Author: Maarten Koning

Politically, linguistically, economically, and culturally, the Lac Léman area has always been a region of intense mutual contact. The bishops of Geneva, the city of Geneva, abbots, counts, and dukes of Savoie, kings of the kingdom of Piedmont-Savoie and France, the Swiss Confederation, Wallis (Valais), and other players determined politics, trade, war, and peace until 1798.

Aix-les-Bains, 1ooo year dynasty of Savoy and dynasty of Savoy (1003-2003)

However, the towns of Evian in Chablais (Department of Haute-Savoie) and Vevey (canton of Vaud), located on Lake Geneva, shared only two brief political periods.

In 1536, Bern conquered Vaud and governed it until 1798. That year, Bern and the Republic of the Seven Tithings Zenden/ Zehnden in German in Oberwallis conquered Chablais from the Duchy of Savoie, including Thonon and Evian. In 1475, Bern had already conquered the present-day Chablais-Vaudois/Waadtlander Chablais.

Hautecombe Abbey (12th century) on Lake Bourget (lac du Bourget), opposite Aix-les-Bains. From the 12th century, the last resting place of the Savoy dynasty. The last Italian king, Umberto II (1904-1983), a direct family descendant, was also buried here in 1983, as was his wife, Marie-Josée of Belgium (1906-2001), in 2001.

Bern ruled Thonon, and the Republic of the Seven Tithings briefly governed Evian. The Treaties of Lausanne (1567) and Thonon (1569) stipulated the return to Savoie and the border at St Gingolph.

Thonon, the French border since 1860

Savoie had been a county for centuries and a duchy from 1416 until 1720, when it became the main area in the kingdom of Piedmont-Savoie (or kingdom of Sardinia), with Turin as its capital.

In 1796, Napoleon defeated this kingdom, and the Treaty of Paris (15 May 1796) made Savoy part of France. In 1798, Napoleon founded the Helvetic Republic, a unitary state (1798-1803), with the canton of Léman as a district. In 1803, the canton of Vaud was established in the new Confederation (1803-1813).

Savoy was annexed by France and incorporated into the département du Mont-Blanc. However, the Vienna Congress (1814/15) largely restored the old order, the Ancien Régime, at least as far as the kingdom of Piedmont-Savoie was concerned, which Savoie regained. Canton Vaud, however, kept its status and even remained a sovereign canton in the new Confederation of 1815.

The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was finally split in 1860: Sardinia and the eastern part (including Piedmont and Aosta) joined Italy, and the remaining part (including Savoy) joined France (following a referendum).

Aix-les-Bains, 150-year (1860-2010) accession of Savoy to (empire) France

Political fate only brought together Chablais, Evian, Vaud, and Vevey for a short time, between 1536 and 1567, and between 1798 and 1813. However, Lake Geneva has been the connecting link since Roman times.

Evian is also the site of the famous mineral water by Gabriel Cachat in 1789. He discovered the beneficial effects of the spring water, and Evian soon became a renowned place for the beau monde. La Source Cachat is one of the city’s most famous springs.

The links between Vevey and Evian have always been intense. Trade, viticulture, shipping, shipbuilding, spa and bath houses and tourism on both banks of the lake testify to centuries-old relations.

Port of Evian (above) and Musée des Traditions et des Barques du Léman in Saint-Gingolph (below), shipbuilding on Lake Geneva

Maurice Denuzière (1926), in his preface to his book ‘Helvétie’(1992), appropriately quotes Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-1947):

« Rappelons-nous le rôle, dit historique, qu’on prétait, placés comme nous sommes entre trois grands pays, c’est-à-dire entre trois cultures, de leur servir d’intermédiaire, d’opérer des rapprochements et, jetant au creuset l’apport de ces divers métaux, d’aboutir, j’imagine, à une sorte d’alliage. Ça s’appelait l’esprit européen. ’

The novel Helvétie, with Vevey as its protagonist, explores the intertwining and interrelationships in Lac Léman from 1800 to 1819.

Impressions of Aix-les-Bains and surroundings

 

The last remnants of the Roman past

Lac du Bourget

Impressions of Evian   

 

  

While many Protestant citizens from the (Habsburg) Low Countries and later the  Republic of the Seven United Provinces were students at the academy (founded in 1559) of John Calvin (1509-1564) in Geneva, other Protestant citizens fled the Netherlands precisely for Calvin and his teachings.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiated the Reformation in 1517. Many predecessors had already tried in vain to reform the church, often resulting in being burned at the stake. Luther succeeded partly due to the printing press and support from powerful German princes. The Reformation reached the Swiss Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft) as early as the 1520s.

Zurich, Grossmünster, Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) was the leading reformer in Zurich, and by 1524, the city was already Reformed. However, Zwingli differed from Luther in terms of specific religious points.

Reproductions of coloured drawings from various 16th-century manuscripts: scenes from Switzerland of a clandestine cult in the forest and the end of an assembly (1575), as well as the expulsion of three Anabaptists from Bern (1585). Collection: Zurich Central Library

On one subject, however, they agreed: the Anabaptists were a threat to the new faith and social order and had to be ruthlessly persecuted: ‘Eine verdorbene Art von Menschen, die Pest der Wiedertäufer und das Unkraut der Wiedertäufer’ (Huldrych Zwingli, Schriften IV, Theologischer Verlag Zürich 1995). Das (katholisch geprägte) Deutsche Reichsgesetz vom 23. April 1529 war auch deutlich:

Anabaptists who did not renounce their faith will be killed by stake, sword or other means without trial. In Zurich, drowning in the Limmat was one such method.

Zollikon, the house of one of the first meetings of the anabaptists

Anabaptists 

This movement emerged from the Reformation around 1525-1527 in Zurich and its nearby suburb of Zollikon.  Felix Manz (1498-1527) and Konrad Grebel (1498-1526) were its most prominent leaders. 

They rejected infant baptism, conscription, and the church as state institutions. Only adults could be baptised; the church was not an organ of the state but a private organisation of individuals, and military conscription was rejected.

Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, his successor Heinrich Bullinger(1504-1575), and other reformers regarded this movement as a clear and present danger.  They persecuted the Anabaptists with a ‘Protestant Inquisition’, including executions. A memorial table in Zurich on the banks of the Limmat still recalls the execution of leaders and other Anabaptists.

Zurich, Grossmünster

However, the movement was very successful and quickly spread to Catholic and Protestant areas, including the Netherlands, which was still predominantly Catholic at the time. However, Anabaptists were also persecuted in Catholic countries. There, too, they were seen as a threat, and they were Protestants, i.e. heretics.

Persecution in the Netherlands was exceptionally ruthless compared to other countries. In 1660, T.J. van Bracht published ‘Miroir des martyrs’ in French. Collection: Association Française d’Histoire Anabaptiste Mennonite

Only a few Catholics and Protestants, including the Catholic Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Protestant theologian Sebastian Castellio in Basel and local rulers, including the Duke of Württemberg and the Counts of Hesse and Oldenburg, pleaded for religious tolerance, in vain. Persecution was relentless in Catholic and Protestant areas.

Zurich, the house of Konrad Grebel

This movement was recognised only after the French creation of the Batavian Republic (1795) and the Helvetic Republic (1798) in the 19th century. The Constitution of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) provided for Anabaptists’ freedom of religion. The first Anabaptist church was consecrated in Basel in 1847, and the first World Anabaptist Congress was held in 1925. Reconciliation by the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church gained momentum later in the 20th century.

Finally, on 26 June 2004 in Zurich, there was the formal rapprochement and apology by the Evangelical Church under the slogan’ Die Reformation und die Täufer. Gegeneinander – nebeneinander-miteinander’, including the memorial stone on the Limmat.

The execution of Felix Manz and other Anabaptists,  January 5th, 1527. Illustration:  Heinrich Thomann (1544-1619), Abschrift (1605) sur Heinrich Bullingers Reformationsgeschichte (Source: Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Ms. B 316, Fol. 284v)

However, many Anabaptists had fled to other continents until the 19th century. The descendants of these refugees include the Amish, Quakers, Swiss Brethren, Mennonites, Anabaptists, and various branches of Anabaptism. Mennonites take their name from Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Dutch Anabaptist. Swiss Brethren is an English name for Swiss Anabaptists.

The persecution of Anabaptists by Protestants is an almost forgotten chapter in the history of the Reformation. Not only the Catholic Church but also the Protestant Church was ruthless towards dissident voices.

The dogmatic disputes between Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and their successors also indicate the absence of tolerance within the Protestant church. The ‘Protestant Inquisition’ towards Anabaptists is also evident in writings by Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Bullinger.

The humanist Erasmus (1469-1536), Sebastian Castellio, his alter ego Martin Bellius alias Basilius Montfort (1515-1563), David Joris alias Jan von Brugge/Johann von Bruck (1505-1556), and others published what they could in Basel.

The Basler scholar Bonifaz Amerbach and his Erasmus-Stiftung, founded in 1536, supported Castellio financially. A recently published issue of the Internationale Castellio Gesellschaft uniquely highlights this humanist contribution from Basel. 

Sebastian Castellio, De haereticis an sint persequendi, Basel, 1554. Collection Universitätsbibliothek Basel, VD16 C 2130

After a monk’s work (to use a Catholic religious term) of ten years, an international editorial team has published Castellio’s groundbreaking publication De haereticis an sint persequendi in the original Latin (Johannes Oporins publishers, Basel, 1554), German (Von Ketzeren, Strasbourg, 1555), French (Traicté des heretiques, Lyon 1557) languages and the edition by Joachim Clutensius (Strasbourg, 1610). 

Part I presents the Latin, German, and French texts in parallel, extensively referencing relevant texts by church fathers (including Augustine, Hieronymus, and Chrysostomus) and contemporary authors (including Erasmus, Calvin, and Luther).

Part II provides a comprehensive historical context and examines the religious discussions of this period. Moreover, a thorough account of the German and French translations, as well as the 1610 publication, is not missing.

Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer, Kilian Schindler (Ed.) in cooperation with Sonja Klimek and Daniela Kohler, Sebastian Castellio De haereticis an sint persequendi (Schwabe Verlag, Basel, 2024)

Conclusion

This two-volume edition, spanning over 1,300 pages, is a bold venture by the publisher and a testament to the successful content and design by editors and authors in this digital world. Above all, the content has lost none of its relevance, or as Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) put it in 1936:

 ‘Als Manifest der Toleranz und mit der Toleranzargumentation von Sebastian Castellio (1515–1563) wurde eine neue Stufe im neuzeitlichen Diskurs der Toleranz erreicht’ (Castellio gegen Calvin, 1936).

It is no coincidence that Zweig had published the book Triumph und Tragik des Erasmus von Rotterdam (1934) two years before and after 16 years of Communist and one year of National Socialist terror and dictatorship.

Or in the words of Winston Churchill (1874-1965):

‘Fascism was the shadow or ugly child of Communism’. (The Second World War, The Gathering Storm, London 1947). A topical ‘warning from history’, including a new religious ‘ism’.

Source: Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer, Kilian Schindler (Eds.), in cooperation with Sonja Klimek and Daniela Kohler, Sebastian Castellio De haereticis an sint persequendi (Schwabe Verlag, Basel, 2024); M. Baumann (Ed.), Gemeinsames Erbe. Reformierte und Täufer im Dialog, Zurich 2007)

Impressions of Zollikon

Napoleon’s (1769-1821) famous march over the Great St Bernard (2469 metres) in 1800 went in a different direction from that of Emperor Claudius (10 BC-54 AD) in 43 AD.

Claudius marched south to north toward Britannia, and Napoleon marched north to south towards Habsburg Italy and its allies.

In both cases, Martigny (Forum Claudii Vallensium, in Roman times, or Octodurus in the Celtic version) and Aosta (Augusta Praetoria, founded in 25 BC) were important places in this region.

Edouard Castres (1838-1902), 1800, Napoleon crossed the St. Bernard Pass on his way to Italy.  Musée militaire de Morges. Foto: TES

Napoleon on the Great St Bernard

Claudius made his way to Britannia from Martigny, making the road across the Great St Bernard (Summus Poeninus or Alpis Poenina) passable. Napoleon, his generals and his army bivouacked at Martigny and completed the march to Aosta.

Little St. Bernard (Graius mons or Alpis Graia, 2,188 m), the smaller brother of Great St. Bernard, was also known to the Romans and held great strategic and economic importance.

Summus Poeninus derives from the Celtic god Poeninus (Penninus). Graia (probably derived from Graecae, based on a Greek legend) was the Roman name for Little St Bernard.

However, the Romans did not name the highest peaks of the Alpine chain—Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn, or Mont Blanc!

The Alps Graias and Poeninas around 150 BC. Picture: Marco Zanoli,Wikipedia

The Great St Bernard Pass connects present-day Valais with the Aosta Valley in Italy. The road over the Little Saint Bernard Pass connects the Aosta Valley with the Tarentaise (and Isère Valley), Beaufortain, and Haut-Faucigny (and Chamonix Valley) in France.

The Roman interpretation of this ‘twin gateway’ to the Graias and Poeninas Alps (germinae Alpium fores, Graias atque Poeninas) is also reflected in the two administrative units in Roman times: the Alpes Graiae and the Vallis Poenina (from which the canton of Valais (Valais) takes its name). In Roman times, other passes were already in use in this region. These will not be discussed.

The various administrative changes during the Roman period are also not discussed. By the end of the Roman period (5th century), this region was known as the Provincia Alpium Graiarum et Poeninarum. The Aosta Valley was assigned to Italian provinces.

During the Roman conquests, Celtic tribes lived in the area. The Salassians lived in the Aosta Valley (conquered in 25 BC). The Ceutrons inhabited the Alpes Graiae. The four tribes, Nantuates, Veragren, Sedunes, and Uberes, inhabited the Vallis Poenina. The Romans conquered these areas between 15 and 10 BC.

The Celtic population was Romanised within a few generations, and apart from (civil) wars, the Pax Romana brought stability and prosperity to the region for centuries. Today, the cities of Martigny and Aosta are the main witnesses.

The Great St. Bernard Lake

The Romans were (also) highly skilled road builders and made the passes over the Little and Great St Bernard Pass passable for trade, armies and passenger traffic.

Roman roads and numerous archaeological finds, including the remains of temples, public buildings, inns, and numerous inscriptions and stones, still mark these routes.

The route from Aosta to Tarentaise across the Little St. Bernard was completed around 20 AD, and the road from Aosta to Martigny was completed in 43 AD.

The old Roman roads (also known from the Peutinger map) still define the main traffic routes. From the Great St Bernard towards Lake Geneva (lac Lémanus (Roman), lac Léman (French)), the route ran via Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Notre-Dame de Lorette, Allèves, Liddes, Orsières, Martigny (Octodurus), Massongex (Tarnaiae), Villeneuve (Pennelocus), Vevey (Viviscus), Lyon (Noviodunum) and Geneva (Genava).

The connection to the east led along the Rhone (Rhodanus) to the Grimsel Pass, Furka Pass and Simplon Pass. To the west (Tarentaise), from Martigny, the passes of Balme and Forclaz were also the main access routes.

 The Little St. Bernard Pass 1940-1945

The border nowadays

The route from Aosta led into the Tarentaise via the Little St Bernard Pass to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Bergintrum), Aime (Axima), Moûtiers (Darantasia), towards Albertville.

Aime

In Roman times, Aosta, Martigny, Aime and Moûtiers were the most important towns. Aosta and Martigny are important Roman archaeological sites. Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Aime and Moûtiers have to make do with a few inscriptions and archaeological finds.

After the Roman era, it took centuries for the passes, roads, and buildings to be maintained again. Monks mainly built, maintained, and managed guesthouses (hospices) for travellers or generals (Napoleon) who built or improved roads.

The first hospice on the Great St Bernard dates from the 11th century and was founded by St Bernard of Aosta (c.1020-c.1080). He was also the initiator of the hospice on Little St Bernard.

The hospice on the Little St Bernard

For centuries, these two centres, located at an altitude of over 2,000 metres, have been centres of scientific research, religion, refuge, and salvation for travellers. The Great St Bernard is also the highest point on the Via Francigena pilgrimage route.

The Museum

However, the Saint Bernard dogs are the most famous and world-renowned inhabitants of the Great St. Bernard Pass. These rescuers and friends of humans can only be seen in the complex on the pass in the summer these days. The museum at the pass tells their story.

Although they are no longer used for rescuing people, they still serve a social and therapeutic function. The Barry Foundation in Martigny runs a breeding programme and presents these dogs and their history to the public.

(Source: A. Puéjean, Les Alpes Graies et Poenines à l’époque romaine, Tarentaise, Beaufortain, Haut-Faucigny et Valais, Nîmes, 2015; J.-P. Voutaz, P. Rouyer, Découvrir le Grand-Saint-Bernard, Les Editions du le Grand-Saint-Bernard, 2013)

Maximilian I (1469-1519), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, called the Rhine from Chur to Utrecht the ‘Pfaffengasse’. The Rhine offers this sight from Chur to Constance, Basel, Strasbourg, Worms, Speyer, Mainz, Bonn, Cologne, Xanten, Nimwegen and Utrecht. 

Utrecht, cathedrale

The region on the shores of Lake Constance (the Bodensee) can then be referred to as the Monastery Road. This region had more than 300 monasteries until the Reformation in the 16th century. It shows the rich religious, cultural, and historical past of this part of the present-day countries of Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.

(Source: www.jakobsweg-dachverband.ch)

Irish and English monks founded the first monasteries in the sixth and seventh centuries. Frankish rulers founded numerous monasteries in the eighth century, first by the Merovingians and then by the Carolingians. The reigns of Charlemagne (748-814) and his son Louis the Pious (778-840) are of particular relevance in this respect. The kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, along with their appointed abbots and bishops, continued this process from 962 until the Reformation.

Until the 11th century, the Benedictine Order was the only monastic community. The number of monasteries sharply increased with the rise of new monastic orders. Franciscans, Dominicans, Cistercians, Augustinians, Capuchins, Carthusians, and others (for men and women) were founded.

A chapel near Höchst, Vorarlberg

The most important monasteries adapted their churches and living and working complexes to changing artistic styles and cultural insights. In contrast, others retained their original style to a greater or lesser extent. The region is, therefore, the setting for the Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo styles.   

The Reformation (16th century), the Napoleonic era, and, in Switzerland, the decisions of cantons (19th century) also left their mark. Many monasteries were abolished and demolished, while others were repurposed for other purposes. Some monasteries were used as medical centres; others were given a cultural or recreational function. In these cases, the buildings were preserved, and the monastery church often retained its original religious role. Monks or nuns still inhabit some monasteries.

Bregenz

A trip around Lake Constance can start in Bregenz (Vorarlberg, Austria). This town is known for its annual festival, as well as for the Wettingen-Mehrerau Monastery (1095), the Martinskirche (1361), and the Gallus Kapelle (1079), all located at the top of the hill. The promenade along the lake runs from the monastery to the city centre. A little further on is the monastery of Thalbach (1436), which serves as a spiritual centre today.

Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey

The Oberstadt

St. Martin Church

Lindau

Lindau (Bavaria, Germany) is a peninsula. The Romans already inhabited it. They built the city walls and fort on the site of the Roman bathhouse. The Kanonissen monastery was founded in 822 and dissolved in 1803. The Franciscan monastery was founded in 1224 and disbanded in 1803. The Bavarian lion and the famous lighthouse keep a watchful eye after the nuns and monks have left the city.

The Kanonissen monastery

The Franciscan monastery

The Bavarian lion and the lighthouse

De Mang Tower

Salem

Salem Abbey (1136) was one of the wealthiest monasteries in the region until its dissolution in 1805. Anyone walking through the lavish French gardens and baroque complex has a different idea of monastic life. The Gothic cathedral and the baroque castle fit well into this picture of contrasts. The contrast with the monastery of Werd (canton of Thurgau) on the other side of the Untersee (the western part of Lake Constance) could not be more significant.

Salem Abbey. Photo: Carsten Steger

Birnau

The former monastery of Birnau (1227), located near Überlingen, was renowned for its pilgrimage to Mary until the nineteenth century. After the monastery was dissolved in 1803, the eighteenth-century rococo church remains the main attraction today. In 1919, the Wettingen-Mehrerau monastery acquired the church, and in 1971, the Pope elevated it to the status of a Basilica Minor.

Priory Birnau. Photo: Kloster Mehrerau

Siessen

The monastery of Siessen (1260) survived the Reformation and destruction in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). However, the monastery was dissolved in 1803, only to restart in 1860. With a hiatus from 1935 to 1945, the convent continues to function with approximately 70 nuns.

Siessen Abbey. Foto: Kloster Siessen

Hegne

The nunnery of Hegne occupies a special place. Founded only in 1856, its community numbers as many as 2,800 nuns worldwide. 

Constance

The Bishopric of Constance existed from 585 until its dissolution in 1821. The once-mighty diocese even stretched as far as Kleinbasel until 1803. The Council of Constance (1414-1418) was its most famous moment; the burning of Jan Hus in 1415 was the anti-climax. 

Constance switched to the Protestant faith in 1527. The bishop fled to Meerburg ( the bishop of Basel fled to Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German, today’s canton of Jura) that year.

There was no shortage of monasteries in this episcopal city; only all but one had been closed. The most important are the Capuchin Monastery, founded in 1603 and disbanded in 1816, the Dominican Monastery on the so-called Dominika Island (Dominikanerinsel), founded in 1236, dissolved in 1785; the Franciscan Monastery, founded in 1240, disbanded in 1808, and the Benedictine Monastery Petershausen, founded in 983, dissolved in 1802. However, the cathedral (Münster) still stands proudly without a bishop.

The Franciscan Monastery (a theatre nowadays)

The Dominican Monastery (a hotel nowadays)

The cathedral (Münster) of Constance

The Port of Constance, Imperia, statue (1993) commemorating the Council of Constance

Zoffingen 

The convent has existed since 1257. It was initially a Beguine community, later a convent for nuns of the Augustinians, and, from 1318, a convent for Dominican nuns. The monastery still exists, albeit with a small number of nuns.

Kreuzlingen 

Kreuzlingen Abbey (present-day canton of Thurgau, Switzerland) was a powerful princely abbey in the Holy Roman Empire. After being destroyed in the Thirty Years’ War, the monastery was rebuilt but closed in 1803.

Johann Sadeler, around 1633 (Staatsarchiv Thurgau, Frauenfeld).

Photo: Roland Zumbuel/Wikipedia. 

Münsterlingen

The Benedictine Abbey of Münsterlingen was founded in 986. When Münsterlingen became Protestant in 1524, the abbey remained. The monastery church was even shared, Swiss-style, by Catholics and Protestants. Thurgau was an occupied territory (Untertanengebiet) of the Eidgenossenschaft from 1460-1798. Protestant and Catholic cantons or Orte governed this area. The monastery was closed in 1848.

Reichenau 

The island of Reichenau is known as a Klosterinsel, or monastery island. Since 2000, it has even been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buildings of three monasteries are still standing: St. Markus and Maria in Reichenau-Mittelzell, St. Peter and Paul in Reichenau-Niederzell, and St. George in Reichenau-Oberzell.

Rorschach

A remarkable story concerns the Mariaberg monastery complex in Rorschach (canton of St Gallen). The monastery complex was completed in 1489, but then destroyed by citizens from Appenzell and the city of St Gallen before being consecrated and used as a monastery.

A generation before Martin Luther’s 1517 statements, the Church had already been exposed to considerable criticism. However, an army of the Swiss Confederation (St Gallen and Appenzell were not (yet) members) restored order in 1490, and the monastery was subsequently rebuilt, but not as a monastery but as the residence of the abbot of St Gallen. 

The result was a Gothic complex partly destroyed by iconoclasm in 1529. Successive abbots of St Gallen rebuilt the complex in a late Baroque style in 1777. 

When the St Gallen monastery was closed in 1803, the Mariaberg also lost its function. Since then, the canton has owned and used it as an education centre.

Conclusion 

The region also has many chapels and churches. A bit further inland and upstream and downstream of the Rhine are many other monasteries, for example, in Disentis, Chur, Pfäfers, St. Gallen, Paradies, Stein am Rhein, Werd, Ittingen, Schaffhausen or Rheinau, to name but a few. The episcopal city of Basel had as many as ten monasteries in 1527. 

These monasteries and their inhabitants preserved the heritage of antiquity; quite apart from the magnificent Romanesque and Gothic architecture, Gregorian chant, illuminated manuscripts, Baroque and Rococo palaces and other art, the Boden region is a monument for the monk.

(Source: D. Damwerth, Horizont Bodensee, Wenen, 2019;  www.bodensee.eu)

Impressions of Bregenz

Lindau, view from Bregenz

The Bodensee near Bregenz and the Festspielplatz

Oberstadt and the medieval city wall

Impressions of Lindau

The former city hall (Rathaus)

Municipal museum (under renovation)

Villa and home of the exile of the Austrian Archduke and Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand IV  (1835-1908)

The Parc  of Lindau

Impressions of Constance 

House of birth of Count (Graf) Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917)

Lindau, Zeppelin above the Casino, 4 June 2023

The bridge over the Rhine, the Bodensee becomes the Untersee