Author: Maarten Koning

Mir rede au Elsassisch, Leymen and Hagenthal-le-Bas

A Swiss cartoon symbolises and puts the Röstigraben into perspective, the difference between the French and German-speaking parts of the country. On the German side of the Saane near Freiburg, a sign reads: : “Ici on parle français”. On both sides of the river, however, there are identical houses, and identically dressed people, and they eat Rösti; however, in short, they are Swiss.

The Alsatian dialect

This image comes to mind when one approaches the municipality of Leymen in Alsace, in the department of Haut-Rhin: ´Mir rede au Elsassisch´. This ancient Oberrheinalemannic dialect was the spoken language in this region (the Sundgau) of the Upper Rhine (Oberrrhein). Political developments after 1918 and 1945 pushed this dialect almost into oblivion, but it made a come-back in recent decades.

For centuries, the inhabitants of the village of Rodersdorf (canton Solothurn) communicated in this dialect with the inhabitants of the French villages of Biederthal, Leymen, Hagental-Le-Bas and Hagental-Le-Haut in the Sundgau.

Cultural trail

Therefore, the path between these French and Swiss villages is a linguistic, historical and cultural trail. Landskron Castle on the 530-metre mountain is visible from all sides, and even the Waggis of Alsace have been well-established in Basel for generations! (Fortunately, Woke did not exist back then. A Waggi is an Alsatian caricature of a peasant).

Waggis in a restaurant in Hagental-Le-Haut

This Jura landscape is also home to the sources of the Birsig river and the Strängenbach stream. The Strängenbach flows into the Birsig, and the Birsig flows through Alsace and the cantons of Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft into the Rhine in Basel in canton Basel-Stadt.

The history of these villages is closely linked to the dynasties in the neighbouring Swiss cantons and the Habsburgs. The bishop of Basel, the counts of Thierstein and Ferrette, the dynasty of Eptingen and Reich von Reichenstein (of the Landskron) were the main landowners in the area.

The area was part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and its Habsburg emperors until 1648. France acquired the Sundgau at the Peace of Westphalia 1n 1648.

Jewish community

The villages of Hagenthal-le-Bas and Hagenthal-Le-Haut (Alsace) also had a large Jewish community in the 18th century. The Jewish cemetery in Hagenthal-le-Bas is still in good condition. The cemetery in Hagenthal-Le-Haut is almost gone.

Hagenthal-Le-Haut

Hagenthal-le-Bas, Jewish cemetery 

In 1784, Hagenthal-le-Bas had 356 Jewish inhabitants, Hagenthal-Le-Haut 271, almost half the inhabitants of these villages. After World War I (i.e. not because of German occupation in World War II), these communities disappeared.

Only the synagogue in rue de la Synagogue in Hagenthal-le-Bas still recalls this large Jewish community. The Jewish inhabitants of Hagenthal-le-Haut had already left the village before the First World War. The synagogue was demolished in 1903.

The reason for the flight was persecution by the local population. In 1789, the year of the French Revolution, the first pogrom took place. Many of the Jewish communities of Hagenthal-le-Bas and Hagenthal-le-Haut fled to Basel. In 1848, another year of the French Revolution, another pogrom took place.

Leymen

The village of Leymen, a few kilometres further away, lies on the border with canton Solothurn. A Franco-German language border separates these villages today, where until 1918, the Alemannic dialect was the common language.

For a long time, Leymen fell successively under the principality of Basel, the county of Ferrette and, around 1455, under the rule of the Reich von Reichenstein family. Since 1648, Leymen has been French territory.

Not only the famous castle Landskron is located in the municipality of Leymen. The village also houses two chapels. La Chapelle (the chapel) des Âmes de purgatoire was founded in 1928 for pilgrims to and from Mariastein.

The Chapel Heiligenbrunnen

According to legend, the Chapel Heiligenbrunnen is much older and was founded in the eighth century by the English or Irish monk Walburga. As the name suggests, the monk found a water spring at this place, which he used to cure a man of his blindness. An annual procession to St Walburga takes place on 1 May. The current chapel dates from 1682.

Leymen

(Source and further information: Office de Tourisme du Sundgau)

The Swiss Institutions of Art of the Würth Group

The history of the Würth Group begins in 1945 in Künzelsau, a small town in Hohenlohe (Baden-Württemberg). In that year, Adolf Würth (1909-1954) founded the company Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, which his son Reinhold Würth (*1935) took over in 1954.

The internationalisation of the Würth Group took root soon thereafter. In the early 1960s, several companies were founded in other European countries, including Switzerland and Austria.

Over many decades, the screw wholesaler developed into the world’s largest company for assembly and fastening technology and Würth International. Today, the company has branches on five continents.

The Schlossmühle was Würth’s first company building in 1945. photo credits: Würth Archive

A multinational with a commitment to society, art and culture

This company’s commitment to society, art and culture makes it unique. Prof Dr h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth, currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board (Stiftungsaufsichtsrats) of the Würth Group, and his wife Carmen Würth (*1937) founded the Stiftung Würth (Würth Foundation) in 1987. The foundation promotes projects in art, culture, social affairs, education and research, integration and sport.

Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth. Photo Credit: Würth Archive

Decades earlier, both showed keen interest in social issues, art and culture. They started collecting art around 1970. Today, the Würth Collection comprises about 20,000 works of art from more than 500 years of art history, from the late Middle Ages to modern and contemporary art – mainly paintings and sculptures.

Carmen Würth. Photo Credit: Würth Archive

The works are regularly exhibited free of charge in the 15 museums, art galleries and art cabinets the company has set up and manages in Europe. The Würth Collection also presents its works at exhibitions in other museums and institutions.

Museum Würth 2 in Künzelsau. Photo Credit: Würth Archive

The museums, forums and art galleries of the Würth Group

The Museum Würth in Künzelsau opened its doors in 1991, followed by the Kunsthalle Würth in 2001 and the Johanniterkirche with old masters in Schwäbisch Hall in 2008. Museum Würth 2 in Künzelsau was established in 2020 and is integrated into the ‘Carmen Würth Forum’ cultural and congress centre.

The museum’s activities extend far beyond the region of the founding company. Since 1999, the Würth Group has managed art branches in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Spain and Switzerland.

This article focuses in particular on the three branches in Switzerland: Rorschach (Canton of St Gallen), Chur (Canton of Graubünden) and Arlesheim (Canton of Basel-Landschaft).

The article is based on a written interview with Ms C. Sylvia Weber, head of the Würth Group’s Art and Culture Department, with a supporting role by Myriam Rüegsegger (head of Forum Würth Arlesheim).

The relationship between Switzerland, the country with the relatively highest museum density in the world and the multinational with the most museums in Europe, is thus receiving well-deserved attention.

Forum Würth Arlesheim. Photo Credit: Würth Archive

Interview with C. Sylvia Weber, head of the Würth Group’s art and culture department

  • In a small country like Switzerland, there are three Würth Forums (Foren or Kunstdependancen in German)) in Arlesheim, Chur and Rorschach. It makes Switzerland the leader in Europe, apart from the museums and institutions in Germany. Was there a particular reason for opening three institutions in Switzerland? Is a forum always linked to a business building?

The company’s expansions and the successful concept in Germany were the background and starting point for setting up art forums for its collection across Europe.

Following the example of Museum Würth in Künzelsau near the company’s headquarters in Baden-Württemberg, which was integrated into the main building in 1991, ten other art centres were opened in Europe between 1999 and 2013, integrated into the company’s main building or standing alone, but always in direct connection with the main building of the company. The art exhibitions are aimed at  Würth employees and the general public without an entrance fee.

The establishment of the Würth Forums in Chur, Arlesheim and Rorschach between 2002 and 2013 reflects the dynamism and vitality within the company.

The Würth Collection, which entrepreneur Reinhold Würth has been building up for about 60 years and which today numbers more than 20,000 works, making it one of the most important private collections, has become an increasingly fertile basis for organising exhibitions outside Germany.

The sculpture garden of Forum Würth Chur. Photo Credit: Würth Archive

  • Würth has an extensive art collection. Do the art establishments in Switzerland also have a permanent collection, or are there only temporary exhibitions?

The Swiss forums in Arlesheim and Chur have their collection of sculptures displayed outside the company buildings. They include works by Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Bernhard Luginbühl and Not Vital. In addition, changing exhibitions are organised based on the Würth Collection, which is managed at the company headquarters in Künzelsau.

  • Who determines the theme, content and concept of the exhibitions? Is each forum autonomous, or does Würth’s Art Advisory Board have a decisive or advisory voice? Focus: sculpture, painting, graphics, nature, etc.?

The art advisory board of the Würth Group advises on the strategic direction of the collection and exhibition activities. The exhibitions themselves are organised under the responsibility of the management of the Würth Collection together with the respective curators.

There is an extensive educational programme at all art venues. It includes guided tours, workshops, accompanying events for teachers, lectures, conferences and other activities.

The Association Friends of the Würth Museums (Freunde der Museen Würth e. V.) organises special events.

Forum Würth Arlesheim, exposition ‘Christopher Lehmpfuhl, zwischen Pathos und Pastos‘

  • Is there any harmonisation or coordination between the different Würth museums/branches? Are there thematic focal points?

The starting point for all exhibitions is the Würth collection. It is mainly focused on painting and sculpture. The collections and exhibitions include names such names as Max Ernst, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Horst Antes, Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Fernando Botero and David Hockney, to name but a few.

Alfred Hrdlicka, Anthony Caro, Eduardo Chillida, Tony Cragg and other sculptors also appear in exhibitions. In terms of themes, the presentations repeatedly refer to social and cultural topics.

We aim to show the Würth Collection in interaction with other institutions while making a broad audience aware of relevant themes and artistically essential positions.

  • Are the exhibitions (also) travelling exhibitions?

The collections are presented at several locations in succession – not least for sustainability reasons.

Carl Moll, Venedig, auf der Riva Schiavoni – view towards the Giardino Pubblico, around 1922, Würth Collection, Inv. 1879. Exhibition ‘Wasser, Wolken, Wind ‒ Elementar- und Wetterphänomene in Werken der Sammlung Würth’, Forum Würth Rorschach, 2023-2025

  • What is the relationship between the Würth Art Collection and an exhibition?

All exhibitions are based on the possession and contents of the Würth Collection.

  • Does Arlesheim have one focus, Chur and Rorschach another? Is there any particular coordination?

In principle, all programmes are being coordinated. An exhibition coordinator is involved in the exhibition projects. The Swiss Forums also repeatedly organise exhibitions in cooperation with local partners.

The location certainly plays a role in the visitor structure. For example, Arlesheim attracts visitors from Baden-Württemberg and Alsace, while Rorschach and Chur attract visitors from the Lake Constance region and Italy.

It includes, for example, exhibitions of art for and by people with disabilities – a key focus at Würth. In Arlesheim, for instance, in cooperation with the creative workshop of the Bürgerspital in Basel and Rorschach with the Open Art Museum in St Gallen, an institution for Swiss naive art and art brut. Another example is the photo exhibition “HIDDEN – Hidden Places in Switzerland” and other projects with local themes and artists.

  • What experiences do you have with the reactions of the public, other museums and local communities?

We cooperate with other local cultural institutions. For us, barrier-free access and no entrance fees to art and culture are matters of principle, including free access to the art institutions of Würth.

This commitment has been positively received and utilised by local communities. The Würth Collection has already welcomed 10.4 million visitors worldwide since 1989. Thanks to free admission, the Würth Collection’s “playgrounds” have become the most democratic places in the world, to quote Reinhold Würth.

The future?

We are constantly working to inspire the public in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Spain and Switzerland.

The revitalisation and expansion of Kunsthalle Würth in Schwäbisch Hall by the internationally renowned architectural firm Henning Larsen Munich, which is currently taking place, is an essential step into the future.

Many thanks for your contribution

Collection Würth, Old Masters in the Johanniterkirche, Schwäbisch Hall. Photo: Würth Archive

Magden, Maisprach, Olsberg and Giebenach write History

Small villages often write history in Switzerland. Not far from Rheinfelden (Canton of Aargau) are the villages of Magden (Canton of Basel-Landschaft), 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 is in 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 canton Aargau. With around 800 employed people and 400 Hectares of vineyard land, Magden is still an important 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 Canton Aargau. The new destination was a protestant-catholic institute (which was modern for the time) for (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 centre for children.

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 place housed villas and farm complexes. The location was near the Roman Colonia Augusta Raurica 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 canton 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 lies about 4 kilometres from Magden. The first mention dates from 1180 with the name Meisprache and in 1247 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 Sunnenberg 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 district 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

Former Olsberg monastery (Stift Olsberg)