Swiss Camino - Volume I: North-East Switzerland

COPYRIGHT

Text Copyright © Hans Beumer 2019

Charts, Figures, Tables Copyright © Hans Beumer 2019

Photos Copyright © Hans Beumer 2019, except for photos listed under Bibliography and Copyrights

Geographical Maps Copyright © Swiss Federal Office of Topography 2019

Cover Art Copyright © Hans Beumer 2019, of which Photo of Black Madonna Copyright © Kloster Einsiedeln 2019, Geographical Map Copyright © Swiss Federal Office of Topography 2019, Cantonal Flags Copyright © Swiss Cantons 2019, Hiking Icon and Shell Icon Copyright © Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Historical Information Copyright © Sources listed under Bibliography and Copyrights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use without the formal written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First edition published in September 2019

eBook edition (EPUB): ISBN 978-3-906861-34-0

Distributed by Lulu Press, Inc.

This book is also available in print as:

- Hiking edition (B/W): ISBN 978-3-906861-32-6

- Luxury edition (Color): ISBN 978-3-906861-33-3

This book is not intended to provide personalized travel advice. It offers the perspectives and experience of the Author, but these should not be taken as instructions or commands. The reader is responsible for their own decisions and actions for traveling on the Way of St. James through Switzerland and related topics.

The information on hiking routes, distances, altitude meters, churches, monasteries, points of interest, pilgrim inns, costs, time tables, and so forth, have been carefully compiled from many sources. Author and Publisher disclaim responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of this information. Your actual experience may differ from the descriptions in this book.

The Author and Publisher expressly disclaim any liability, loss, damage, or risk, business, personal or otherwise, that is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

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Swiss Camino – Volume II: Central Switzerland

EINSIEDELN TO FRIBOURG via Alpine Lakes

Stage 5: Einsiedeln to Ingenbohl 27 km

Stage 6: Ingenbohl to Stans 26 km

Stage 7: Stans to Sachseln 22 km

Stage 8: Sachseln to Brienzwiler 26 km

Stage 9: Brienzwiler to Interlaken 27 km

Stage 10: Interlaken to Spiez 19 km

Stage 11: Spiez to Wattenwil 26 km

Stage 12: Wattenwil to Schwarzenburg 24 km

Stage 13: Schwarzenburg to Fribourg 27 km

ALTERNATIVE VIA LUZERN/BERN

Stage L1: Ingenbohl to Werthenstein 24 km

Stage L2: Werthenstein to Huttwil 31 km

Stage L3: Huttwil to Burgdorf 25 km

Stage L4: Burgdorf to Bern 31 km

Stage L5: Bern to Schwarzenburg 36 km

Also available as eBook edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-37-1

And in print as:

- Hiking edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-35-7

- Luxury edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-36-4

Swiss Camino – Volume III: South-West Switzerland

FRIBOURG TO MOUDON

                via Romont

Stage 14: Fribourg to Romont 30 km

Stage 15: Romont to Moudon 17 km

  via Payerne

Stage P1: Fribourg to Payerne 25 km

Stage P2: Payerne to Moudon 29 km

MOUDON TO GENEVA/FRENCH BORDER

Stage 16: Moudon to Lausanne 30 km

Stage 17: Lausanne to Rolle 33 km

Stage 18: Rolle to Coppet                32 km

Stage 19: Coppet to Geneva 19 km

Stage 20: Geneva to French border   8 km

Also available as eBook edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-40-1

And in print as:

- Hiking edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-38-8

- Luxury edition: ISBN 978-3-906861-39-5

FOREWORD

Liber Sancti Jacobi Helvetia

The first Way of St. James Pilgrim’s Handbook was handwritten around 1130. The Latin manuscript was called the ‘Liber Sancti Jacobi’ (also Codex Callixtus – attributed to Pope Callixtus II) and consisted of five parts. Two parts related to stories, miracles, and legends of St. James. The fifth part described four French Ways to the Pyrenees and Santiago de Compostela. These route descriptions included all important churches the pilgrim was to visit along the way.

Nearly 900 years after the Liber Sancti Jacobi for France, my book describes the Way of Saint James for Switzerland in a comparable manner. The ‘Swiss Camino’ is the definitive guide for the 21st century pilgrim on the Swiss routes. Hence its Latin title: Liber Sancti Jacobi Helvetia.

Three Volumes

The Swiss Camino pilgrim’s guide is split into three volumes:

Volume I (332 pages – this book) consists of two main sections:

1. A general introduction to the 18- to 21-day pilgrimage on the Way of St. James through Switzerland, including:

- Organizational tips for a successful pilgrimage at a low cost in this high-cost country.

- Religious context of St. James, Roman catacomb relics, saints, monastic Orders, and the Swiss religious Reformation in the 1520s-30s.

- Church terminology, designations, architecture, interiors, and monastic Order terminology.

- Route decisions, route possibilities, stages, and route signaling.

- Raising expectations of the routes, churches, monasteries, and points of interest.

2. A complete coverage of the pilgrimage routes with details of the trails, churches, saints, catacomb relics, monasteries, castles, cities, and other points of interest in German-speaking North-East Switzerland:

- From Konstanz to Einsiedeln, via Rapperswil (101 km in 4 stages); and

- From Rorschach to Einsiedeln, via Rapperswil (101 km in 4 or 5 stages) and via Siebnen (105 km in 4 or 5 stages).

Volume II (456 pages) provides a complete coverage of the pilgrimage routes with details of the trails, churches, saints, catacomb relics, monasteries, castles, cities, and other points of interest in German-speaking Central Switzerland:

- From Einsiedeln to Fribourg, via Alpine Lakes (224 km in 9 stages); and

- From Einsiedeln to Fribourg, via Luzern/Bern (200 km in 7 stages).

Volume III (272 pages) provides a complete coverage of the pilgrimage routes with details of the trails, churches, saints, catacomb relics, monasteries, castles, chateaus, cities, and other points of interest in French-speaking South-West Switzerland:

- From Fribourg to Moudon, via Romont (47 km in 2 stages) and via Payerne (54 km in 2 stages); and onwards

- From Moudon to Geneva, and French border (123 km in 5 stages).

The 54-page General Introduction to the Swiss Way of St. James of Volume I is not copied in the other two volumes. This prevents a repetition of many pages, even though its content equally applies to Volumes II and III.

Experience and Information

The Swiss Camino volumes contain two interwoven elements: experience and information.

The experience element guides you from church to church. This is the travel guide element of the book. ‘The way is the goal’. ‘Der Weg ist das Ziel’. ‘Le chemin est le but’. ‘El camino es la meta’. The book includes extensive descriptions of hiking routes, ascents, descents, views, paths, under-footing, trails, and so forth, which are based on my hiking experiences of the nearly 800 km in the summer of 2018. The travel guide element describes the routes between the churches and chapels; how to get from one church/chapel to the next. It describes the hiking segment of the pilgrimage and is a minor element of the content of the three volumes.

Additionally, the book describes what you come across along the nearly 800 km routes of the Swiss Way of St. James. You will visit many churches, chapels, monasteries, castles, ruins, and so forth. Each of them has a specific artistic, religious, and cultural appearance. What do the retables (winged altars) look like? What saints are depicted on the 700-year-old frescos on the walls of the church? What are the elaborately decorated skeleton-relics displayed in glass vitrines? What is the architectural style of the bell tower? These descriptions are a major element of the content of the three volumes and are based on my personal observations.

Each of these artistic, religious, and cultural appearances have their own (his)story to tell. Sometimes their history is available in a brochure or on an information board at the church, chapel, or castle. Very often, however, their history will be kept hidden from you and other passing pilgrims. What are the stories behind the churches, chapels, monasteries, castles, and ruins? Why is a monastery in ruins or abandoned by its monks? Why are some churches Roman-Catholic and others Evangelic-Reformed (protestant)? Why do some Cantons have many churches and chapels, whereas others have only a few? Your visits to the many churches and points of interest will raise more questions than there are answers.

The information element of the book provides such answers. A major part of the content of the three volumes contains historical information on churches, chapels, relics, saints, monasteries, and other landmarks along the routes. These landmarks include castles, ruins, fountains, medieval city fortifications, chateaus, bridges, cities, and so forth. Some information about events, people, and buildings will date as far back as 2’000 years, to the inception of Christianity. The book describes the religious, cultural, and societal development of Switzerland from the time when the first monasteries were established in the 8th century and the first cities were founded in the 10th century.

The historical data in this book was gathered from many sources. This book neither ascertains the historical correctness of such data, nor provides a complete historical account of all topics and events. Rather, the book provides the historical data relevant to the storyline of the Swiss Way of St. James. It not only focuses on the individual churches, chapels, monasteries, castles, and points of interest, but also on their interwoven historical connections to the pilgrimage route from Konstanz and Rorschach to Geneva (and French border). Many of the histories are interconnected with local, regional, or national events during the medieval development of Switzerland and its Cantons.

Connecting Histories

The power of the book lies in piecing together the over 500 stories and histories of churches, chapels, monasteries, castles, cities, and points of interest along the nearly 800 km of the Way of St. James through Switzerland. The depth of the individual stories is limited; intentionally, to provide the passing pilgrim a brief summary, without an information overload. After all, the average pilgrim will take in a church and move on to the next one in a relatively short time (‘the way is the goal’). Their stories and histories describe the key facts and legends that set a particular church or point of interest apart from all the others. The number of stories, covering all 310 churches and chapels, 48 monasteries, and 118 points of interest along the nearly 800 km, is extraordinary. No other pilgrim’s guide for Switzerland has taken inventory of all churches and points of interest along the Way of St. James and combined them into one comprehensive storyline.

Why are you going on a Pilgrimage?

There may be many reasons for leaving home and starting on a pilgrimage:

You may pilgrimage to visit the grave of a saint, to admire holy relics kept at a church, or to see a worshipped statue. You may seek forgiveness of sins, healing of suffering, or may want to make good on a promise.

You may want to take time out from your job and daily life, to escape the pressures and routines of a life at home.

You may seek time for reflection, taking stock of your past, present, or future, to find your true self.

You may follow the trails of meaningful historical memorials and artefacts that shaped the history of a region or country.

You may look for adventure, exploring a new country and culture, and meeting different people.

You may enjoy hiking through nature with scenic landscapes.

Whatever motivates you to start a pilgrimage, in the end all pilgrims have two things in common once on the Way of St. James:

Mentally you are never alone on a pilgrimage, even when physically walking alone. You walk with your joys, sorrows, and questions. You walk with the people you left at home, who cannot or do not want to walk with you.

Physically you walk in an environment that is the same for every pilgrim on the trail. The mountains, ascents, descents, forests, lakes, churches, monasteries, castles, points of interest, panoramic views, and weather conditions are all shared.

What is your motivation to start a pilgrimage along the Way of St. James through Switzerland? What do you expect to get out of it? Forgiveness? Healing? Reflection? Relaxation? Physical condition? Friends? Alpine scenery? Every reason is good enough when it motivates you to undertake the pilgrimage. Every reason is individual and it is up to you to make the most out of your pilgrimage.

This Swiss Camino book cannot help you with your individual mental or spiritual fulfilment. You must do that yourself. However, the book does help with fulfilling your understanding of the environment you (and all other pilgrims) are in along the Swiss Way of St. James.

What is this Book that is split in three Volumes?

This book follows nearly 800 km hiking routes. Is it a hiking book?

This book describes over 300 churches along this way. Is it a religious book?

This book catalogues special features and artefacts of many churches, monasteries, and points of interest. Is it an art book?

This book describes over 1’000 years of history. Is it a history book?

It is a combination of the above. Foremost it is a pilgrim’s guide that:

opens the Swiss Way of St. James to international pilgrims;

provides comprehensive historical and contemporary information on the routes and the churches, chapels, monasteries, and points of interest along these routes;

describes the religious, cultural, and societal history and development of Switzerland and its Cantons along these routes.

It is a pilgrim’s guide that enables you to successfully organize, plan, and execute your pilgrimage through Switzerland, providing insight on what you encounter along the nearly 800 km trails. That is the purpose of this 21st century Liber Sancti Jacobi Helvetia.

Thank You

Thank you to all the sources that provided their copyright permissions and historical information, gave me access to and photos of churches and chapels that are normally closed, and so forth. Without your support it would not have been possible to put together the histories and special features of the many churches, monasteries, and points of interest along the Swiss Way of St. James.

Thank you for using this book as your pilgrim guide on the Swiss Way of St. James.

Bon Camino!

drs. Hans Beumer

September 2019

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE WAY OF ST. JAMES THROUGH SWITZERLAND

Organizational Tips

Organizing a low-cost and successful Pilgrimage

The cost of a 20-day pilgrimage through Switzerland may be your biggest hurdle to overcome (apart from having the time available). You might be wondering about the need for heavy mountaineering shoes and equipment for crossing the Alps. You might be uncertain what and how much clothing to bring and the type of weather to expect. You might wonder which health and safety precautions to take. The following seven tips address these and several more organizational questions and hurdles. Read these tips to resolve your concerns and realize a low-cost and successful pilgrimage along the Swiss Way of St. James:

#1: Keep your costs low

#2: Stay healthy and safe

#3: Keep dry and warm

#4: Travel light

#5: Travel easy

#6: Find your way

#7: Collect pilgrim stamps

Tip #1: Keep your costs low

The cost of living in Switzerland is probably the highest in the world. The cities Geneva and Zurich rank in the top 10. Apart from the cost of travel from your home (country) to Switzerland (and return), the cost of your pilgrimage is mostly influenced by two factors: food and accommodation.

Food at restaurants is of good quality but expensive, and the local cuisine may not be to your liking (in small towns it may be difficult to find international food, though you come across an Italian restaurant in most towns). A simple two-course meal with a non-alcoholic beverage generally costs between CHF 20 and 30. Most locals do not eat out every night, but cook dinner at home. You can keep your costs low by buying your dinner (or meal ingredients) at a supermarket. Most supermarkets offer possibilities to warm up food (though not when deep-frozen) or even sell warm meals. A takeout could be another option (if there is one). Pilgrim inns offer possibilities for self-cooking.

For lunch try planning it low cost and time saving too. A restaurant lunch may be expensive, take long to be prepared (no fast food), and the menu may be limited. Recommendable is buying your lunch at a supermarket/bakery (note that these will be closed on Sundays), or preparing it before you start hiking. You will often be in nature during lunch time; it is simplest to pack snacks and lunch for the day, and find a nice spot in nature to sit down and enjoy your midday food.

Hotel accommodations in Switzerland can be really expensive and will be your biggest budget challenge. In cities such as Bern (political capital) and Geneva (banking capital) a night at a three-star hotel may start at CHF 200 (depending on location and season). The Way of St. James passes through several larger cities, but most of the time accommodations need to be found in small towns. Finding accommodation in the larger towns is easy, but finding a fairly-priced one is not. Finding a place to spend the night in a small town may also be challenging.

Two Swiss organizations of the Way of St. James provide lists with details and price ranges of accommodations:

https://jakobsweg.ch/en/eu/ch/unterkunft-pilger/ and

http://www.viajacobi4.ch/Gites/gites-de.htm.

On these sites you find links to detailed lists of accommodations for all the towns along the route. You can download the PDF’s for each of the sections. The information includes details on the type of accommodation, name, address, telephone number, email, website, opening times, as well as the number of beds, price range, and whether breakfast and dinner are available or included. You can keep your accommodation costs low by using these lists to select the pilgrim inns or B&B at private guesthouses.

A night at a pilgrim inn may cost CHF 20 to 35 only. In most pilgrim inns you sleep in a room with bunkbeds and need to bring your own sleeping bag liner or travel bed sheets (they offer blankets). Kitchen, washing machine, toilets, and showers are shared. One condition, though, is that you need to show a pilgrim pass with stamps. Reservations can be made in advance by email or by phone on your day of arrival. Most pilgrim inns are open daily from 16:00, from 1 April until 31 October. Not only do pilgrim inns keep your costs low, they are also a great place to connect with other pilgrims.

Pilgrim inns are available at the following locations along the route:

North-East Switzerland: Märstetten, Fischingen, St. Gallen, Wattwil, Rapperswil, and Einsiedeln.

Central Switzerland: Ingenbohl, St. Niklausen, Brienzwiler, Werthenstein, Burgdorf (from May 2020), and Fribourg.

South-West Switzerland: Romont, Gland, and Geneva.

Several larger cities (Interlaken, Bern, Lausanne, Geneva) that are tourist hot spots also have youth hostels or backpacker inns. At the other locations B&B at private residences can keep your costs low.

If you are a student and under the age of 26, you might be able to get some discounts (e.g. at museums). So, bring your student pass.

Entrance to all the churches along the Swiss Way of St. James is free.

How much would a 20-day thru-hike pilgrimage on the Swiss Way of St. James cost? A low-cost pilgrimage on the route via the Alpine Lakes would be around CHF 1’500 (approx. EUR 1’300, USD 1’500):

The average daily cost (per person) during a 20-day pilgrimage is around CHF 75:

average CHF 45 per night accommodation cost (based on nine low-cost pilgrim inns). Average cost of accommodation in pilgrim inns is CHF 30, in youth hostels and private B&Bs CHF 50, and in low-cost hotels CHF 80.

average CHF 30 per day for food and beverages (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Entrance fees to the most interesting museums along the route accumulates to around CHF 100 (St. Gallen, Einsiedeln, Sachseln, Romont, Nyon, Geneva).

Tip #2: Stay healthy and safe

Switzerland is in the top 10 of the safest countries in the world for tourists and travel. A pilgrim on the Way of St. James through Switzerland does not need to have any concerns about their safety when hiking through the country. No special precautions (other than common sense) are required to ensure your physical safety from other people (such as violence or robbery). There is no safety risk from mountain climbing or paths along dangerous cliffs or abysses. The route is well marked, so there is no risk of getting lost. The pathways follow the beaten track and a significant part of the trails pass through urban areas. In the sections through forests or mountainous terrain, the nearest settlements (farms, villages) or roads are never far away.

Safety is not a risk, but as on any hiking trail, you need to mind your health. The food at restaurants and accommodations, the ready-made food from supermarkets, and the fresh food, for example from bakeries, comply with the world’s highest standards for hygiene and food safety.

Water from the tap is the best quality in the world and potable without any concerns. Instead of buying an expensive Evian bottle, you can simply ask for your drinking bottle to be filled at the tap or fill it yourself at your accommodation’s, restaurant’s, or church’s restroom. Most of the fountains in the villages and towns have potable water as well. Some fountains may carry a sign stating the water is potable (or is not potable), but most will not. Should it not, have a closer look at the color of the water (is it clear), the cleanness of the basin, the state of the facet (is it clean), or for any other indications it would be better not to drink it. If all is clear, it is safe to drink. In the rural areas the water basins are often for the cows. In some cases a farmer will have put up a sign that the water is not potable, but most of the time there is no warning. For health reasons you should not take any water from drinking basins or fountains in rural areas. Carry enough water and wait with refilling your bottle until you arrive at a restaurant, farm, church, or a clean fountain in a village or town.

In case you are wondering about restrooms along the Swiss Way of St. James: most parish churches have toilet facilities and so do restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls. These restrooms are neat and clean, consistent with the Swiss standards of hygiene. The tap and sink can also be used to refill your drinking bottle or freshen up.

Occasional health hazards may arise from farm dogs and stinging insects in the rural areas. Most farm dogs will only bark at you, but some may chase you while growling viciously (usually they are not chained). Carry a hiking stick to keep such a dog at a distance if need be. Horseflies can be extremely annoying: they can follow you for 50 meters or more, buzzing around the exposed skin of your legs or arms. Some will even sting through your clothing. They are mostly near farms and cows. Just pay attention when walking through such areas, particularly while resting or standing still to take photos. Their bite will sting, but normally does not cause a health problem (unless you have a particular allergy or sensitivity). Most of the time they are just really annoying, buzzing around your head.

Many hiking stages lead through grasslands, forests, and bushes, which may contain ticks. Some ticks carry infectious diseases and their bites may cause mild to extremely serious diseases requiring hospitalization (TBE, Lyme disease, paralysis). Ticks feed on the blood of cows, deer, and other animals, and will not hesitate to try to feed on the blood of a human. Ticks live in forests, bushes, grasslands, and on animals. They crawl on leaves, tall grass, and low bushes, usually not higher than 150 centimeters (they are unlikely to fall on you from a tall tree). They are very small and their bite does not sting (it may happen unnoticed).

Risk exposures along the Swiss Way of St. James are:

seasonal: mostly limited to the period April to September, when temperatures are moderate to high;

high: along the routes in North-East Switzerland (Lake Constance to Einsiedeln);

moderate: along the routes in Central Switzerland (Einsiedeln to Fribourg) and in South-West Switzerland (Fribourg to Geneva).

Your tick-bite prevention may consist of the following measures: spraying tick repellent on your clothing and exposed skin; wearing long pants and sleeves; and walking in the middle of the trails. After a day’s hike through a risk area (grasslands, forests, bushes) check your clothing and your body for any ticks. Put tick-removal tweezers in your backpack.

Consult your local physician about preventing, detecting, removing, and treating tick bites before you head out to the Swiss Camino. You can consider getting a vaccination against tick-borne diseases prior to your journey. Make sure you are well-informed about what to do to avoid tick-borne infections.

In case you have hay fever or pollen allergies, be aware that in the months March to October many kinds of pollen will be in the air. As soon as the weather is sunny and dry the farmers start mowing their meadows, causing a significant increase in pollen. Many of the trails in rural and agricultural areas are exposed to increased levels of pollen during these months. Bring your hay fever medicine when hiking in this period.

A limited range of large wild animals live in the wilderness of Switzerland. Wolves, brown bears, alpine ibex, lynx, red deer, fox, eagles, and vultures mostly roam the national wild parks, away from the urban areas. Basically, there are no deadly poisonous snakes, scorpions, or other life-endangering animals along the Swiss Way of St. James (see above for ticks). It is highly unlikely that you will come across any of these large animals or snakes on the Swiss Camino hiking routes.

However, you will come in close vicinity of large domesticated animals, i.e. cows. Most of the time cows graze peacefully in the meadows, separated from the hiking trail by barbwire or low-voltage electrified wires. Cows are curious and will notice that you are passing by; they might turn their head to follow you as you walk by their meadow. In quite a few areas the hiking trails cross the meadows. This mostly happens in North-East Switzerland, a few times in the Central Switzerland (Luzern/Bern route), but not at all in South-West Switzerland. When crossing a meadow, cows may be grazing or standing in the middle of your path and turn their head to see what you are doing. Making a wide curve around a cow is usually sufficient to pass by this ‘obstacle’, as they are generally not aggressive. However, cows may be aggressive when they have suckling calves with them. Swiss newspapers report about hikers with injuries from cow attacks several times a year. In case you are confronted with cows in a meadow, avoid coming close to them.

Tip #3: Keep dry and warm

The climate in Switzerland is influenced by two major factors: the Alps and the Atlantic Ocean. About 70 percent of the weather is determined by high- or low-pressure fronts from the west, bringing humid and mild ocean air to the country (though global warming is increasingly causing air streams to come from the south (north-Africa), bringing dry and warm weather in summer). The Alps divide the country in climate zones and influence the weather in small geographical areas. It could be overcast and raining where you are, while it is beautiful sunny weather 30 km away. This means you need to be prepared for warm and sunny weather (sunscreen, breathable clothing), cool and wet weather (warm clothing, rain protection), and cold wind (wind stopper). You will break a sweat while ascending a steep hill in a weather protecting forest, while on the crest you may be exposed to a cold wind. Dressing in layers is the only solution. Wear clothing that quickly dries (no cotton) from sweat and rain.

Depending on the time of year of your pilgrimage, generally expect temperatures to vary between 5 degrees Celsius (on a spring morning) and 30 degrees Celsius (in high summer) from April to October. In the months April, May, and occasionally in June, there could be one or more days with snowfall down to an altitude of 600 meters. Most of the time this snow melts the next day, though above elevations of 900 meters it may stay when temperatures remain low. This may mean that certain mountainous passages (e.g.