Author: Maarten Koning

Neuchâtel from Village to City

The tribe of Helvetians inhabited the area of the canton of Neuchâtel before the arrival of the Romans in 15-13 BC. The Laténium in Hauterive shows pile dwellings and other Celtic objects from this period.

Rudolph III (977-1032), the last king of the Kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032) built a new castle (Novum Castellum) on a hill.

Six models in the Galeries de l’histoire illustrate the history of the city and the castle.

(Source: J. Bujard and others, Histoire du canton de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel 2014).

La Collégiale of Neuchâtel

La Collégiale of Neuchâtel is a medieval monument. The construction of the church began around 1190. A new construction phase included the building of the monastery, the extension of the nave and the west portal and the St Michael’s Chapel. The inauguration of the church took place in 1276. The southern tower was built around 1300, the second tower in the 19th century.

Until the beginning of the 13th century, the architecture followed the Romanesque tradition of the Upper Rhine. The Gothic style of the Burgundy and French-speaking Switzerland arrived afterwards.

The cathedral of Lausanne has inspired the builders as well. The church shows a similiar ensemble of sculpture and statues and anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures.

The Collégiale and the castle still dominate the skyline of the city.

(Source and further information: www.neuchatelville.ch).

The reformer Guillaume Farel (1489-1565) in front of the church 

Russians in Switzerland

The St. Barbara Church in Vevey (canton of Vaud) is a Russian Orthodox parish beloning to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Switzerland after 1816.

The first Russian Orthodox parish in Switzerland was established in Bern on 24 December 1816. Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825) had commissioned the building and its consecration.

The Tsar maintained good relations with the young Confederation of 22 cantons,  and was also one of its most important advocates at the Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815. One of his most valued advisers was the Swiss Frédéric-César de La Harpe (1754-1838). The parish moved to Geneva in November 1854.

Many Russian aristocrats, artists, students and revolutionaries resided in Switzerland and around Lake Geneva in particular. Many Russian Orthodox churches were built.

The development of tourism and health resorts also attracted a rich clientele. Count Pyotr (Peter) Shuvalov (1827-1889) requested and received permission to build a church in Vevey in memory of his daughter Barbara. Jean-Samuel Késer-Doret  (1813-1902) was the architect. The church was consecrated on 1 November, 1878.

(Source and more information about the Orthodox Church in Switzerland: https://orthodoxie.ch).