This section contains an overview of the most relevant monuments in Switzerland.
5 March 2022
Kaspar Stockalper von Thurm (1609-1691) built this castle in 1658-1678, next to his residence in Brig (canton of Valais). He was the wealthiest banker, merchant and entrepreneur in Valais. He controlled the postal services and trade over the Simplon Pass and became the Valais’s most influential politician and diplomat. He was also called the Fugger … Read more » “Stockalper Castle in Brig”
13 February 2022
Switzerland’s well-preserved cultural heritage, which is also maintained, offers many surprises. So too in the small village of Engollon in the Val-de-Ruz (canton of Neuchâtel). The church of Saint-Pierre (Saint Peter) first appears in a document from 1228. However, recent archaeological excavations have revealed the foundations of a church from earlier centuries. Guillaume of Aarberg … Read more » “The Saint-Pierre in Engollon”
30 January 2022
The Benedictine nunnery of St. Martin is located in the Freiamt Bremgarten on the banks of the Reuss and north of the village of Hermetschwil (Canton of Aargau). The monastery was founded in 1082 and is one of the most impressive cultural sites in the region. The beginnings of the abbey date back to the … Read more » “The Monastery St. Martin near Hermetschwil”
24 January 2022
Valangin was a seigneurie in the Middle Ages. The town was surrounded by a city A wooden drawbridge led to roads from the seigneurie, Neuchâtel and the Swiss Plateau. Valangin was chosen by Claude d’Arberg, lord of Valangin, to build the Collégiale St. Pierre. It was consecrated in 1505. The presence of a church with … Read more » “The Collégiale of Valangin”
21 January 2022
The Hirsch Pavilion (Pavillon Hirsch) in Neuchâtel was built and inaugurated in 1912. The pavilion features an entrance hall decorated by the Art Nouveau artist Charles L’Eplattenier (1874-1946) and the Ateliers d’art réunis between 1910 and 1911. Stylised elements evoke the Style Sapin. This style is a regionalist variant of Art Nouveau developed in the … Read more » “The Hirsch Pavilion in Neuchâtel”
6 January 2022
Angenstein Castle (Duggingen, Canton of Basel-Landschaft) was strategically important for the Prince-Bishop of Basel to control his territories in the Jura region (roughly the area of today’s Canton of Jura, the Birseck in Basel-Landschaft and French-speaking areas of Canton Bern). The site is located southwest of Basel in the Birs basin. Angenstein was inhabited in … Read more » “Angenstein Castle”
22 December 2021
The St. Peter Church (St. Peter Kirche) is the oldest in Zurich. Its visible foundations date back to the ninth century. The originally Carolingian church was renovated in the Romanesque style from the 10th to the 13th centuries. The church played a crucial role in the Reformation in Zurich. The pastor Leo Jud (1482-1542) supported … Read more » “The Big Ben in Zurich”
22 December 2021
Arlesheim (Canton Basel-Landschaft) is a village with the world’s largest cathedral. The cathedral and the surrounding palaces for the canons were built in 1678. A century later, in 1785, the “solitude romantique prèd d’Arlesheim”, the Arlesheim Hermitage, was founded. This English garden was laid out around the ruins of the medieval castles of Birseck and … Read more » “Arlesheim, Birseck and Reichenstein”
9 December 2021
Over the last 100 years, approximately 180 buildings, including numerous private homes and functional structures, have been constructed around the Goetheanum. Their architecture is typical of the Goethean or sculptural-organic building style. The buildings on a hill above the valley of the river Birs share the same architectural features as the Goetheanum and reflect the original … Read more » “Architecture Walk Dornach and the Goetheanum”
8 December 2021
The Cistercian Monastery of Wettingen (Canton of Aargau) was founded in 1227. The Cistercian Order – named after the first foundation in Cîteaux (Burgundy) – built its monasteries in the isolation of nature to be economically independent through farming. The location on the Limmat peninsula in Wettingen was ideal for this reason. The monastery was … Read more » “Wetting Monastery”
