Author: Maarten Koning

The Burgundian Wars, Switzerland and Academic Anachronism

Coincidence or not, the fact is that the renovated Grandson Castle and Museum in the canton of Vaud have been opened to the public, as well as the exhibition ‘The Battle of Murten’ (Murten ausgeschlachtet) at the Bernisches Historisches Museum. The year 2026 marks the 550th anniversary of the battles of Grandson (2 March 1476) and Murten (22 June 1476).

The Burgundian territories around 1474. Image: Wikipedia

The warring parties were the Duke of Burgundy and his allies, including Savoy, against the eight cantons of the Confederation, the free Imperial cities of Basel and Strasbourg, Colmar, Schlettstadt, Mühlhausen, Duke Sigismund of Austria with his territories in Outer Austria, the Duke of Lorraine, and with support from the ailing Kingdom of France, just out of the Hundred Years’ War (1335-1453).

The Duchy of Burgundy in 1476. Image: Bernisches Historisches Museum

The anti-Burgundian alliance versus the Duke of Burgundy

The museum in Grandson Castle, the Musée d’Yverdon et région, the Musée Saint-Imier and the Bernisches Historisches Museum highlight the period of conflict from 1474 to 1477, which saw the formation of this anti-Burgundian alliance.

In June, the Swiss Spectator will publish an extensive article on this period, which was so important for European and Swiss history. The first conquests by Bern and Fribourg in 1475 in the Pays de Vaud will then also be addressed.

The divided Duchy of Burgundy after 1477. Image: Bernisches Historisches Museum

The Confederation after 1477

Militarily, the Swiss Confederation, thanks in part to its allies’ support, emerged as the victor in this conflict; however, France and Austria ultimately carried off the territorial spoils. Nevertheless, the Confederation confirmed its military, political, and diplomatic prestige (having previously defeated the Habsburgs on several occasions).

The Confederation of Eight expanded into an alliance of ten sovereign cantons in 1481 (the Stanser Verkommnis), and after the Swabian War and the Peace of Basel (1499), into thirteen cantons in 1513.

Although Swiss academics fill books and journals with discussions of the alleged “nonsense,” or fake news, surrounding 1291 and the myth of the medieval roots of the present-day Swiss Confederation, even they cannot deny that the peasant villages of Central Switzerland—already recognized as Reichsunmittelbar of free villages in the 13th century by the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, u unicum in Europa! —eventually gave rise to the Confederation of 1848.

Coat of arms of the Dukes of Burgundy, Scheiblersches Wappenbuch (Scheibler’s Book of Arms), Southern Germany, c. 1450. Collection: Munich, Bavarian State Library, Cod. Icon. 312c

It is irrelevant whether William Tell ever existed, just as it is irrelevant whether the “Orte” or cantons prior to 1798 envisaged the present Confederation. The Netherlands has its legendary Batavians, France its Gauls and Marianne, Italy its Romulus and Remus, and Greece, for example, the goddess Athena. The claim that history “could have turned out differently” is equally irrelevant to history.

What matters are the facts: the formal recognition of the Confederation as an independent alliance of sovereign cantons in 1648, its recognition in 1815, and its present constitutional form established in 1848.

Louis Braun (1836–1916), detail from the panorama (1894) of the Battle of Murten.

Academics and other highly educated individuals who speak of “Neidgenossen” instead of “Eidgenossen,” and who deny, trivialise, and systematically diminish this factual history of origin—as well as its economic, democratic, monetary, and scientific achievements and centuries-old European and global networks—live too much in their studies and in ideology. Other countries, too, consisted solely of “Neidgenossen” until the formation of nation-states in the 19th and 20th centuries, including Germany, Italy, Poland, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and many others.

No ‘Neidgenossen’, but the Eidgenossen of Bern and Fribourg. Collectie: Musée d’Yverdon et région

In the Netherlands as well, the sovereign provinces up to 1795 were nothing more than “Neidgenossen,” yet no academic would dream of filling books and articles about this. Nor do they date the emergence of the current kingdom exclusively to the Napoleonic era 1795-1813) and 1815 (the Congress of Vienna), but primarily to the Union of Utrecht (1579), the Act of Abjuration, the break with Spanish-Habsburg rule (1581) and the formal recognition as a sovereign republic of the seven sovereign provinces in 1648.

Diebold Schilling the Younger (1460–1515), Luzerner Bilderchronik (1513), the Battle of Grandson. Facsimile, Bern Historical Museum, Library

Conclusion

The current exhibitions in Bern and Murten fit well into today’s climate of nuance and critical reflection regarding the old Confederation. While historians well into the twentieth century indeed presented one-sided accounts, contemporary historians now tend to interpret this period somewhat anachronistically and politically motivated, which is not the discipline’s intended purpose.

Elgg and the United Dutch Provinces

Elgg (Canton of Zurich) is a town with a rich history on the upper reaches of the river Eulach. The first written mention dates back to 760 under the name Ailaghoga. St Gallen Abbey, founded only in 719, acquired the town and the surrounding region in 760.

Elgg

The Lords of Elgg then served the abbey for centuries. In 1289, the abbot of St. Gallen granted the place as a fief to the Habsburgs. 1371 Elgg obtained city rights and jurisdiction. Since 1452, the town has been in the canton of Zurich. The city retained its authority and political autonomy with a Grosse and Kleine Rat until 1798.

The Juliusbanner of the canton of Zug, 1521. Collection: British Museum Inv. No. 1912,0709.1

The town was also the proud holder of the Julius banner. This banner consists of two cloths with text, a sword, and a hat, all of which are blessed by the Pope.

The warlike Pope Julius II (1443-1513) donated this banner in 1512 to 42 Swiss cantons (Zugewandte Orte/Allies) and local rulers as a gesture of gratitude for their military support during the war against France in northern Italy from 1508 to 1510. Elgg had also fought with soldiers/mercenaries for the Pope. Twenty years later, the town adopted the Protestant faith.

Swiss mercenaries in the Dutch Republic. Collection: Landesmuseum Zürich

There is also a Dutch history in Elgg, as in many places in Switzerland. Hans Felix Werdmüller (1658-1725) acquired the castle in 1712.

Johann Caspar Ulinger (1703-1768)., 1741, Elgg Castle

This citizen of Zurich was not just anyone but a Major General in the service of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces and a member of the Grand Council (Grosse Rat) of Zurich. After his death, he stipulated that Elgg Castle would always remain in his family, a stipulation that remains in effect to this day.

The reformed church of Elgg

The French invasion in 1798 marked the end of Elgg’s independent jurisdiction. The town served as the district capital in the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) and was an independent municipality within the district (Bezirk) of Winterthur in the new Confederation (1803-1813).

The multifaceted industrial, commercial, and service industries are also reflected in the factory buildings, merchant houses, taverns, and listed buildings. Watch, shoe, steel, metal, stone, glass, and textile industries, as well as inns for travellers and transhipment sites for goods and other services, have come and gone over the past centuries.

The connection to the railway network (1855) and the canalisation of the River Eulach (1914) created new opportunities after the loss of other industries. However, the landscape in this border region with Canton Thurgau is unchangingly beautiful and fascinating.

(Source and further information: Gemeinde Elgg)

The Village Museum (Heimatmuseum)

The nearby village of Aadorp (canton of Zürich)

and Weiach (canton of Zürich)

The church  (1706)

The former city hall (Altes Gemeindehaus)

The ‘Pfarrscheune’

The surroundings

Estavayer-le-Lac through the ages

Estavayer-le-Lac emerged as a town in the 12th century as the residence of the Lords of Estavayer. The town is situated on Lake Neuchâtel, and this site was already inhabited during the Stone and Bronze Ages. Pile-dwelling houses dating to the 9th century BC were also uncovered after the water level was lowered between 1868 and 1891.

Celts from the Hallstatt and La Tène periods left behind high-quality ironworks. In Roman times, it was a port town known as Staviolum, inhabited by the Helvetii, and a trading post on the route to Aventicum. The Motte-Châtel was the inhabited part at that time.

La tour de Jaquemart (1443)

After the departure of the Romans, the town became part of the Burgundian Kingdom (436–554), the Merovingian and Carolingian Empires (534–888), and the Second Burgundian Kingdom (888–1032), with nearby Payerne serving as an important administrative and religious centre.  In the Holy Roman Empire, the Lords of Estavayer and the Bishop of Lausanne were the principal authorities in Estavayer after 1032. Other claimants included the Lords of Grandson and Neuchâtel.

Chenaux Castle (1285)

In 1156, the town appeared under the name Stavaiel and later Estavaier. The German-language name was Stäffis am See. The Lords of Estavayer built three castles (Motte-Châtel, Chenaux and Savoie) within the town walls, which still retain their medieval appearance and architecture.

A significant event was the rapprochement with the Counts of Savoy in 1244. From that point onwards, Estavayer became part of Savoyard Vaud. Furthermore, Isabelle de Chalon, Lady of Vaud and a descendant of the House of Savoy, acquired the town in 1349.

The town was an administrative centre in the Savoyard Vaud (its representatives took part in the meetings of the Etats de Vaud in Moudon). The link with Savoy had major consequences during the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477). Bern and Fribourg conquered and plundered the town in 1475 (Savoy was an ally of the Duke of Burgundy).  From that point onwards, the Catholic canton of Fribourg administered the town.

The Catholic character is therefore still very much in evidence. The Dominican convent (le couvent de dominicaines), founded in 1316, still exists, although the Jesuits disappeared (were expelled) from the town in the 19th century. The Collegiate Church (Collégiale) of Saint-Laurent still stands in all its glory and is, amongst other things, the final resting place of Humbert of Savoy.

The Collégiale Saint-Laurent

Impressions from Estavayer-le-Lac

Chenaux Castle

Hôtel de Ville

The Place de Moudon dates from the same period as the Motte-Châtel and was part of the ancient castle. On the right the Maison de Tir (rifle house), 1547. The Linden tree was planted in the 16th century!

La Maison des Sires (14th century) near the former Motte-Châtel 

Castle, Priory Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Town Grandson

The first mention of the castle and the seigneury dates back to the year 1100. Little else is known about the period up to the thirteenth century, apart from the fact that a Benedictine monastery was founded in 1146, which still stands today in the city centre with its magnificent Romanesque architecture, sculpture and frescoes. Gothic alterations were made at a later date.

Othon I of Grandson (1238–1328) significantly expanded the fortress and the seigneury’s power through an alliance with Savoy. The castle was subsequently administered for a period (1389–1420) by the House of Savoy and, from 1420, by the House of Chalon, an ally of Charles the Bold (1433–1477), Duke of Burgundy.

The materials used to build Otto I of Grandson’s new fortress. Image: Grandson Castle. 

The network of castles from the 11th to the 14th centuries. Between 1230 and 1320, the Pays de Vaud was dotted with castles serving the purposes of defence, administration and the exercise of power by the bishops of Lausanne and Geneva, the House of Savoy and its vassals, the lords of Cossonay-Prangins, the County of Gruyère and the lords of Grandson. Image: Grandson Castle. 

For this reason, the castle was at the centre of the conflict between Charles and the Swiss Confederates and their allies. They defeated the Duke on 2 March 1476 at the Battle of Grandson.

From that time onwards, Bern and Fribourg shared the administration of Grandson, and the castle served as the residence of their governors until 1798.

The castle subsequently became the property of the new canton of Vaud in 1803 and was later owned by several private owners.

Today, a foundation manages the castle, which also houses the Grandson Museum.

The Benedictine priory  Saint-Jean-Baptiste

The Benedictine monastery was founded in the 11th century. It is a jewel of Romanesque art and a national monument. The architecture showcases the various phases of construction and transformation spanning nine centuries.

The Benedictine monastery was handed over to the monks of the Chaise-Dieu (Auvergne) in 1178. The bell tower and dome were built in the Romanesque style characteristic of the Auvergne region.

The choir was rebuilt in the Gothic style, and the north chapel was added in the 13th century. The monastery was dissolved in 1534. The west wing was renovated in the 19th century.

(Source and further information:Commune de Grandson, Église médiévale de Grandson, Grandson, 2025; www.chateau-grandson.ch).

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church

Grandson Castle

Image: Grandson Castle. 

The city of Grandson

Hôtel de Ville  and ancient couvent des Cordeliers (1289)

Yverdon-les-Bains: from menhirs to spa town

Yverdon-les-Bains (canton of Vaud) lies at the crossroads of country roads running east to west and north to south, and along waterways across Lake Neuchâtel and the River Thielle/Zihl.
Menhirs
The largest menhir and the largest menhir cluster in Switzerland are found in this region. They date back to the fourth millennium BC. The cluster consists of 45 menhirs.

Collection: Hautrive, Laténium

Collection: Musée d’Yverdon et Région
Pile-dwelling houses
Furthermore, pile-dwelling houses have been discovered dating back to this period and the beginning of the first millennium. The oldest dates from 3860 BC (Early Neolithic), the youngest from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (the Late Bronze Age).
The pile-dwelling houses are located in the Baie de Clendy. They are among the 56 sites in Switzerland on the UNESCO World Heritage List. An oppidum covering approximately 4 hectares and a murus gallicus have been identified from the first centuries BC.
Collection: Musée d’Yverdon et Région
Roman period
In Roman times, the vicus Eburodunum was established on both banks of the Zihl. In 1912, Roman baths were excavated. This indicates that Les Bains had already earned its name and reputation in Roman times.

Collection: Musée d’Yverdon et Région

During the turbulent 4th century, which included the sacking of Aventicum (Avenches), a castrum was built at Eburodunum because of its strategic location.
Following the Christianisation in the 5th century, the first church was also built on this site. The Romans were succeeded by the First Burgundian Kingdom and, subsequently, by the Bishop of Lausanne.

Jean-Jacques Berthoud, vue de la ville d’Yverdon-les-Bains, 1755. Collection: Musée d’Yverdon et Région

Savoy, Bern and the Canton of Vaud
The rule of Savoy began around 1250, following an era of local rulers. The castle, a typical Savoyard fortress, was built around 1260. During the Burgundian Wars, Fribourg and Bern razed the town to the ground in 1476.

 

La Salle d’Audience and the ‘Nebenstuben’, around 1586

After a renewed period under Savoy, Bern conquered the town in 1536 and governed it until 1798. The town hall (1760) dates from this period.
The City Hall
The Bernese governor resided in the castle. Forced by Bern in 1536, Yverdon adopted the Reformation, with major consequences for the Notre-Dame, which was partially demolished and refurbished.

The town, a part of the canton of Vaud since 1803, gained European renown as a spa resort in the second half of the 19th century until the First World War (1914–1918).

Collection: Musée d’Yverdon et Région

(Source and further information: Musée d’Yverdon et Région; Commune d’Yverdon-les-Bains)

Magden, Maisprach, Olsberg, Giebenach and Toblerones write History

Small villages often write history in Switzerland. Not far from Rheinfelden (Canton of Aargau) are the villages of Magden (Canton of Aargau), Olsberg (Canton of Basel-Landschaft and Canton of Aargau) and Maisprach and Giebenach (Canton of Basel-Landschaft).

Magden

Magden

The first mention of Magden dates from 804 in a charter of St Gallen Abbey. The abbey leased the settlement with the (Celtic) name Magos Dunon. The first mention of the church dates back to 1036.

The Count of Lenzburg later donated the church and its estate (for viticulture) to the Chorherrenstift Beromünster (canton of Lucerne). Rheinfelden was the village’s powerful neighbour from the Middle Ages onwards. Until 1801, Habsburg ruled the Fricktal, including Magden and Rheinfelden.

Since 1803, the village has been part of the canton of Aargau. With around 800 employees and 10 Hectares of vineyard land, Magden remains a significant wine producer.

Hortus Dei monastery in Olsberg

Within walking distance of Magden, the Cistercian monastery Hortus Dei (Garden of God) in the village of Olsberg was founded in 1234. The monastery was dissolved in 1805, at the time of the new Confederation (1803-1813) and the creation of the Canton of Aargau. The new destination was a protestant-catholic institute (which was modern for the time) for the re-education of girls and young women in 1806.

From 1846, the Pestalozzi Foundation ran the complex as a (re-)education centre for boys and young men. Today, the canton owns the complex. The activities include cultural events and a children’s centre.

Olsberg’s history is as special as the number of village inhabitants, which is small (350 today). Olsberg has a long (pre) history of habitation. In Roman times, the area was home to villas and farm complexes. The location was near the Roman colony of Augusta Raurica, situated in a fertile valley.

A part of the village north of the Violenbach traditionally belonged to Rheinfelden and the Fricktal. Habsburg ruled this part of the village until 1801.

The city of Basel governed the village on the southern bank of the Violenbach until the separation. Since 1833, ‘southern’ Olsberg has been part of the canton of Basel-Landschaft.

The Violenbach

Monastery Court Iglingen

The small monastery court of Iglingen (canton of Aargau) was established in 1255. It lies between Wintersingen (canton of Basel-Landschaft) and Magden. Its church, consecrated in 1509, was lost to fire in 1860. Only the choir was preserved and has since been used as the St Niklauskapelle.

The current complex consists of two courts. Since 1918, the Christoph Merian Stiftung has managed and leased the complex and the farmland.

Maisprach, Romans, Basel and wine

The village of Maisprach is located approximately 4 kilometres from Magden. The first mention dates back to 1180, with the name Meisprache, and in 1247, it appears as Mesbrache. These names indicate a Celtic origin and a Roman past.

There was an ancient defence tower on the Sunnenberg and a Roman Villa in the village on the site of today’s church, on the so-called ‘Hübel‘. The cemetery wall still houses old stones (spolia) from these villas.

The Sonneberg tower 

Maisprach

Magden (l) and  Maisprach (r)

The Counts Von Thierstein ruled the village until 1461. The city of Basel acquired the village in that year. Viticulture is mentioned in documents as early as the 14th century.

The ‘rote Maisperger’ was and still is a (local) term. St Mary’s Church was consecrated in 1291. The tower and choir were rebuilt in 1711.
During Basel’s secession in 1831-1833, Maisprach favoured staying with Canton Basel and was against secession.

Giebenach and the Violenbach

Giebenach is in the district of Liestal (canton Basel-Landschaft), and the Violenbach also crosses this village. Its old medieval name was ‘in villa Gibennacho‘ or ‘bi dem hofe ze Gybenach‘.

Again, Roman villas and agricultural complexes underpinned the village’s origins. The land first belonged to the counts of Alt-Homburg and Homburg. The city of Basel acquired the village in the 16th century. Since 1833, it has been part of the Canton Basel-Landschaft.

Conclusion

This area experienced much unrest and warfare in Schwabenkrieg (1499), the Reformation (around 1530) and the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648, looting by Swedish troops in 1633-1636). The borders of the cantons, even across a small village, also indicate ‘the fate of history’. In any case, they made history from (pre)history to the nineteenth century.

Magdenerbach and Nature area Ängi in the Magden Valley (Magdental)

Impressions from Maisprach

The former Olsberg monastery (Stift Olsberg)

The Bundes-Eiche (the federal Oak)

The Toblerones

Boundaries between cantons and municipalities in the Confederation.

The external borders of the Swiss Confederation have remained virtually unchanged since 1815. Napoleon’s intervention had radically altered the external borders, and the Congress of Vienna (1814/1815) confirmed the independence and borders of the new Confederation.

Rhäzuns, the last Austrian territory within the Confederation, became part of the canton of Graubünden in 1819. The King of Prussia finally abdicated as Prince of Neuchâtel in 1857, a canton of the Confederation since 1815 and a republic since 1848!

Nevertheless, there are still two foreign enclaves within the Swiss Confederation: Campione in the canton of Ticino and Büsingen in the canton of Schaffhausen. The most recent expansion of the Swiss Confederation’s territory concerns Cavaione, a small village in Graubünden that had been situated in no man’s land for a long time.

Magden, Buus, Wintersingen and Maisprach

By contrast, the shifts within the Swiss Confederation and the cantons are all the more dynamic. The patchwork of municipalities from different cantons in the Three Lakes region and within the cantons of Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft and Aargau points to a dynamic historical process. The establishment of the canton of Jura in 1979 and, more recently, the transfer of Moutier from the canton of Bern to the canton of Jura can also be traced back to this centuries-long process.

A typical example is the formation of boundaries between small, centuries-old villages at the foot of the Sonnenberg. Following the conquest of Aargau by the Confederation in 1415, the Fricktal remained under Habsburg-Austrian rule until 1803. In various places, boundary stones from Habsburg-Austria are still present, as are those from Bern, the prince-bishopric of Basel and the city of Basel. For centuries, the city of Basel and Austria disputed the possession of the Sonnenberg.

The Sonnenberg

On 13 July 1461, the city of Basel acquired the villages of Buus, Wintersingen and Maisprach from the Amt Farnsburg of the Counts of Falkenstein. This area was a kind of enclave within the Fricktal. For a long time, the Sonnenberg belonged to a citizen of the municipality of Maisprach. He sold the Sonnenberg in the 14th or 15th century, in any case before 1461, to Austria, which thereby established the border of the Fricktal.

Basel contested this border; moreover, parts of the villages of Buus and Wintersingen were located within the Fricktal. The legal dispute between Basel and Austria lasted for many generations, and it was not until 1689 that an agreement à la suisse was reached: the mountain was divided into two.

Because of this history, the villages of Buus, Maisprach, and Wintersingen joined the Basel Reformation in 1529; Magden, however, as part of the Austrian Fricktal, remained Catholic. An anecdote tells that the young people from Buus, Maisprach and Wintersingen subsequently preferred to attend the cheerful Catholic festivals in the Fricktal rather than the austere Protestant gatherings – much to the displeasure of the priests and local dignitaries.

And yet, 1815 did not mark the end of history for these villages. Magden became part of the new canton of Aargau in 1803. Buus, Maisprach and Wintersingen (canton of Basel) underwent another major change: the division of the canton of Basel in 1833. From 1833 onwards, Buus, Maisprach and Wintersingen belonged to the canton of Basel-Landschaft (Maisprach, incidentally, supported the city of Basel rather than the separatists).

And even then, the situation was not entirely clear-cut: parts of the territory of the municipalities of Buus and Wintersingen were located within the new canton of Aargau. It was not until 1893 that this final conflict was resolved: Buus and the canton of Basel-Landschaft acquired the areas of Neu and Eigenried, whilst Wintersingen, on the other hand, lost Iglingen definitively to the canton of Aargau.

Conclusion

Since then, the legacy of the Austrian Habsburgs has been settled amicably. This process took almost five centuries. Perhaps this also serves as a mirror for understanding, or at the very least for gaining insight into other conflicts in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

A Miracle of Nature and Art at Underground Mills of Col-des-Roches

The Netherlands have long been known as a land of polders, tulips, and windmills. Switzerland may lack tulips, but its waterworks also look back on a centuries-old history of canalisation, the reshaping of river catchments, the drainage of peatlands, and even the lowering of lake levels.

Swiss watermills

At first glance, there seem to be no mills (apart from today’s wind turbines). But appearances are deceptive. The country has thousands of mills, but they are not easy to recognise from a distance. That is because they operate exclusively with waterwheels, powered by streams, waterfalls, and other waterways. From afar, they look like large or small farmhouses or warehouses—in reality, they are watermills.

Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

Underground watermills

In addition, innovative entrepreneurs in the 16th and 17th centuries built underground mills that were invisible to the naked eye. In 1555, underground waterwheels on Lac de Tallières (Canton of Neuchâtel) powered grain and saw mills. The underground waterwheels of the mills at La Ronde in La Chaux-de-Fonds were already in operation in 1489. The millstones and saws, however, were installed above ground. Both mill sites were decommissioned long ago (Lac de Tallières in 1923, La Ronde in 1870).

The history of watermills near Le Locle goes back to the 14th century. Le Gros Moulin in Le Locle dates from 1370; the Seigneur of Vallangin sold his mills in La Sagne, Brenets, and La Chaux-de-Fonds in the 16th century. Moulin de la Roche at the Saut-du-Doubs became the property of Daniel Sandoz (1604–1668) in 1642.

Fritz Huguenin-Lassauguette (1842-1926), lithographie, 1886. Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches. Le Locle (on the right), the Col-des-Roches on the left.

The underground mills at The Col-des-Roches

The centuries-old mills at the Col-des-Roches, however, were built entirely underground in the 17th century, down to several dozen metres deep! The Col-des-Roches near Le Locle (Canton of Neuchâtel) is a rock formation that emerged over millions of years through the uplift of the Jura Mountains and the effects of seas, glaciers, and meltwater. Col-des-Roches is located about 2 kilometres from Le Locle.

Many caves and various streams have formed in the soft limestone of the Jura. This area was traditionally marshy and was only drained in the 20th century. In the 20th century, the stream Le Bied was partly channelled and still flows partly underground, before ending up in the Doubs at La Grotte du roi de Prusse in Lac des Brenets, near the Saut-du-Doubs.

Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

Famous visitors

The underground watermills were famous across Europe. Towards the end of the 18th century, the philosopher Karl Viktor von Bonstetten (1745–1832) put it like this: « les fameux moulins sont connus dans le monde entier”.

The mills and complex in the 17th century

The mills and complex in the 19th century

The name “roi de Prusse” refers to the Principality of Neuchâtel under the King of Prussia (formally from 1706 to 1857, even though Neuchâtel had been a canton of the Swiss Confederation since 1815 and a republic since 1848!).

In the history of the underground mills of Col-des-Roches, the name of the Prince of Neuenburg appears several times: as the grantor of milling concessions, as a visitor to the mills, and in connection with the regulation of the grain market. King Frederick William IV (1795–1861), also Prince of Neuenburg, visited the caves in 1842.

Various (European) politicians, writers, engineers, and other dignitaries also visited this “Wunder der Natur und Kunst” (as Frédéric-Samuel Osterwald (1713–1795) described it), among them the Venezuelan freedom fighter Francisco de Miranda (1750–1816), Prince Edward (1767–1820), Duke of Kent (the father of Queen Victoria), as well as Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875).

The Heraldry of the Sandoz family. Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

Daniel and Jonas Sandoz

Daniel Sandoz acquired the milling concessions at Col-des-Roches, in what was then the municipality of Rochefort. His son, Jonas Sandoz (1626–1690), subsequently became the initiator of the underground mill complex in 1659, which included a grain mill, a sawmill, a threshing mill, and an oil press.

The Concession for Jonas Sandoz. Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

In the cave, he created spaces for five wheelworks, stacked vertically above one another along the waterfall of Le Bied. To do so, he had the cave excavated further and aqueducts constructed between the levels to channel the water. Each wheelwork was connected to a mill—or, in the words of the Conseil d’État of Neuchâtel in 1663:

“….il y puisse bastir et construire tels harnois et engins qu’il trouvera à propos, et qui luy soyent le plus commodes, utiles et profitables, soit moulins raise, rebattre, huilière, et autres artifices”.

The heyday in the 18th century

The owner did not operate the mills himself but leased them to millers. In their 18th-century heyday, this special and unique project still counted four underground mills. The watchmaking, textile, and lace-making industries ushered in a phase of industrialisation, prosperity, and immigration in the region, including Le Locle, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Val-de-Travers (asphalt mines!), and Cortaillod.

Demand for wheat and timber therefore grew enormously, but by the end of the 18th century, only three mills were still in operation. Madame de Gauthier, a refugee from the French Revolution, mentions in (Voyage d’une Française en Suisse et en Franche-Comté. Depuis la Révolution):

“Le moulin des Roches est situé à une quart heure de lieue du Locle dans une chaîne de montagnes, oû la nature a creusé une énorme caverne. Un ruisseau qui parcourt le vallon s’y précipite, et fait mouvoir aussi trois roues. Des escaliers taillés dans le roc, rendent ce voyage souterrain facile. Deux moulins servent à la mouture des blé ; le troisième au sciage des planches”.

The farmer collects the ground grain. Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

The end 

Over the centuries, various owners succeeded one another and introduced changes. The most far-reaching transformation was the installation of turbines in the 19th century. But it did not help. By the end of the 19th century, the era of the underground mills was over.

Maintaining the mills required substantial capital and labour; working conditions were very harsh. In addition, the cave’s humidity was not ideal for grain, so farmers had to collect their milled flour as quickly as possible. A roof was installed above the grain mills to keep dripping water and moisture at bay. The logs for the sawmill reached the wood mill via an entrance and an aqueduct.

The logs were transported along this chute to the sawmill

In the 19th century, new technologies (electricity and turbines) emerged, and water power quickly lost importance. New means of transport emerged (railways, cars). They transported and imported grain and timber cheaply and quickly over long distances, and the importance of local production and mills declined rapidly.

Around 1880, the mills ceased operation, but a new opportunity emerged: generating electricity. And in 1890, the first street lighting in Le Locle burned with electricity from a constructed 90-metre-high waterfall at the Col-des-Roches.

Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

At that time, however, the mills in the cave had already fallen into disrepair, and in 1899, the cave was given an entirely different purpose: it became a slaughterhouse. Because of the constantly low temperature (7°C), the cave was considered ideal for disposing of animal carcasses. This activity, too, was definitively discontinued in 1966.

After years of clearance work, the present-day museum opened its doors on 1 July 1987. It houses a permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions, and a tour through the cave with its still-visible underground wheelworks and mills.

(Source and further information: Caroline Calame, Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches, Hauterive 2005; Museum: Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches).

New roads and the railway line from France to the Swiss Jura in the late 19th century. Collection: Museum Les Moulins souterrains du Col-des-Roches

The Celts, Romans, Storchs and nature of Möhlin

The Ryburg salt mines are now part of Schweizer Salinen AG, a consortium comprising three mines in Bex, Pratteln and Ryburg. Ryburg is part of the municipality of Möhlin (Canton of Aargau), just a few kilometres from Rheinfelden. This site on the Rhine was already inhabited in Roman times. This is hardly surprising given its proximity to Augusta Raurica, one of the larger Roman cities north of the Alps.

The Möhlinbach

Celts and Romans

The first mention of Möhlin dates back to the year 794, during the Carolingian period. Thereafter, the village was part of the Burgundian Kingdom (888–1032), belonged to the domains of local rulers (including the Zähringers) and, as part of the Fricktal, was a constituent of Outer/Anterior Austria (Vorderösterreich) within the Austrian-Habsburg Empire until 1803. Since 1803, Möhlin has been part of the canton of Aargau.

The chapel

It is not surprising that the Celts settled on these fertile banks as early as 3,000 years ago. Melina or Melin was the Celtic name of the settlement. The old village church of St German was named after the abbot of the monastery of Moutier-Grandval in the 7th century. Later, the church was renamed in honour of St Leodegar, Bishop of Autun. Today, it is a Christian Catholic church situated in a beautifully elevated spot.

St. Leodegar

To the south, the municipality borders the Sonnenberg with its observation tower (632 m above sea level), and to the north, the Rhine.

The elongated village is traversed by the Möhlinbach stream, and the old centre still features buildings in places that reflect agriculture’s importance.

The Storks 

It is not only the Celts and Romans who know their way to Möhlin, but storks too. The Storchenwiese Möhlin is a village within a village – albeit for storks, and even a rare black stork can be spotted there!

Nature

As in most places in Switzerland, nature is in good hands at a local level here too. A responsible and respectful approach to nature and the climate begins with the citizens – bottom-up, not top-down!

To the south lie the villages of Magden, Zeiningen and Maisprach (Canton of Basel-Landschaft), along with their moraines, the Jura Mountains, forests, meadows and vineyard terraces. Music is never far away in this region either, and a music trail accompanies walkers.

(Source and further information: Municipality of Möhlin)

Duet between the Serpent and the Saxophone in de Collégiale of St. Imier

On 19 April, the Collégiale (11th century) in St-Imier (canton of Bern) hosted a unique concert featuring more than 15 ‘serpents’.
The serpent (nomen est omen) was invented in France in the 16th century. It was used to accompany Gregorian chants and other church hymns. The highlight of the concert was the duet between the serpent and the saxophone.
The serpent is made from hardwood, usually walnut, and crafted in two halves. The halves are then glued together and covered with a thin, parchment-like layer of leather.
Finally, the instrument is finished with a special varnish. Originally, the serpent had six holes. Over time, more were added; some of these were operated by keys.
Because the upper section containing the mouthpiece is made of metal, the serpent belongs to the brass family, although the majority of the instrument is made of wood.
After the French Revolution, playing the serpent was revived. However, the instrument was increasingly used in military music. By the 19th century, the serpent was losing its significance. The ophicleide, a brass instrument made entirely of metal and also featuring several bends, supplanted the serpent—probably also because it sounds louder.

Michel Godard

The serpent had fallen into obscurity until, in the 1970s, the French musician Michel Godard rediscovered this elegantly crafted instrument with its warm tone.
Michel Godard studied classical trumpet, then found his way into jazz through playing the tuba, and is now regarded as the world’s finest serpent player.
How Stephan Berger became a serpent maker
Stephan Berger, originally from Läufelfingen, completed an apprenticeship as an agricultural machinery mechanic. Later, he learnt leatherworking and set up his own workshop. There, among other things, he invented a special lead for guide dogs. This invention proved a great success.
When Stephan attended a jazz concert by Michel Godard and his band in 2005, he was completely captivated by the instrument’s warm, deep sound.
Stephan, a born tinkerer and highly talented craftsman, built the serpent from scratch. To this day, he makes this instrument for musicians worldwide and plays it himself with passion.

And from the Collégiale