Medieval Towns and Castles in Canton Fribourg and Vaud: Rue, Oron, Romont

Saturday April 8, 2023 -- This time our safest bet for some sunshine was again in western Switzerland, where we don't often go, because the countryside is too flat for us, and most trails are on paved roads, except in the Jura mountains.

Once in a while on a trip to Lausanne, we have spotted what looks like a medieval town and castle on a hill, like something you would find in France. A search of the map indicated that this town's name is Rue. So we figured since mountain trails are still wet and muddy or have snow at low elevations, we would go discover Rue. We mapped out a 10-km path starting in the next town to the north (which we visited only because it is named URSY), and ending at another castle we have only ever seen from the same train: Oron-le-Château.

The medieval village of Rue (founded in the 11th Century and claiming to be the smallest town in Europe) was definitely worth the trip! We spent about 45 minutes there inspecting the historical sites which were nicely described on accompanying placards. (The village of Rue is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites). After spending so much time there, we barely made it to Oron-le-Châtel before our planned bus back to Romont, another medieval city on a hill which we had long wanted to have a look at. (The name Romont probably comes from the "round hill" (mont rond) on which the city was built).

There were lots of people in Romont as there were Easter festivities, and visits offered to the Stained Glass Museum with long line-ups (the multitude of stained glass windows around Romont are an attraction). We didn't have extra time, but in retrospect, we probably should have visited the castle at Oron-le-Châtel instead, which did happen to be open when we passed there. I wasn't quite as fascinated with Romont. It has a lovely silhouette on the hill when passing by train, but doesn't have the small-town flair.

This is the old town of Romont which we see every time we take a train in the direction of Lausanne or Fribourg. We caught a bus from Romont to the start of our walk in Ursy

From Romont we caught a bus to Ursy (20 minutes). We could have continued with the same bus right to the village of Rue, which was the main reason for this trip. But I couldn't resist trying to find a sign with the town name, for a photo with Urs. There wasn't much to see in this village, but we popped into the church anyway, a beautiful sandstone building, not that old, featuring special stained-glass windows. Unfortunately we then had to walk two kilometers along a busy road without sidewalks.

St.Maurice parish church in Ursy is built in neo-gothic style (18th to 19th Century) in sandstone.

Of particular note in this church are the stained glass windows, quite an attraction in this region

This is why we stopped here, so I could get this photo!

Now we walk south toward Rue, with the mountains ahead of us. These are the Alps across Lake Geneva, in France.

We got to the castle in Rue at 11:45. The castle is privately held, so we could not go inside, but we were able to check out the courtyard on the south side. We spent about 45 minutes walking up and down a couple of alleys.

Arriving at the Rue castle at 11:45. The house on the left is known as the "Pink House" and was built in 1830. It has an exceptional view of the Vaud Alps

View from the Pink House across the roofs of Rue. Down where the arrow is, is where we continued our hike and took photos of the village on the hill.

The first reference to a castle in Rue dates from 1152. The square keep appears to be from that era, but otherwise the castle was destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times.

Access to the south part of the castle. Can you see me at the top of the stairs?

View south past the castle walls to the mountains across Lake Geneva in France

A look at the castle from the church grounds and graveyard below

Parish Church of St.Nicolas next to the castle. It probably also dates to the 12th Century, like the castle.

Details inside the church, including another stained glass window by a local artist, and some icon artwork dedicated to the life of St.Nicolas de Myre

The village of Rue (originally the word for "Roue", or "Wheel") claims to be the smallest town/city in Europe!

Walking up and down the alleys of Rue

This house, called the "Chapellenie" is one of the oldest houses in Rue (12th Century). I was mostly intrigued by the basket of candies and the scattered candies on the walkway. I figured it was an Easter tradition to share candy, so I took one! Note again, more stained glass artwork.

The village fountain from 1849. Before homes had running water, public fountains like this were the only source of drinking water. It was forbidden to wash fish in the fountains, with a large penalty for doing so!

We always love the cats

Various impressions of the village of Rue

A last look to the mountains in the south as we head on along our planned trail toward the Château at Oron.

We left Ursy at 11:15 for the 2-km walk to Rue, and were planning to catch the 14:45 bus at Oron-le-Châtel. That left us with barely an hour to look around Rue. With other stops along the way, we had to walk quickly and just made it with 5 minutes to spare, as usual

Lunch break at 12:45!

A look back now at the village of Rue and its castle on the top

A closer look at the castle and church

In between we had a few forested sections, which is always a nice change, especially when the sun is shining.

The cows here are different than our cows in Central Switzerland

Part of our walk was parallel to the railway line, the one we travel on when we go to Lausanne, and from where we can see the village of Rue and the Château d'Oron

Next church to look at is the chapel in Chapelle (yes, the community of 320 residents is called Chapelle)

Of particular interest, once again, are the stained glass windows in the chapel

The chapel also featured a very nice curved wooden ceiling and paintings on the walls.

Heading slightly east now, these mountains are part of the Fribourg Alps.

Unfortunately we did spend a lot of time on paved roads (had to cross the railway line via that bridge in the back).

Through another forest and we cross Canton borders from Fribourg to Vaud (Waadt) with our first glimpse of the Château d'Oron.

The Château d'Oron is really a very impressive building, dating from te 13th Century and inhabited till 1936. It is now open to the public on weekends. In retrospect, we probably should have gone in for a tour!

View of the Château d'Oron from the bus stop, as we will now be on our way back to Romont to have a look at that city.

From the Internet, a floor plan of the Château. (from swisscastles.ch website)

From Oron-le-Châtel (the community near the castle), we had an anxious bus ride to Palézieux where we had to catch the train to Romont. The bus had to wait forever first at a train crossing, then due to road construction. We got to the train station just as the train was about to leave. Luckily, the conductor held a door open for us (the others were already locked).

After a 12-minute train ride to Romont we walked 15 minutes uphill to the city ramparts and first of several towers. After a quick walk down the main street and to admire the inside of the collegiate church, we took a bus back to the train station an hour later. There were too many people there.

The old part of Romont on the hill, with the city ramparts and several towers, as seen from the train station in Romont.

The various towers including castle tower in Romont

Heading down "main streeet" toward the castle and church. The castle also dates from the 13th Century,

The collegiate church (Notre Dame de l'Assomption) dates back to 13th and 15 Centuries

The first church here (13th Century) was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the Gothic style of the 15th Century.

Stunning Gothic pillars and arches, plus a very attractive organ.

Artwork to admire

Again, another feature are the stained glass windows

The beautifully detailed oak and walnut "stalls" (reserved for important clergy members at the time) were commissioned in 1464. More information HERE

We walked down the main street of Romont to catch a bus back to the train station. There wasn't anything particularly interesting or quaint to admire here. A walk around the old town on the city ramparts might have been interesting.

As an aside, we always see crows chasing the "poor" kites. They have no fear!

Just to compare how seldom we come to this southwest corner of Switzerland around the Lake Geneva Region. It is generally too flat for us, and because of the many farms here, most of the roads are paved. Even in the famous vineyards of Lavaux (a Unesco World Heritage Site) around the Lausanne area, the paths in the vineyards are paved.