Author: Maarten Koning

The Abbey of St. Maurice and laus perennis (perpetual hymn)

The Abbey of St. Maurice (canton of Valais), the oldest monastery in the West, an uninterrupted functioning abbey and laus perennis (perpetual hymn), was founded in 515 by Sigismund (? – 524), king of the Burgundian kingdom (443-534).

The martyrdom of Saint Maurice and his Christian companions of the Roman Theban Legion lies at the origin of this holy Christian site.

The abbey church and the church of Martolet, built at the foot of the cliff, the baptistery, and the abbot’s palace are part of a vast monastic complex dating back to the 6th century, which reflects the abbey’s dual role as both a religious and secular institution.

The presence of a palace also testifies to its political power. The Aula, with an area of 400 m2, represented the abbot, the bishop and the (Burgundian) king.

(Source and further information: www.abbaye-stmaurice.ch).

The Fairytale of the Vallorbe Caves

Around 150 million years ago, a sea covered the entire Jura region on the site of the current Vallorbe caves in the canton of Vaud. The complex geological history of cave formation took another 120 million years.

Seven million years ago, the sea withdrew from the region as the African and European continents collided, giving rise to the formation of the Alps and the Jura mountain ranges.

The River Orbe has two springs. The source of the Orbe superior (Orbe supérieure) is the lake of Rousses (lac des Rousses) in France, and flows into the lake of Joux (lac de Joux) in Switzerland, and then goes underground. There is also the underground Orbe, the Orbe inferior (Orbe inférieure), with rainwater and melted snow as a source.

The two Orbes come together in the Caves of Vallorbe; two-thirds of the water comes from the Orbe inferior. The Orbe is not the only underground river.

The large and small Grotte aux Fées (la grande et la petite Grotte aux Fées) have different watercourses and sources.

The underwater lake in the Caves of Vallorbe is part of the Orbe network and other sources. Underwater lighting shows that this lake is quiet and almost stationary. An enormous gallery stretches out over 600 metres.

This underground Cathedral (La cathédrale souterraine), the Great Hall (La Grande Salle), the stalactites, stalagmites, and numerous limestone formations are the centre of the caves.

The underground Orbe flows between enormous boulders, creating works of art and galleries with stalactites, stalagmites, pillars, draperies, columns, and fistulous formations.

A magical underground fairytale world. The Trésor des Fées houses the mineral collection and shows the underground mineral wealth.

(Source: G. Favre, Les Grottes de Vallorbe, Vallorbe; Les Grottes de Vallorbe ).

The Orbe shows up again

The iron industry and Iron Museum of the City of Iron Vallorbe

Blacksmiths were already utilising iron ore found in the Pied-du-Jura 350 years before Christ. From the 12th century, several documents indicate that the iron industry revived in the Jura. In Vallorbe, the first factories, the forerunners of the current industries, date from the last quarter of the 13th century.

There was water from the River Orbe to drive the wheels, wood for building and manufacturing charcoal, and iron ore, notably in the Mont d’Orzeires, on the northern side of the Dent de Vaulion.

Between 1280 and 1285, the prior Romainmôtier set up the valley’s first bloomery at la Dernier. A bloomery reduces iron ore into iron that is directly forgeable, as in the primitive furnaces of the Bellaires. At the beginning of the 16th century, Vallorbe was already a centre for steelmaking, with three bloomeries and several forges.

The technical revolution embodied in the discovery of the blast furnace, which enables the production of cast iron in large quantities, gave new impetus to the iron industry. In about 1670, Vallorbe had three blast furnaces, several fire-refining installations and about thirty forges.

By the end of the 17th century, production of cast iron had ceased in Vallorbe. Metalworking had to diversify and become specialised. The Vallorbians bought their iron elsewhere and became locksmiths, gunsmiths, nailsmiths, and farriers.

This boom continued until about 1850 and was sustained thanks to the manufacturing of files, tools, and chains. Les Usines Métallurgiques de Vallorbe, founded in 1899, and specialising in producing precision files and chains for chainsaws, kept up the worldwide reputation of the Cité du Fer (City of Ironworks).

The iron industry also evolved elsewhere in the Jura, leading to the cutting of fine stones, the manufacture of music boxes, razors, chisels, and other precision tools or machines.

The Iron Museum (musée du fer) occupies the buildings of a site in Vallorbe, where ironworking has been carried on since 1495. The museum showcases the origins of the iron industry, its development, and its current applications. The functioning of the canal wheels, the machines, and the forge is the real heart of the Museum.

(Source et plus d’informations: Le Musée du fer)

The Fire of Riom

Not only Rome experienced a legendary fire (64 AD), but the village of Riom (canton of Graubünden) also burnt down almost entirely eighteen centuries later, and with it, its historic houses, municipal archives and ancient streets. The Riom fire is deeply engraved in the collective memory.

This village fire, which broke out on 5 March 1864, is the subject of a theatre performance by the Fundaziun Origen on an open-air stage in the village. The setting offers a beautiful view over the broad valley. The theatre play recounts the village’s demise, rapid reconstruction, the belief in a better future and the inhabitants’ pioneering spirit and solidarity.

Riom, June 2023

The open-air theatre play Arsa da Riom (Fire of Riom) takes the audience on a journey through the history of Riom. A theatre miniature takes place in the afternoon and recounts the new building plans after the fire.

As a reference to the great solidarity following the village fire, the organisers cook a rich soup on all performance days and tell stories from the chronicles of the 19th century and a series of guided tours and lectures on the history and future of Riom round off the programme.

The temporary theater in Riom. Photos: Admill Kuyler

An exclusive preview of the open-air theatre for a young audience (16 to 25 years old) will take place on Friday, 23 June 2023.

Other performance dates: 24, 25, 29 and 30 June, 6, 8, 9, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 July, time: 9 pm.

The Fundaziun Origen also invites to the final musical performances at the Julierturm on the Julier Pass (2 284 m). Clau Scherrer, the long-time conductor of Origen, celebrates the melancholy of farewell in works by Rachmaninov, embedded in the warm, wooden acoustics of the Julierturm, one of the best and at least the highest in the Alps.

The Julierturm has been the venue for numerous performances of theatre, ballet, music and lectures since 2017. The tower will be demolished at the beginning of September 2023, as already agreed in 2017.

Source and further information: Fundaziun Origen

Riom in Winter

 

Roman organ in Basel

A citizen of the Roman town of Augusta Raurica (today Augst/Kaiseraugst) would not have believed his ears in the third century AD: the sound of an organ in Basilia (present-day Basel), a hamlet of a few hundred inhabitants.

Augusta Raurica and Basilia around 117 AD: Picture: Augusta Raurica Museum

Augusta Raurica was about 10 km from Basilia and had 15 000 inhabitants then. Only after the departure of the Romans, the Alemanni invasions, and the Bishop’s move from Augusta Raurica to Basilia in the 5th century did history take its course and on 1 June 2023, the organ played in Basel.

The organ is a Greek construction invented in 246 BC by Ctesibios in Alexandria, from where it found its way to Greece. Alexandria was a Greek city at that time. The Romans conquered Greece in 197 BC, but Greek culture conquered Rome. The organ also quickly found its place in Roman culture. However, the Romans introduced some improvements.

Picture: Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel. Stadtcasino Basel

Villa Nennig (Germany). Image: Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel. Stadtcasino Basel

Image: Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel. Stadtcasino Basel

Roman organs appear in around fifty paintings from classical antiquity. Often in the context of the theatre or theater (especially at gladiatorial fights), sometimes in a private setting, with or without other instruments or singers.

The instrument was a luxury item that could be heard in the villas and palaces of the local elite and at performances in amphitheatres and theatres. These buildings had primarily political and propagandistic functions, and the music was also part of the elite’s spectacle, euergetism and self-expression.

The problem with contemporary music of a Roman organ is the need for complete organs and the absence of recordings of their sounds. Only three parts of a Roman organ have been discovered: in Avenches (the Roman town of Aventicum, Canton Vaud), near Budapest (the Roman town of Aquincum), and Dion in Macedonia.

Picture: Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel.

The technical details of Roman organs have been described in Roman literature (especially in de architectura by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c. 85-20 BC). Based on archaeological finds, pictures and Vitruvius’ detailed description, scholars have been able to reconstruct a water organ.

The water organ works through an ingenious combination of air, water, stops and pipes. This construction replaces the blowing of wind instruments. During performances at the Stadtcasino, two people had to operate a lever on either side to keep the air circulating.

Organs with bellows probably existed in classical antiquity. The medieval organetto was based on this technique. Since then, little has changed. Only the number of stops, keys and pipes increased, as the modern organ in the Stadtcasino Basel shows.

The sounds of a replica of a Roman water organ from the 3rd C., played by organist Justus Willberg, in a joint performance with an organetto (organist Corina Marti) from the late Middle Ages (1300-1500), a Metzler-Klahre organ (organist Thilo Muster) and the world premiere of the composition “Canzona” by Basel composer Hans-Martin Linde represented a world premiere.

Contemporary compositions and chants (by the soprano Aline de Pasquier), a Latin declamation of the inscription on the sarcophagus for the Roman organist Aelia Sabina (3rd century AD), were also performed. The organist Justus Willberg interpreted his performance on two rare fragments of compositions from antiquity.

The Roman water organ (reconstruction)

Justus Willberg explains the functioning of the organ; on the left, the organetto.

Justus Willberg, the organ and the inscription on the sarcophagus, soprano Aline de Pasquier

Corina Marti and the organetto, soprano Aline de Pasquier

Thilo Muster and a Metzler-Klahre organ

This concert on Roman, medieval and contemporary organs with compositions from the associated periods was organised by the Alliance française de Bâle, the Société d’études françaises de Bâle and the Freunde Alter Musik Basel in collaboration with Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel, former director of the Musée romain d’Avenches and the Roman excavation site of Aventicum.

The closing words of the event were also meaningful: without knowledge of the past, there is no understanding of the present and no view of the future. Without Greek inventions, Roman adaptations and the advent of Christianity, there would be no Johann Sebastian Bach and no Bach concerts on the 18th-century Silbermann organ in Arlesheim Cathedral. Incidentally, another organ festival will occur from 1-16 September in Stadtcasino Basel.

(Source: F. Jacob, M. Leuthard, A.C. Voûte. A. Hochuli-Gysel, Die römische Orgel aus Avenches/Aventicum, Avenches 2000; Von der römischen Wasserorgel bis zur modernen Orgel, Stadtcasino Basel, 10.06.2023).

Picture: Dr Anne de Pury-Gysel. Stadtcasino Basel, 10 June 2023

 Two fragments of compositions from antiquity. Pictures: Justus Willberg. Stadtcasino Basel, 10 June 2023

Reichenau and Arenenberg

It is not known whether Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837), daughter of Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814)and stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), and her son Louis-Charles Bonaparte (1808-1873) the later Emperor Napoleon III of France, often visited the island of Reichenau to attend mass in one of its three Romanesque churches during their stay at the Arenenberg (1817-1837) in the municipality of Salenstein (canton Thurgau). 

The Arenenberg seen from Reichenau

Reichenau seen from the Arenenberg

The island of Reichenau, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000, was one of Europe’s cultural and religious centres from the 8th to the 12th century. The Irish monk Pirmin founded the monastery in 724 under the rule of the Merovingians.

Its greatest heyday, the monastery’s Golden Age, occurred during the Carolingian period under Charlemagne (748-814) and his son Louis the Pious (778-843). The Carolingian empire (800-843) had about 800 (Benedictine) monasteries. Eighty of these monasteries, including Reichenau, fell directly under the emperor.

The monastery introduced Charlemagne’s new education system and the new script (minuscule), which was proficient in Latin, music, literature, religious murals, science, and illuminated manuscripts. In short, it was a centre of the so-called ‘Carolingian Renaissance’, featuring an extensive library, monastic garden, and scriptorium.

The new (and subsequently renovated) library of the abbey (1616)

The Garden

Education aimed to train the empire’s political, official and religious elite (abbots and bishops). The most important abbots were Waldo, Strabo and Heito.

The monastery of Reichenau maintained close relations with bishoprics (especially Basel, Constance and Chur and the archdiocese of Mainz) and, among others, with the abbeys in Schaffhausen, St Gallen, Fulda and Lindau.

The second heyday, the Silver Age, took place under the first (Saxon) emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1024). Abbot Bern was the most crucial abbot in this period. The following centuries saw a slow decline. The monastery was dissolved in 1803.

The first stones of the abbey date from the eighth century. After that, the monastery church, dedicated to Mary and Mark, and the monastery complex were frequently rebuilt until the 17th century, retaining Romanesque and Gothic features.

Liber Viventium Fabariensis, a. 810-820, Archive Abbey St. Gallen

The abbey’s scriptorium in Reichenau produced beautifully illustrated manuscripts, which are now housed in the library of the former abbey in St. Gallen, among other locations. The famous monastery plan from 830 is also located here.

Church of St. Peter and Paul 

Additionally, the tiny island had approximately 20 chapels and churches. Of these, only two remain beside the abbey church. The church of St Peter and Paul in Reichenau-Niederzell was consecrated in 799. Its patron, Bishop Egino of Verona (730-802), is buried in the choir. In 1134, the church was completely rebuilt in the Romanesque style. The influence of art from Lombardy is evident in sculptures, frescoes, and other forms of art.

Church of St. George

St George’s church in Reichenau in Oberzell was founded in the late 9th century by Abbot Hato. Its beautiful Romanesque frescoes date from the late 10th century. They depict the miracles of Jesus and his power over nature, disease, life and death. These frescoes and the scriptorium show the same style. At the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century, murals and illuminated manuscripts in Reichenau reached their peak.

Despite the dissolution of the abbey and most of the churches, these centuries of religious occupation have left a lasting impact on the island. They initiated and maintained agriculture and viticulture for centuries. By 1492, the island had become a true vineyard paradise, boasting approximately 200 hectares of vineyards. Today, it is only 5-10 hectares.

The Abbey and Its Viticulture Around 1700. Picture: Museum Church of St. Peter and Paul, Reichenau-Niederzell

After the abbey was dissolved in 1803, the farmland was bought by private individuals. Today, the island remains agriculturally oriented, with approximately 145 farms primarily dedicated to growing vegetables. Annual yields are as high as 14 million cucumbers, 2,000 tonnes of tomatoes and 5 million heads of leafy vegetables on less than 200 hectares! 

Relics

Another fertile soil of the island concerns relics. The most famous three relics are the bones of St. Mark in the golden shrine, the holy blood of Christ in the Byzantine cross in the monastery church of Mary and Mark, and the skull of St. George in St. George’s church.

The shrine with the bones of St. Marc the Evangelist

The Holy Blood of Christ and the  Byzantine cross

The Monday after Pentecost sees the annual procession of the Holy Blood. On April 25, a march for the bones of the evangelist Mark takes place. These days are public holidays on the island and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage.  

Conclusion

Hortense and Louis III were not particularly religious. However, both left numerous ‘relics’ in their Arenenberg. Unlike the relics above, these are open to the public daily. From the monastery island of Reichenau, the Arenenberg is easily visible. However, by the arrival of the Napoleons, the abbey was already closed. Still, its cultural and agricultural legacy was also perceptible to these inhabitants of the Arenenberg.

(Source and further information: Klosterinsel Reichenau; T. John, Die Klosterinsel Reichenau im Bodensee, Beuron, 2006)

Castle and houses in Reichenau-Mittelzell

 Reichenau-Mittelzell Museum

Cemetery of the abbey

The Reichenauer Verbrüderungsbuch (book of brotherhood) from 824 with deceased abbots, monks and friends. Picture: Museum Church of St. Peter and Paul, Reichenau-Niederzell

Swiss Society for Art History

On 3 June, the 143rd annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Art History (Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte (GSK)/Société d’Histoire de l’Art en Suisse (SHAS) took place at the Pfalzkeller, in the heart of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site of St Gallen and its legendary monastery and library.

Given the impressive history of this almost 150-year-old Society, a brief overview of its main activities and publications follows, with a particular focus on its digital and applied publications. The research, publications and application of new media are impressive and give a good picture of the rich cultural history of this country.

SHAS/GSK is a private non-profit organisation. Its primary goals are to record, study and publish Swiss architectural heritage. SHAS/GSK was founded in 1880 under the name Société patriotique pour la conservation des monuments historiques/Vaterländischen Gesellschaft für Erhaltung historischer Denkmäler. It adopted its current name in 1934.

Publications

In 1925, SHAS/GSK, in cooperation with the cantons, began publishing the national inventory of Swiss art and historical monuments (Monuments d’art et d’histoire de la Suisse (MAH)/Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz (KdS). The first volume appeared in 1927. Since then, 145 volumes of this collection have been published. They were supplemented between 1982 and 2004 by the Inventaire suisse d’architecture 1850-1920/ Inventar der neueren Schweizer Architektur 1850-1920.

Since 2012, new volumes in the series have also been available digitally.
The SHAS/GSK also publishes Swiss Guides to Monuments (Schweizerischen Kunstführer /Guides de monuments suisses), a series launched in 1935, regional and cantonal guides and editions on specific topics related to the history of art and architecture.

SHAS/GSK also publishes the quarterly magazine Art+Architecture en Suisse/Kunst+Architektur in der Schweiz

Digital activities and applications

Since 2010, SHAS/GSK has increasingly focused on new media and digital applications. Here is an overview of the most important publications.

Swiss Art To Go

The Swiss Art To Go application is designed as a personal companion for Swiss architecture.

EuropeArt To Go

EuropeArt To Go is an app for exploring the three-border region (France, Germany, and Switzerland) along the Upper Rhine. The app summarises information on interesting buildings in this region, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Péristyle

Péristyle is a thematic documentation application, a simplified publication of articles. It is a virtual library and publishing medium that converts Word files into eBooks with a few clicks, allowing users to create and print magazines on demand.

KdS-online

KdS-Online contains the 145 volumes of the Monuments d’art et d’histoire de la Suisse /Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz, outlining the historical development of buildings in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein between late antiquity and the 20th century.

360° Swiss Heritage

360° Swiss Heritage offers 3D virtual reality tours of Swiss castles.

Swiss Art in Sounds

Swiss Art in Sounds accompanies various publications with audio contributions. The content corresponds to specially adapted texts on elements of the respective building. The texts are available in English, French, German and Italian. Swiss Arts in Sounds can be accessed via a free app. The project has also been developed for visually impaired people through audiobooks.

Sciences-Arts

The interdisciplinary Sciences-Arts portal offers a comprehensive overview of scientific disciplines in the fields of art, music, and theatre in Switzerland. The portal brings together a range of scientific and cultural activities, from events on artistic and scientific policy to specific information on training and professional careers.
The portal is a project of eight organisations affiliated with the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. These eight organisations are responsible for the platform as a whole. SHAS/GSK is responsible for managing the site and its content.

(Source and further information: Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte/ Société d’histoire de l’art en Suisse)

The Pfalzkeller. Photo: SHAS/GSK

The Pfalzkeller inside. Photos: TES

Thousand Years Werd Monastery

Those who think of monasteries usually have in mind a large complex with various buildings, vineyards and other farmland, a botanic garden and a large monastic church. The most famous example on paper is the design of a monastery kept in the library of St Gallen Abbey.

This drawing, dating from around 840, likely originates from a monastery on the island of Reichenau. Many monasteries were based on similar designs and were almost always large complexes.

Several large monasteries from this period (e.g., Disentis, Einsiedeln, St. Johann, St. Maurice) still exist in Switzerland and function as such. Many other monasteries (e.g., Ittingen, Dornach, St. Urban, or Bellelay) have been closed and now have different uses today. For example, others have been demolished and fallen into oblivion (e.g., Moutier-Grandval.

The size of a monastery says nothing about its continuity. An example is the monastery of St Otmar on the small island of Werd (canton of Thurgau) near Stein am Rhein (canton of Schaffhausen).

The island of Werd and two uninhabited islets in 2008. Image: Thurgau Bodensee

The monastery is located on the isle of Werd in the Untersee. Its name is derived from the Alemannic word ‘Ward’, meaning island. The island has been inhabited for thousands of years.

The Untersee, the Rhine to or from Lake Constance

The oldest finds date back to 7000 B.C. In Roman times (15. B.C. – 410 A.D.), Werd was part of the Vicus Tasgetium (Eschenz). The Romans built the first (wooden) bridge to the island. A small exhibition with documentation and archaeological finds about this period has been set up in the convent’s priest’s house.

The monastery’s history begins with the Irish Gallus (c. 550-c. 620). Ireland and England are not only countries with beautiful medieval manuscripts (inspired in part by motifs of Norman culture) but also by the founders of monasteries on the European mainland. Gallus is the most revered saint in Alsace, Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland. He is also the namesake of the city and canton of St Gallen, and the Abbey of St Gallen was founded on his grave.

The abbey’s founder and the first abbot was Otmar (689-759). Otmar was from an Alemannic family. Until 746, the present-day Baden-Württemberg and the Lake Constance region were part of an Alemannic duchy. The Franks (the Merovingians and then the Carolingians) conquered and governed the area from 746, and a Frankish abbot replaced Otmar. The Frankish bishop of Constance even sentenced Otmar to death. This punishment was converted into exile to the island of Werd, where he died in 759.

The tomb and relics of Saint Otmar in the abbey of St. Gall

He was buried on the island. Ten years later, he was rehabilitated and interred in the abbey of St Gallen. In 864, he was canonised as Saint Otmar. From then on, the empty tomb on Werd became a place of pilgrimage, and a first chapel was built on the site. In 959,

Emperor Otto I (Otto the Great, 912-973) donated the island to the Benedictine monastery Einsiedeln (canton of Schwyz). In 1957, the Order of Benedictines transferred the monastery to the Order of Franciscans.

Today, with its beautiful Romanesque frescoes from the 14th century, the monastery still houses four monks, marking an uninterrupted monastic life of over 1,000 years. Every Wednesday, the monks commemorate Saint Otmar in a pilgrimage service.

The bridge to the mainland. Picture: Thurgau Bodensee

The bridge to Werd in rainy weather.

The wooden bridge has also been restored, connecting the island to the mainland as if the Romans had never left after 2,000 years. The island seems too small to get lost. But appearances can be deceiving. The labyrinth is a copy of the famous medieval labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral. It is 444 metres long, and many can wander on this small island.

(Source and further information: Kloster Werd; www.franciscan.ch; Thurgau Bodensee)

The Klosterhof of the abbey of St. Gall, statue of St. Otmar commemorating the foundation of the abbey 1,200 years ago

Sixty Years Regio Basiliensis

Regio Basiliensis is the Swiss partner for the Upper Rhine cooperation and the competence centre of choice for fostering cross-border collaboration in politics, public authorities, the economy, sciences, organisations, and the population.

The association was founded in 1963 and will celebrate its 60th anniversary on 19 June. It aims to provide incentives from the Swiss side designed to develop the Upper Rhine area into a cohesive European border region and to actively contribute to attaining this objective.

Since its founding in 1963, Regio Basiliensis has played a significant role in shaping regional cooperation in the Upper Rhine region and has contributed substantially to many of the trinational achievements and collaborations in this region.

Regio Basiliensis has a long-standing track record of involvement at the European level in numerous initiatives aimed at strengthening Europe’s regions and promoting cross-border cooperation.

(Source and further information: Regio Basiliensis)