Bridge

Cornaux (canton of Neuchâtel) has been a well-known archaeological site since 1965. During the second phase of correcting the lakes and rivers in the Jura (Juragewässerkorrektion 1962-1973), a wooden bridge over the Zihl, dating back to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, was discovered between the lakes of Neuchâtel and Biel. The first correction took place between 1868 and 1891.

The bridge was 90 metres long and rested on seven pillars with three posts and two side supports. On top of these were beams and round bars from the late Latène period. Dendrochronologically, it was possible to determine that the oak wood was from 116 BC.

A farming community already existed in Cornaux at the beginning of the 13th century, but it was not until the 15th century that it became a municipality. Until 1848, the village belonged to the châtellenie Thielle.

The Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre has been documented since 1228 and belonged to the deanery of Solothurn (diocese of Lausanne).

(Source: Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, Cornaux, www:hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/002847/2006-09-12).

VR-Climbing the Matterhorn

The project (Red Bull the Edge: A Matterhorn VR experience) is the result of an innovative and long-term collaboration between Swiss and international pioneers. They developed the idea of the Geneva film producers Stefan Lauper and Consuelo Frauenfelder.

Thanks to a completely new 3D technology, an agency transformed the drone footage into an interactive and highly realistic climbing adventure, making the unattainable mountain accessible to all.

After a video briefing, equipped with VR glasses and climbing equipment, you head for the top of the Matterhorn, up the steep mountainside. Wind simulations and mountain noises create a fusion of the virtual and the real world.

During the three-year development period, the team worked closely with mountain guides, mountaineers, engineers and motion capture specialists.

The accompanying exhibition explores the myth of the Matterhorn, the (failed) ascents, mountain guides and mountain rescue, cable cars and innovation in mountaineering.

On the top floor of the climbing pavilion, there is also a magnificent VR view of Switzerland’s most famous mountain.

(Source and further information: www.verkehrshaus.ch).

 

The Castles of Bern

The diversity of castles in Canton Bern is an attraction by itself. No two are alike, each has its peculiarities, architecture and (building) history.

Permanent and temporary exhibitions are presented in a park- or gardensetting, on the shores of a lake and often with a magnificent view of or in the middle of the mountain landscape.

Eleven castles present themselves again in 2021: Schloss Münsingen, Schloss Thun, Schloss Oberhofen, Schloss Spiez, Schloss Landshut, Schloss Burgdorf, Schloss Laupen, Schloss Jegenstorf, Schloss Hünegg, Schloss Thunstetten and Schloss Belp.

(Quelle und weitere Informationen: www.berner-schloesser.ch).

Anestre became Ins

As early as the Neolithic period (4000-1800 B.C.), the area around Ins (Anet in French) was inhabited. The Roman period has also left its traces.

The first mention dates from 851 in a chronicle called Villa de Anes. In 1009, the first mention of the village was found in an old French charter; it was called Anestre.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Anestre belonged to the county of Neuchâtel-Nidau. In 1376, the village, along with Erlach (Cerlier in French), fell under Savoy.

Bern conquered the area during the Burgundian Wars (1476-1477). Since then, Ins has been German-speaking and is part of the canton of Bern. The French name is Anet.

Impressions from Ins

Albert Anker House

The painter Albert Anker was born in this house (Albert Anker Haus) in Ins (Canton Bern) in 1831 and died here in 1910.

The house was built in 1803 by his grandfather, Rudolf Anker, a veterinarian, in the style of the Seeland farmhouses. The house layout, furnishings and inventory still essentially correspond to the condition in which the painter and his ancestors built it. The studio has been preserved in its original condition, a rare testimony to the 19th century.

The painter first studied theology before moving to Paris and learning the arts and working as a painter. He lived there with his wife and children during the winter months.

He spent the summer months at his parents’ house in Ins, where he painted most of his pictures with models from the village. From 1890, he lived and worked there until his death.

(Source and further Information: www.albert-anker.ch).

The Maloja Palace

The era of the Grand Hotels also led to over-ambitious or never-realised projects. An example is the Grand Palace in Riom (Canton of Graubünden). Other complexes were built but soon suffered financial setbacks.

A well-known example is the Maloja Palace in Graubünden. The Hôtel-Kursaal de la Maloja, the original name, stands between Bergell and Oberengadin and not far from St. Moritz.

The hotel was built by the Belgian Count Camille de Renesse (1836-1904). The Count came up with this plan after visiting St. Moritz in 1880. St. Moritz was already a village with Grand Hotels and bathhouses, owned mainly by the Badrutt family.

The Count wanted his Grand Hotel and bought a piece of land in Maloja at the western end of the Silsersee. He purchased this land from the Giacometti family. Giovanni Giacometti (1868-1933) painted the hotel in 1899. Today, this painting can be seen in the Schweizerhaus in Maloja.

The Count had big ambitions, a villa park, a casino, a golf course, restaurants, two churches, a swimming pool, a tennis court and facilities for winter sports.

He also planned a railway line and train station in Maloja (not realised), the (medieval) Belvedere Castle (partly completed in 1903), and he bought two steamships for the lake.

The hotel, with a façade of 200 metres, was the second-largest building in Switzerland. The Belgian architect Jules Rau (1854-1919) completed the project in just 15 months.

The opening was on 1 July 1884: 300 rooms with 450 beds, heated halls with an ingenious system of hot air, electric light, a dining room for 300 guests and a splendid interior, a smoking room, a library, a conversation room for ladies, (Bechstein) pianos, a horse-drawn omnibus for the transportation of guests (from St. Moritz to Maloja and vice versa), galleries and a platform on the roof with a magnificent view of the (mountain) landscape and on the lake jetties for pleasure boats and the steamships.

Five months after its opening, the hotel went bankrupt. A cholera epidemic, the death of Countess Malvina de Kerckove von Denterghem (1846-1884), the prohibition of the casino, the railway line that never materialised, and, above all, a sky-high debt led to bankruptcy on 3 January 1885.

The hotel changed hands several times until 1934. It was used as a residence for the Swiss army and from 1962 to 1980 as a summer residence for (Belgian) children.

In 2009, the hotel reopened its doors after undergoing years of renovation and a change in ownership.  The Maloja Palace, as it is called today, still looks radiant, and the spirit of the Count is still omnipresent.

The tower is the information centre of the Pro Natura foundation today.

(Source: P. Bröckli, Bis zum Tod der Gräfin. Das Drama um den Hotelpalast des Grafen Renesse in Majola, Zürich 1998; www.malojapalace.com).

Capuchin monastery in Sion

The Capuchin monastery in Sion is the only building in Canton Valais from the 20th century that has been classified as a cultural object of national importance.

In 1631, the Capuchins settled in Sion and began construction of the building. The church was consecrated in 1643 by Bishop Adrien III de Riedmatten (1610-1646).

More than 400 years later, the architect Mirco Ravanne (1928-1991) renovated and enlarged the building. This intervention contrasts with the basic structures of the ancient building. The interior has also been changed. The whole forms a beautiful unity with the centre of this episcopal city.

(Source and more information: www.bourgeoisie-de-sion.ch)

The White Tower of Mulegns

The Origen Foundation (Nova Fundaziun Origen) is building a White Tower (der Weisse Turm) in the village of Mulegns (canton of Graubünden), not to be confused with the Julierturm of Origen on the Julier Pass.

The White Tower is a digitally printed building that tells of the village’s history, the homesickness of Graubünden emigrants and, last but not least, the sugar barons of Mulegns.

The building offers space for art installations, radio play tours and performances.  The White Tower demonstrates the impressive wealth of forms of digital fabrication and sets new standards for the sustainable use of concrete.

Situation summer 2023

In the domed hall, there is a stage that offers a breathtaking view of the village and, in the evening, catches the last rays of the sun.

The tower’s richness of form is a reminder of the great craftsmanship of the Graubünden plasterers and confectioners, who supplied half of Europe with exclusive confectionery until the First World War and had a decisive influence on the image and life of Mulegns.

The White Tower will open in the summer of 2024 for a period of five years.

(Source and further information: www.origen.ch).

City History set in Stone

Every street corner in the centre of (ancient) Basel, Basilea, has its history. On the hill of the Münster, the cathedral, the Celts built a defensive wall, the murus gallus, in the first century BC.

The Romans founded the Colonia Augusta Raurica around 44 BC to defend against the Germanic tribes on the other side of the Rhine. Basel’s growth began after the Roman legions departed in 410 AD, and the Alemanni invaded. The bishop’s seat was initially in Augusta Raurica but was later relocated to the hill of Basel in the fifth century.

After that, Basel’s history, growth, and prosperity took their course. The Historical Museum in the Barfüsserkerk has preserved the city’s history in stone. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, sandstone reliefs were mounted on public buildings, churches, taverns, and private homes.

They attest to the history of those buildings, their owners, burghers, or other stories. Many of them are the remains of buildings that have since disappeared.

(Source and further information: www.hmb.ch).

City centre 19th century. Collection: Historisches Museum Basel