Bruder Klaus, the Confederation and a Father of the Fatherland
24 June 2024
The existence of Wilhelm Tell can be questioned, although this story fits into the historical, political and religious context of resistance to a sovereign and the formation of local alliances.
However, the other Swiss hero, Niklaus von Flüe (1417-1487), is a historical figure whose person, way of life and (political) deeds were already recognised and recorded during his lifetime.
Fluëli-Ranft and the Fluëli-Chapel (1618), dedicated to St. Borromeus
Nothing in his younger years pointed to a life as Bruder Klaus. Niklaus was born in Flüe, a small village near Sachseln, an Ort in the present-day canton of Obwalden, then referred to as Unterwalden and Nidwalden.
The old Eidgenossenschaft (Confederation) consisted of eight Orte and towns (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zurich, Zug, Glarus, and Bern). It was not yet a close-knit Confederation. On the contrary, diverging economic, political, and geographical interests regularly led to tensions and conflicts.
Discussions and disagreements were as numerous and great at the religious and international levels as the Council of Constance (1414-1418) and the religious reform movements show.
The house of Niklaus and Dorothea (around 1446)
Niklaus was a child of his time and place of birth. He was a peasant who took part in armed conflicts. He married Dorothea Wyss (1430-1495) when he was 29. He was a father, farmer and politically active.
Around age 50, however, farmer Niklaus became Bruder Klaus. He withdrew from worldly life and began a new life as a hermit on the banks of the Melchaa in the Ranft Gorge, just a few hundred metres from his home in Flüe.
The bridge over the Melchaa and the Ranft Gorge (Ranftschlucht)
He did not cut off contact with his family and extended family. On the contrary, Dorothea supported him and his new way of living. The inhabitants of Flüe gave him a small wooden house and, later, even a stone chapel. The bishop of Constance consecrated this chapel in 1469, indicating his great prestige in the early stages of his new life.
The wooden cell and the Upper Ranft Chapel (obere Ranftkapelle), on the left; the wooden house is a centre of information
Bruder Klaus was not the only hermit at this time. All over the (Christian) world, women and men dedicated themselves to a life of seclusion, poverty, contemplation and prayer.
This tradition dates back to the first centuries of Christianity in the Middle East. Pastors of Bruder Klaus in Switzerland include St Gallus in St Gallen, St. Wiborada in St. Georgen (St. Gallen), and St Meinrad in Einsiedeln; successors in Switzerland include the Einsiedelei St Margarethen in Räsch (canton Fribourg/Freiburg).
Bruder Klaus, however, distinguished himself by his political commitment. In this respect, he had both feet in the world despite his seclusion and intense devotion.
The Lower Ranft Chapel (untere Ranftkapelle), built in 1501
He was well-informed about local, confederal and international politics and discussions. As Bernardo Imperiali, a diplomat in the service of the Duke of Milan, put it when visiting the oft-frequented Bruder Klaus, “Io trovato informato di tutto” (I met him with knowledge of all issues).
This diplomat of a powerful duke did not consult him in vain. For years, Bruder Klaus had been a name in local, regional and international conflicts. He was what we today call a ‘mediator’ or ‘arbitrator’. Poor and rich, farmers or politicians from Sacheln, Stans or Flüe, representatives of Orte or cities of the Eidgenossenschaft and international diplomats consulted him.
Bruder Klaus protects Switzerland, 1940
However, his diplomatic highlight is his (presumed) mediating role in the conflict between members of the Eidgenossenschaft. According to a 1507 chronicle (the Lucerne Chronicle by Diepold Schilling (1460-1515)), Bruder Klaus was one of the founders of the Stanser Verkommnis of 22 December 1481.
The eight members of the Eidgenossenschaft were on the brink of civil war after victories over the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold (1433-1477) in the years 1476-1477.
Bruder Klaus mediated, and at the Tagsatzung of Stans, the Stanser Verkommnis came about. Since then, he has been a kind of ‘Father of the Fatherland’.
Pope John Paul II visited the place in 1986
Although he could not be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Bruder Klaus was beatified in 1649. It was followed by canonisation by Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) on 15 May 1947. The citizens of Obwalden and four continents had recognised his merits much earlier.
Sachseln’s Book of Churches and many other contemporary documents and written sources discuss mysticism, devotion, fasting, and his role as a ‘mediator’ and peacemaker.
Today, hundreds of churches, chapels and schools are dedicated to Bruder Klaus on four continents. Swiss poet Heinrich Federer (1866-1928) put it as follows in 1921: “Bruder Klaus ist viel zu gross, um nur Schweizer zu sein. Er gehört der ganzen Welt“.
Bruder Klaus’s remains are interred in Sachseln’s pilgrimage church (Wallfahrtskirche, 1684)
The Bruder Klaus museum in Sachseln and the village of Fluëli-Ranft are dedicated to this person, his wife Dorothea and their reception.
(Source and further information: Bruder Klaus Museum; W. Signer, G. Appius, Niklaus von Flüe, ein politischer Mystiker, Bazel 1989)
Commemoration of the citizens of Budapest and their bravery in 1956 in the Ranftschlucht