Author: Maarten Koning

The Abbey of Cluny is never far away in Switzerland. A large farmhouse in Bevaix (canton of Neuchâtel) was a centuries-old abbey.

In 998, Rodolphe III (966-70-1032), the last king of the kingdom of Burgundy, donated the church of St. Peter (Saint-Pierre), ten farms and forty serfs and their families to the abbey of Cluny.

The priory of Saint-Pierre was later subordinated to the priory of Romainmôtier, also an abbey of Cluny. The Romanesque abbey church was built in the 12th century.

In the 15th century, however, monastic life in Bevaix no longer met expectations. In 1427, for example, visitors of the Abbey of Cluny were surprised when they met the prior, Jacques de Giez and his wife and four children.

The priory complex at Bevaix was dismantled in the 17th century and subsequently converted into a farm. The inhabitants of the village built a Protestant church (Le Temple) in the centre in 1604 and used materials from the old church. 

The temple features several Catholic symbols, including the Romanesque frieze, the key with a lamb of God, the choir, and the tabernacle.

(Source: Chr. Voros, Sites clunisiens en Europe, Cluny, 2013).

Charles-Joseph de Rivaz (1713-1759), an aristocrat from Valais, built this house (Maison de Rivaz) in 1754 next to the castle, which had been built in 1588.

Charles acquired ownership of the castle in 1749.  His son, Charles-Emmanuel (1753-1830), bought the in 1826. A garden surrounded the house and the castle without the present-day buildings.

The municipality of St. Gingolph took over the complex in 1837. Today, the complex houses the town hall, the Musée des Traditions et des Barques du Léman (Museum of the Traditions and Barques of Lake Geneva), L’École Suisse des Parfumeurs Créateurs, and the shop and atelier of Perles du Léman.

(Source: Patrick Elsig, La construction de la Maison de Rivaz,à Saint-Gingolph (1751-1754); Commune of Saint-Gingolph)

Isaac de Rivaz (1752-1828)

The chapel de la Saint-Famille (1677)

The Church of St. Etienne in Montcherand (canton Vaud) is situated at the crossroads of three pilgrimage routes: the Way to Santiago de Compostela, the Via Francigena leading from Canterbury to Rome, and the Itinerary of Sites of the Abbey of Cluny.

The mural of the church dates from the 12th century. The mural is well-preserved, thanks to the whitewashing of the walls in 1536, during the time of the Reformation and the Bernese occupation.

The mural is the oldest example in French-speaking Switzerland of human figure representation in art. The Romanesque church in Donatyre shows a copy of this mural. The copy was painted in 1907.

(Source: K. Queijo, L’église Saint-Etienne de Montcherand, Montcherand, 2018).

La Sagne (canton of Neuchâtel) in the valley of the same is the birthplace of Daniel Jeanrichard (1665-1741), one of the pioneers of the watch-making industry in the Jura.

The church was built in 1526. The village introduced the protestant faith in 1536 without changing the interior of the church.

The late Gothic church was built on the foundations of a medieval chapel. The magnificent vault of the choir is a jewel of the late Gothic period. The church is a heritage site of the canton.

Augusta Raurica (Augst, Canton Basel-Landschaft) was situated at the crossroads of trade and transportation routes. The Roman colony, founded in 44 BC, was one of the earliest colonies on the left bank of the Rhine.

Augusta Raurica around 117 BC. Picture: Museum Augusta Raurica

The city developed into a regional centre for trade, industry, and administration, with around 15,000 inhabitants in the second century BC. Its decline started in the third century.

The Roman House (Domus Romana) was reconstructed in 1955.  The villa is an example of the provincial type, smaller than those in Rome or Italy, but with the features characteristic of the residences of the local elite. The museum presents a complete picture of this provincial Roman town.

(Source and further information: www.augusta-raurica.ch).