This section contains an overview of the most relevant monuments in Switzerland.
1 August 2023
The last third of the 19th century witnessed a great interest worldwide in panoramas. A panorama is a gigantic circular painting up to 15 metres in height and 120 metres in circumference. At the end of the 19th century, many big cities had rotundas exhibiting panoramas. During this period, the idea arose to represent the … Read more » “The Crucifixion Panorama in Einsiedeln”
28 July 2023
The history of the bathhouse (Dorfbad) is closely linked to the use of the thermal spring in the Tamina Gorge and the success story of Bad Ragaz (Canton of St. Gallen) after 1850. The story began in 1840 when Bernhard Simon (1816-1900) took over the estate “Hof Ragaz” from the Canton of St. Gallen. He … Read more » “Bad Ragaz, the Bathhouse and Grand Hotel”
28 July 2023
Count Radebot of Habsburg and his wife, Ita of Lorraine, founded the Benedictine monastery in 1027 on the territory of present-day Muri (Canton Aargau). Bishop Rumold consecrated the church of St. Martin on 11 October 1064. The women’s convent moved to Hermetschwil in 1140. The Acta Murensia (1150-1180) are an essential historical source for regional political developments … Read more » “Muri Monastery”
24 July 2023
The 12th-century Romanesque church in St. Niclà (Canton of Graubünden) is dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and children. The church is located near the bridge over the River Inn (En in Romansh), along the old medieval road to Nauders. The Romanesque tower, the rectangular nave and the semicircular apse have been … Read more » “Romanesque Church St. Niclà”
12 July 2023
The village of Romainmôtier (canton of Vaud) offers an exceptional cultural landscape. The abbey church of Romainmôtier is a marvel of Romanesque and Gothic art. Around 450, the monk Romanus founded a monastery on the site of today’s Romainmôtier. Sources are lacking until the mid-8th century. Only the monk Bobbio (600-659) mentions the monastery in … Read more » “The Romainmôtier Monastery”
12 July 2023
The hill’s location at the Burgundian Gate’s entrance (” Trouée de Belfort “) is a natural passageway from the Saône plain to Alsace. Pilgrimages near Ronchamp were already mentioned in the 11th century. Today’s pilgrimage takes place on 15 August (Assumption Day). After the French Revolution in 1789, the old chapel was sold and has … Read more » “Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Le Corbusier and Renzo Piano”
10 July 2023
The fountain celebrating the millennium of Saint-Blaise was designed by Mario Botta (1943). The Ruau stream is the source and origin of the village. The Ruau provided the village with 12 water sources. For six centuries, the water also powered the millstones of several mills. These mills traversed the village and followed the Ruau to … Read more » “Mario Botta in Saint-Blaise”
4 July 2023
The chapel of William Tell in Lausanne is not a chapel. It does not have relics of the national hero Wilhelm Tell, who (when he existed anyway) never visited Lausanne. Moreover, the chapel was not founded by a Swiss but by the Frenchman Osiris. Although it is not a chapel, and there are three chapels … Read more » “The Tell Chapel in Lausanne”
26 June 2023
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 … Read more » “The Abbey of St. Maurice and laus perennis (perpetual hymn)”
8 June 2023
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 … Read more » “Reichenau and Arenenberg”
