Verena Gorge and the Stunning Baroque City of Solothurn

Sunday July 19, 2026 -- Still some unstable weather today, but there was supposed to be sunshine and little clouds in the Jura part of western Switzerland, somewhat too far for us to travel for a day trip, so we don't go often.

But in the beautiful Baroque city of Solothurn (only a two-hour trip), the weather was also supposed to be good, and Urs had long wanted to walk through the Verena Gorge just north of that city, a small gorge but with an interesting history, as there is a church built into the cliffs on the north end, and a small hermitage which is currently still inhabited. The entire site is a cultural monument of national importance and lies under Federal Monument Protection. 

As the walk through the gorge only takes about 15 minutes and not worth traveling here just for that, we extended our Sunday's walk by starting at the base station of the Weissenstein cable-way, where we had ended a hike in November 2022, and then continued on through Solothurn (considered the most beautiful Baroque city in Switzerland), with a quick visit to a couple of the beautiful churches there. (We didn't walk through the entire town, as we had done a walkaround on Christmas Day in 2018).

As it turned out, it wasn't as sunny as hoped, and the cloud cover made the air feel muggy. But this ended up being only an 8-km (i.e. 2-hour) walk, which was fine for us for a Sunday morning outing, as we had done a mountain hike the day before. We were back home by 2 p.m. to enjoy the rest of the day at home. 

This is a view of the city of Solothurn as we take a small train to the Weissenstein cable-car station in Oberdorf, where we want to start our hike (having once before ended a hike there in November 2022).

Having left home at just after 7 a.m., we were here at the start of our hike at 9:25. The cable-way to the summit of Mt. Weissenstein in the Jura mountains is popular as a Sunday destination. 

We knew this would not be a long walk for us: An hour to get to the hermitage at the north end of the Verena Gorge, and then another hour to the city of Solothurn. 

The sky was overcast and the air was muggy and heavy, although the temperatures were only about 20 degrees in the morning.  

On clear days you can usually see the entire alpine range from here, to the south. 

Looking back now to the west, that is the village of Oberdorf, near the cable-car station. We didn't pass through the village. You can also just barely make out the Jura hills due to hazy air conditions. 

Heading south now, that's another part of the Jura range behind us to the north. Directly behind me would be the summit of Mt.Weissenstein, and the hotel/restaurant up there.  

Starting at about 9:30 at the base of the Weissenstein cable-way, this was an 8-km walk to Solothurn. After spending some time in the gorge (circled area) and looking at a couple of the churches in Solothurn, we boarded the 12:33 train for the two-hour trip back home. 

At the very north end of the Verena Gorge is an old building which used to be a restaurant, i.e. there is still a restaurant, a newer one attached to this with a large outdoor terrace.

Not sure if the older building is still used as a restaurant, but attached to it is this newer "Garden Restaurant" which they were just preparing for opening time. 

Now to head down the very short gorge, which really only takes 15 minutes to walk through! We came from "Oberdorf" and are headed to Solothurn, another hour's walk from here. This site is called "Einsiedelei", which means "Hermitage". 

This is the first view we got as we headed into the gorge. This building looks really cool, built into the vertical cliff wall. We had not expected something like this. On our left, though is a little chapel which we are wanting to look at first. 

The first building you come to (this is the view from the south side) is the little St.Martin's chapel which belongs to the Hermitage. It dates from the 12th Century. According to legend, St. Verena apparently resided in a two-story cave behind this chapel. 

The chapel is closed except on a few odd hours, i.e. Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (i.e. closed on Monday) and we were lucky on this Sunday as we were here exactly at 10:35! You can only look through the latticed grid... but I was able to photograph the lovely painted wooden ceiling through the lattice spaces anyway. 

This is the interior of the lovely St.Martin's chapel, which I managed to photograph through the lattice.

Across from the chapel is the pilgrim chapel of St.Verena, fabulously built into the massive cliff walls. This as well as the gorge, are named after St.Verena who was believed to have been living in a cave behind the St.Martin's Chapel.  

This is the altar in this open-air church. 

Not sure who the person is that is depicted here. I admired the very nicely carved statues on either side of the burial hall.. 

View out of the open-air church into the gorge, with the St.Martin chapel visible on the left. There was a panel on the right with the date of 1555 on it, mentioning St.Verena's Cave.

From the terrace of the cliff church you can look down on the gardens of the Hermitage, where to this day there still lives someone in solitude. This entire site lies under Federal Monument Protection and is a cultural asset of national importance. 

Now time to head down the gorge. In the meantime, very many people had shown up around the site of the chapel buildings, and we were looking for a more quiet section, with (hopefully) a bench where we could have a mid-morning snack break. 

We did find a bench but a tour-group was standing near it. We then back-tracked when they left. 

Our bench!

That couple is pleased with the photo they took!

Along the way are several inscriptions, i.e. monuments to people who had a hand in creating this gorge trail. 

It wasn't a very long section through this gorge, but many pretty details along the way. 

It was also fairly quiet and, as mentioned on information panels, rather "mystical". 

Walking through the Verena Gorge. The sun shone through at this point, which made the air feel less heavy. 

Many people actually on this Sunday morning walking through the Verena Gorge.

Nearing the south end of the gorge now. It is now just 11:10. 

At the south end of the gorge is an information panel which describes a bit of the history of the gorge and the Hermitage. 

A map of the park. There is a second "parallel" trail slightly higher up through the forest which is a "Stations of the Cross" trail, also recommended (with a collection of stone crosses), but we did not go back to follow that, as we just wanted to continue into the city of Solothurn. 

A lovely shaded alleyway heading south into the city. It was nice to walk here. 

Some sort of mini-castle and castle grounds. I'm sure it's privately-owned, and an Internet search shows it was formerly called the Cartierhof. 

Further to the west, we see the bell tower of the town's Reformed Church, one of the many religious buildings in the city of Solothurn. 

Now we have arrived at the northern fortified walls of the city of Solothurn. 

Heading through Old-Town Solothurn toward the large Baroque Church called St.Ursus Cathedral (St.Ursencathedrale). 

Down a side alley we spotted another church building, so took a detour there. This is the church of the Franciscan Monastery. (See also this INFO). 

A simple plain interior with a Baroque side altar which looks kind of out of place. Most interesting here are the graves inlaid into the main aisle, graves of people who lived and died in the 18th Century. You are basically walking on top of buried dead people. 

A view down another side-street of old-town Solothurn. 

I thought this might be another church building, but all the doors were locked. Turns out this is the east facade of the Town Hall. 

A view down another side road toward the eastern city gate tower. 

We then entered the St.Ursus Cathedral (albeit through a side door.. .this is the front view). Translated from an information panel in front of the building: "St. Ursus Cathedral is the most significant structure ever built using Solothurn limestone. Constructed between 1762 and 1773, it also stands as the most important example of Early Neoclassical architecture in Switzerland." 

"The interior decoration eschews Baroque exuberance in favor of cool forms derived from classical antiquity. The interior’s restrained color palette—white and gold, with only subtle splashes of color in the marble altars and ceiling paintings—reflects the style of French Neoclassicism." (Translated from the same information panel). 

Two side altars and one of two side organs. 

The organ seems typical of what we encounter in true Baroque churches. 

Spectacular architecture. 

View down the main street in front of the St.Ursus church. A short distance on the left is the Jesuit Church, (another fabulous structure), barely noticeable among the other buildings. 

The entrance to the Jesuit church can easily be missed!

Built between 1680 and 1689, the Church of the Jesuits is considered to be one of the most beautiful Baroque buildings in Switzerland. 

(There was a guided tour going on, and they were standing in the most unfortunate place, exactly there from where I like to get photos of the front and back of the church..)

Another view of the front of the St.Ursus Cathedral, as we now make our way to the train station at just after noon. Even though we had barely walked two-and-a-half hours, it was getting warm, and we didn't want to do another tour of the rest of this beautiful town at this time, as we had done an extensive walk-through on Christmas Day in 2018. (Those photos HERE). 

Passing the "Little Prince" museum! One of my favourite books, which I have read several times in the original French, and cried every time. Maybe I will have to visit a museum for a change! (I'm not really a fan of museums).

Just visible now from the south side is the top of the Solothurn Clock Tower, apparently the oldest building in Solothurn, constructed in the early 13th Century (more info HERE). 

Crossing the bridge over the Aare River in Solothurn. 

The train station is on the south side of the Aare River. The city is on the north side, and the bridge connects the two!

Another view of the St.Ursus Cathedral from the south side of the Aare River. It's now 12:15, and we don't have far to the railway station for the 12:33 train. We were back home by 2:30 p.m. 

Having ended a hike in November 2022 (across the Jura Crest near Mt.Weissenstein) at the base station of the Weissenstein cable-way, we decided to start there to make our way through the Verena Gorge to Solothurn. In all, just a two-hour hike, which we started at 9:30, and then caught the 12:33 train back home. (A two-hour trip by public transport). 

Familiar landmarks as the train heads eastward from Solothurn to Olten: This is the wooden covered bridge over the Aare River at "Wangen an der Aare"

The Neu-Bechburg castle thrones over the city of Oensingen. We passed via this castle on a hike in May 2020 when we started in Balsthal on the opposite side of the Jura Range from here. 

And here is the view of the old town of the city of Olten as the train makes its way over the Aare River to the station on the east side. 

Location of Solothurn within Switzerland.