Castle-Church

Rebuilt

Yesterday Maria and I went to a home education seminar, at which Maria gave a speech. Afterward we went to see these historic constructions.

The one that looks like a castle used to be just that. It was built in 1230 by the free lord Gerhard von Göskon as his primary residence. But his family heirs were robber barons, which annoyed the local populace to no end, until the family line got its comeuppance and died out. The castle went then to House of Falkenstein . The castle was burnt down by the Bernese and Solothurners in the Zürich war of  1444, because the then lord of the castle had wreaked havoc on  the little town of Brugg. Then the place was bought for 8200 Gulden and sometime later re-built as an administrative seat. As the French Revolution in 1798 swept into Switzerland, the castle was burnt again. This time it remained as a picturesque ruin for over a century. At the end of the 19th century, in the late Romantic period the Catholic church had a split, and a group decided to rebuild the ruin as a church. At the turn of the century, they did so, with a church architect from St. Gallen in charge, and plaster work by some Tiroleans, and the organ by a Swiss builder. It has seen a couple of major renovations, and an un-renovations, in which the "updating" of the 1950's, in which everything was painted over in a uniform cream color, was returned to its soft Rococo pastel tones. The church is considered the finest example of Neo-Baroque in Switzerland.

The courtyard below

The inner courtyard

likewise

The clergy graveyard

The open interior of the nave and chancel

Old Baptismal font

One of two side altars

A window in the chancel

Marble and plasterwork pulpit

Pulpit details

A holy water basin

My not-favourite Swiss saint, Niklaus von Flüe. He left his wife and ten children and trotted off down the hill to be a hermit. The Swiss are glad that he saved the day with some good advice, but I say that is no excuse for leaving one's family to fend for themselves. 

An angel on the altar

The front medallion of the altar, the mother swan sacrificing herself for her young.

Altar

A very old woodwork Door frame in the chancel

Chancel flowers

A narrow walkway runs around the church overlooking the courtyard below and the town.

A nearby village farmstead

The Schloss restaurant where can have a very fine dinner