Anabaptist Path
The Anabaptist Trail (French: Chemin des Anabaptistes ) is a hiking route reminiscent of the history of the Swiss Anabaptists in the Bernese Jura administrative district of the Swiss canton of Bern . The route was officially opened on June 17, 2010. It covers around 33 kilometers and is one of the so-called Culture Routes of Switzerland ( Itinéraires Culturels en Suisse ), a project of the specialist organization ViaStoria , which has set itself the task of developing historical routes for tourism.
background
As early as the spring of 1525, shortly after the first Anabaptist congregation was founded in Zurich, Anabaptist messengers appeared in the canton of Bern. In 1528, after the Reformation had been implemented, violent persecution of the movement that was polemically referred to as "Anabaptists" began. Many Anabaptists were sentenced to death or sold as galley slaves. Only a few baptismal people were able to escape the access of the state and ecclesiastical authorities by fleeing to the Bernese Oberland or the Emmental and live there as a "secret church" according to their beliefs.
After the Thirty Years' War, many baptismal people emigrated to the depopulated areas of Alsace and the Palatinate , where they were initially welcome as helpers in the reconstruction of the regions deserted by the war. Only a few decades later, the tide turned. King Louis XIV expelled the Alsatian Anabaptists from the country in 1712. They returned to Switzerland - but not to the Bernese Oberland, but to the area of the Principality of Basel , which at that time also included the Bernese Jura and thus the area crossed by the Anabaptist Trail . Here the Anabaptists were allowed to settle in areas over 1,000 meters above sea level.
In addition to the still existing Anabaptist congregations (today: Mennonite congregations ) in this region, a number of monuments and sights remind of the history of a persecuted minority. These include the Anabaptist Bridge ( Pont des Anabaptistes ) south of Corgémont, as well as the dry stone walls and pastures that dominate the landscape , which were created and cultivated by the Anabaptists. An Anabaptist archive with partly unpublished materials can also be found on the Anabaptist Trail .
Route and stages of the Anabaptist Path
The approximately 33 km long Anabaptist Path is designed by the organizers for two stages, with two variants for the second stage. A hiking time - depending on the variant - of a total of 10 to 12 hours can be expected. A guided tour is offered for a fee.
The starting point of the Anabaptist Trail is Sonceboz-Sombeval . The place, which is one of the larger municipalities of the Bernese Jura, can be easily reached by bus and train. The A16 motorway also passes nearby. The destination of the hiking trail is the Chasseral (variant 1) or Courtelary (variant 2). While the Chasseral only has a bus connection for the return journey, Courtelary also offers a rail connection. The requirement for experience and fitness is classified as medium to difficult . The specified vertical meters are + 580m / -580m on the first stage and + 1168m / -271m (variant 1) or + 729m / -682m (variant 2) during the second stage .
The historic trail is designed for a two-day hike. The route and stages are recommended as follows:
-
1 day
- Route : Sonceboz-Sombeval - Pierre Pertuis - Sonceboz-Sombeval (four and a half hours)
- Sights : Roman tunnel at Pierre Pertuis, chapel with Anabaptist archive, old Charrière, house of Dean Morel
-
2 day
- Route 1 : Sonceboz-Sombeval - Creux de Glace - Chasseral (six hours)
- Sights : Baptist Bridge , Creux de Glace, Wytweiden, Chasseral
- Route 2 : Sonceboz-Sombeval - Creux de Glace - Courtelary (just under five hours)
- Sights : Baptist bridge, Creux de Glace, Wytweiden, old Charrière
Overnight and catering options are indicated for the entire route.
literature
- Pierre Zürcher: The Anabaptist Bridge on the Chasseral - Pont d'une montagne à l'autre in ways and history - Disappeared and forgotten? , ViaStoria, Bern 2006, ISSN 1660-1122 , pp. 18-21
Web links
- Switzerland Tourism (Official Homepage): Anabaptist Path ; accessed on August 28, 2011
- Swiss cultural trails: Anabaptist trail ; accessed on March 1, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ Berner Zeitung: Neuer Chemin des Anabaptistes (June 17, 2010) ; accessed on August 29, 2011
- ↑ Anabaptist Trail in the Bernese Jura ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; accessed on August 28, 2011
- ^ Swiss Culture Routes: Welcome ; accessed on August 28, 2011
- ↑ The name of the Anabaptists as a secret church goes back to Stephan Hirzel; s. Stephan Hirzel: Secret Church. Heretic chronicle from the days of the Reformation , Hamburg no year.
- ↑ See Pierre Zürcher: The Anabaptist Bridge on the Chasseral - Pont d'une montagne à l'autre in Paths and History - Disappeared and Forgotten? , ViaStoria, Bern 2006, ISSN 1660-1122 , pp. 18-21
- ↑ ViaIstoria: Chemin des Anabaptistes / Täuferweg , 2010, p. 4 - online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; accessed on August 28, 2011
- ↑ Chasseral-Park: Program ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; accessed on August 28, 2011
- ↑ The following information can be found on the official website of Switzerland Tourism : Anabaptist Trail ; accessed on August 28, 2011
