Sion (12/5/1982)

Sunday, December 5, 1982

Train day pass

Marsha and I caught the 8:33 train to Lausanne on another cold foggy day. Arrived at 9:45 and changed to the 9:50 train to Sion. Saw the Winnistörfer family passing by and they waved. The sun was peeking out and reflected on Lac Léman/Lake Geneva. Arrived in the snow-covered mountains and you could see the cleft which is the end of the Trient Gorges. Saw the railroad that climbs the hillside to Chamonix. As we left St Martigny, there was a heavy frost on the ground and the sun hadn’t made it over the mountain tops yet. The wide valley was flat in the middle with irregular hills to the north and tall mountains topped with snow on both sides. There were fruit trees in the flat areas, and vineyards everywhere. Arrived in Sion at 10:50 where the sun had finally peeked over the mountains. It was crisp and cold as we set out along Avenue de la Gare/Station Avenue past several wine concerns. The streets were empty as we came to Place de la Planta, a large gravel-covered area. To one side was a monument to the Valais centenary in the confederacy (1815-1915) with a statue of a woman. Across the square was a large building, the Palais du Gouvernement. In front was a sign indicating stairs to the elevator (!). We walked up the narrow cobblestoned Rue de Conthey looking for #7. We found #5 and next to it was an archway. We entered and saw a sign pointing to a tiny courtyard for the Maison Supersaxo. We pushed open the creaking door and started climbing stairs. On the first floor we reached, there was an old wooden door. I pushed open the door into an old conference room (Salle de Solives from 1602) and we looked up. This wasn’t the ceiling we were searching for. We climbed another flight of stairs to another wooden door, this one labeled as the archives library with a note to enter without frapper. We assumed that meant without knocking! We entered a room (Salle des Fêtes) with a high carved wooden ceiling (original from 1505 by Jacobinus Malacrida) in a radial pattern, and around it were rose window type designs. In the center was a pendant with a Nativity scene. Around the pendant were twelve holes, out of which were jutting figures (of the Magi and prophets). A couple of the holes were empty. The room held a couple carved wooden chests, chairs, and a podium. On the walls were paintings of kings or the like. In an adjoining room was a man, we assume the guard, reading the newspaper.

We walked around the sober Eglise St Théodule/Church of St Thoedule (1516) to Place de la Cathédrale/Cathedral Square. On one side was the simple Bishop’s Palace (rebuilt 1840) and on the other was the Cathédrale Notre Dame du Glarier/Cathedral of Our Lady of Glarier (rebuilt 15C). 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Sion or du Glarier

The belfry (12C) with Lombard arcades was topped by an octagonal brick steeple. We went inside the cathedral where a priest was preaching to a row of six people, one of whom had a camera (tourists?). But then they approached a table with a pitcher of water, and we saw they were holding a baby. A baptism! So we didn’t go up close to the 17C choir stalls or the gilded wooden triptych of the Tree of Jesse. On the left was an elaborate altar behind a screen, perhaps containing the church treasures of reliquaries. In the back were bishops’ tombs, and to the left was a large chapel or baptistery with several confessionals and a large font topped by a towering carved wooden thing! We exited and headed up a street past a war memorial to the Tour des Sorciers/Wizards Tower (12C), an interesting tower left from the medieval fortifications, but now it stands alone.

Tour des Sorciers

As we took photos, a Mass let out from the Spanish Catholic Mission. On one side of the building they had a gold statue of Madonna and Child, We walked up Avenue Ritz to the junction of Rue de Gravelone and Avenue St François to see the Muli (1966), a monument by Edouard-Marcel Sandoz of a child on a donkey/mule accompanied by another child. We wandered down narrow back streets to the Rue du Grand Pont to see an interesting old façade that looked like it could have been a fancy hotel in an old west town in the U.S.! Nearby was the Hôtel de Ville/City Hall with its astronomical clock and intricately carved wooden door.

Hôtel de Ville clock tower

After the clock struck noon (nothing special happened), we started climbing Rue des Châteaux, a winding narrow street, until we reached what appeared to be a stone castle. It housed the Majorie (former Episcopalian officer) Museum and was closed at the moment. We continued uphill to a parking lot. There we looked up at the ruins of Château de Tourbillon/Tourbillon Castle (1294, destroyed by fire in 1788).

Château de Tourbillon

In the opposite direction we could see the Château de Valère/Valère Castle and its large church on another hilltop. We started climbing the stairs to Valère, stopping to look down in the area between the two hills with its vineyards and a small orchard. In the orchard, kids were trying to get rides on two small donkeys. Halfway up this hill we came to the Chapelle des Tous les Saints/Chapel of All Saints.

Chapelle des Tous les Saints

As we backed up to get a photo of the chapel tower with a backdrop of snow-covered mountains, we found ourselves in an undulating meadow that also had a view down onto the slightly foggy city of Sion.

View down on Sion

The meadow with the backdrop of snow-covered mountains inspired Marsha to run with her arms wide open and sing “The Sound of Music”! After trying the locked door of the chapel, we continued uphill. At a turn in the path, we saw a large clear area with a few scattered rocks and benches. As the hill dropped off, you had a wonderful view of the snow-capped Alps.

Sion and snow-capped Alps

More “Sound of Music”! And a perfect spot in the sunshine for a picnic of salami sandwiches, tangerines, and Christmas cookies.

Marsha at picnic spot

Château de Valère

We continued up the hill and found yet another outlook, this one with a sign that labeled the mountains. We picked out as many as we could, before entering through an archway to more stairs. Another archway where Marsha pointed out a weathered stone face on the wall. We climbed new stone steps into a small courtyard with a tree and a view directly down into Sion. There was another labeled mountain panorama to study. We sat in the sun on the stone cold wall until the church and museum opened at 14:00. A man came and unlocked the door of the church, and as he passed through the door, the town clocks chimed the hour. Talk about punctual!

There were several other people also waiting, and no one made a move. The man came out of the church and walked down the hill. No one made a move. So Marsha and I got up, walked past all the others and entered the Eglise Notre Dame de Valère /Church of Our Lady of Valère (12-13C). Then the others followed us in! We climbed stairs, crossed a rickety wooden floor past a postcard stand that also sold a record of organ music played at the church. We entered a room that looked like the innards of a mill. The next room was the church proper, a three-aisled pillared basilica. We couldn’t tell if it really had a pointed vault nave, as the ceiling looked shallow. The chancel rood screen (13C) was a solid stone wall with an archway and a couple niches for wooden statuary. Just inside the arch were stairs we took to get a view back on the nave with its cute little organ (15C) and organ loft, both painted in fairly bright colors. We could also see into the chancel. We returned to the choir for a closer look at the carved wooden stalls (17C). Marsha tried a seat and it was a snug fit for her shoulders. A girl walked by and said, “And now you must sing!” The stalls were decorated with carvings that were supposed to depict the life of Christ, but it looked more like the Stations of the Cross. The capitals in the choir were intricately carved in different patterns.

The chancel was almost completely covered with worn frescoes. The carved wooden altar (16C) was insignificant next to the other furniture! We went through a door to the left of the altar to take stairs to another altar.

We weren’t the first to leave the church, but we were the first to brave entering the museum. A man unlocked the door for us, and we said “Bonjour” and asked for two tickets in French. The man then asked something I didn’t understand, so in German he asked if we were students. No, so we paid 2 CHF/$1 each and received a map of the castle, giving us a sequence to follow to avoid backtracking.

Castle and church map

In the Château de Valère

It was confusing with the ups and downs, and each room seemed to be on its own floor level! We went through a dining room, a bedroom, and a couple rooms filled with gold and ivory church treasures and intricate coffers. Down in the kitchen there were trunks and iron utensils, then to a room with medieval weapons and armor. A couple rooms had textiles: old lace, needlework, embroidery, etc. Several rooms had uniforms and accoutrements of different army troops. One room had fairly large tapestries, one done out of red uniforms. Down in the cellar was an inlaid table, and a room of old sculptures. There was also an old fire wagon. We walked out into an enclosed garden and through the guardroom to another building in the castle compound. Here we saw the tools and utensils of farmers, and rooms of wine and milk production paraphernalia. Through the wine cellar to the room with milling, breadmaking, and household items. Up a couple steps to a salon which had a large family tree of crests on one wall. Up a few more stairs to a display of local traditional dress. We went into one bedroom, then up a huge step through a tiny door to another. Next a display of bourgeois clothing and through a kitchen to a reception room. There were a couple rooms of sculptures, then a large cellar with an oven. We arrived at the exit, but the door was locked. There was a notice saying if a guard wasn’t on duty, to dial #1. When we finally found the telephone, it started ringing! We pretended to still be studying the museum, and shortly the man appeared to unlock the door. We exited the castle and headed downhill, stopping to admire the views. We stopped at the Majorie Museum of Fine Arts, paying 2 CHF/$1 for admission and we had to leave our knapsacks at the desk.

Majorie Museum ticket

The first room had etchings, prints of local scenes. The main building had more modern paintings and sculptures. Up a flight of stairs, a whole room was devoted to a local Valais painter, Raphy Dallèves, who did local scenery and especially local people. He was really into hands and faces. There were more classical paintings on the third floor and in the back offshoot of a circular stairway there was a window well with a fantastic view of the two hilltop castles with snow-covered mountains behind them! Unfortunately our cameras were in the knapsacks! We quickly browsed the 4th floor, then picked up our knapsacks on the way out. We walked down to the Hôtel de Ville/City Hall (1660), then turned left into the shopping district. Found our way to Avenue des Creusets, then Avenue de la Gare to the train station to catch the 16:01 train to Brig. Arrived in Brig at 16:35 and changed to the 16:54 train to Bern. One car was headed to Biel, but it was already very crowded. Sat in a very uncrowded car to Bern, arriving at 18:35. Caught the 18:53 train to Biel, arriving about 19:30, deciding to catch the bus at Mühlebrücke to get to the Personalhaus/staff residence.