This 10-km trail that we walked on Wednesday has nothing to do with chocolate -- although we did stop along the way to buy some -- but rather with a line of anti-tank barriers (known as the Promenthouse fortification and named for the river which the line follows) consisting of 3000 large (14 tons each) triangle-shaped concrete blocks running North-South from Bassins to Lake Geneva near Nyon.
During the Second World War, when the Germans invaded the neutral countries of Norway and Belgium, Switzerland feared they would not remain immune to invasion and thus built the line to protect the western frontier near Geneva. It was a massive job building bunkers, fortresses, ramming in railway ties and bringing in and setting up the blocks, which the Swiss factories could not produce quickly enough so were brought in from France and Luxembourg as well.
This parade of concrete blocks so much resembles the chocolate, that the soldiers nicknamed them "Toblerones", a nickname that persists to this day. The placement of the blocks is strategic: The 45-degree slope facing the enemy offers more resistance to bombardment, and a tank running up the slope is put off balance.
A final interesting feature along the trail is a fortress called "The Villa Rose" which was built to look like a regular house but whose windows are fake and whose walls are over two meters thick and housed massive cannons and other armaments, and was set up so that the soldiers could survive for weeks inside.
The trail itself was pleasant and easy to walk, mostly along the river and through forests, often winding in and out of the Toblerones. We lucked out again with this choice (which was actually the result of a last-minute change of plans) as this was the only place in Switzerland which actually had sunshine.
More interesting information on this website: http://www.toblerones.ch/index.php/welcome
 |
| Our trip started with a 25-min. ride in the "Nyon-St.Cergue-LaCure" train which goes right to the French Border from Nyon at Lake Geneva. |
 |
| This is a typical style for churches in the Jura foothills of Canton Vaud. |
 |
| On the train ride we got glimpses of Lake Geneva, but the French Alps across the lake are hidden by the low clouds. |
 |
| Countryside just North of Lake Geneva, near Geneva |
 |
| The official "Toblerone Trail" to Nyon is 18 km long; we walked only 10 km along the line of Toblerones, about 2.5 hours. |
 |
| The official "Toblerone Trail" to Nyon is 18 km long; we walked only 10 km along the line of Toblerones, about 2.5 hours. The Promenthouse Fortification was erected to prevent enemy access from France to further inland along Lake Geneva |
 |
| The first of the Toblerones were smaller and more pyramid-like. The rest were much larger |
 |
| Almost all of the 3000 stones still stand, although many are moss- and ivy-covered |
 |
| These 14-Ton blocks are about 2 meters high. |
 |
| These 14-Ton blocks are about 2 meters high. |
 |
| Cities and farms have grown up around the blocks |
 |
| The church at Vich dates from about the 11th Century |
 |
| A not-so-successful attempt to compare the Toblerones to the Toblerone Chocolate (which quickly melted on warm hands!) |
 |
| Another attempt to compare! |
 |
| Along the way are several depressed guard posts |
 |
| Strategy and size of Toblerones |
 |
| Villa Rose, a fortress disguised to look like a regular house |
 |
| Villa Rose, a fortress disguised to look like a regular house. The windows are "Trompe-l'Oeil" |
 |
| On our way back home by train, this is the last view of Lake Geneva and the vineyards near Lausanne. |
No comments:
Post a Comment