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.

Location of Romont Region near Lausanne in Switzerland

Also from the webite SwissCastles.ch, here are aerial photographs of these castles:

Château de Rue

Château d'Oron

Château d'Oron

Château de Romont

Raten Pass to Chatzenstrick Pass via Rothenthurm High Moor

Thursday April 6, 2023 -- A very cold week this week, although this happens a lot in the first week of April (it's hard to get used to the cold again after a mild February and March).

This day dawned cloudless again so I went out for the third hike of the week on my own. (Each hike within 1-1/4 hours of travel for me). This time I wanted to complete a very short section of the Alpine Panorama Trail between the Raten Pass and the Rothenthurm High Moor (a nature reserve and largest contiguous moor region in Switzerland), to connect two other sections we have already done. Since this was only an hour, I was planning to hike over the Chatzenstrick Pass again to Einsiedeln, a hike we have done twice before, one time as a winter hike.

This goes on my list of not-so-successful-hikes, especially compared to the one I did the day before. By the time I got to the Chatzenstrick Pass, over half of the six kilometers had been either on long straight stretches of dirt road, or asphalt road with constant ascent, both of which make me tired. The additional 30 minutes down to Einsiedeln would also have been mostly straight paved road, so I changed plans and descended to another destination (Bennau).

Additionally, foresters were burning large slash fires whose smoke reached all the way to the pass (I do not like the smell of burning wood). Furthermore, the military were holding shooting practice nearby, and the sky became overcast.... 

I preferred this as a winter hike, like the one we did in January 2019, those photos are HERE. 

I look at it this way: I am training for our longer summer hikes....

++++++++++++++++

The excursion starts with a bus ride through the city of Zug and along the lake, then over Mt.Zug to Lake Aegeri, before ending at the Raten Pass. 

Bus ride along Lake Zug. Visibility is pretty good, we can see Mt.Pilatus on the right, and the Bernese Alps in the center. 

Heading up past the farms on Mt.Zug. It's nice to see the trees blossoming

Bus ride past Lake Aegeri (Aegerisee)

Heading up to the Raten Pass. The Schwyzer Alp to the south. 

Heading up to the Raten Pass; a look to the West and you can see the summits of Mt.Rigi and Mt.Pilatus (past Mt.Zug)

Already on my way on foot, a look back at the Raten Pass. My bus is still there, getting ready to head back to Aegeri. 

Heading up the hill toward St.Jost, you can actually see Lake Aegeri and the towns of Ober- and Unterägeri. Zug is one the other side of the mountain at the back. 

The missing stretch of Trail no.3 was from Raten Pass via St.Jost (20 minutes) and down to the train station at Altmatt. I was going to descend to Einsiedeln after the Chatzenstrick Pass, but because I'd done that twice, I decided on a different descent, to Bennau. I started at 11:30 and caught the bus in Bennau at 14:20

The chapel of St.Jost, dedicated in 1654, is at the highest point on the pilgrim trail from the Aegeri Valley to Einsiedeln. St.Jost is the patron saint of pilgrims. The chapel is under Cantonal monument protection. 

The popular restaurant next to the chapel is only open on weekends. The chapel, unfortunately, was also closed. 

This trail is both part of the Pilgrim Trail to Einsiedeln, and National Trail no.3: Alpine Panorama Trail. The section I wanted to walk to "close the gap" was to the train station at "Dritte Altmatt". To Einsiedeln would have been another two hours from here. About the same to Bennau, which is what I did. 

Out of the forest and the first glimpse of the Rothenthurm High Moor, and the Chatzenstrick Pass (on the left). I knew right away I would have problems with the smoke from the slash fires. The train station at Altmatt is in the group of buildings behind me. 

A look across the largest contiguous high moor in Switzerland

Another look toward the Chatzenstrick Pass across the largest high moor in Switzerland. 

Down on the high moor. Trying to get some selfies with my tripod and self-timer

The train station at Altmatt. After a long, straight flat stretch across the moor on a wide dirt road, I reached here in just over an hour. There was a train just pulling in, and I could have ended this section here, but I did decide to continue up to the Chatzenstrick Pass for a view of Einsiedeln. 

Heading up to the Chatzenstrick Pass, you can see across to Lake Zürich. 

Here at the pass is the first view of the Schwyzer Alps on the far side of Lake Sihlsee

I knew from the last time we were here that there was a bench in front of the chapel, so I headed down there for my lunch break

Lunch break at the chapel near the Chatzenstrick Pass

This is the view I had from the front of the chapel. I could see that there was another long straight stretch of road below into the city of Einsiedeln. That's when I decided to descend a different way. 

Heading back up the hill above the chapel (you can just see the bell-tower below), the view to Einsiedeln is much better. 

A zoomed view of the massive monastery at Einsiedeln. We hiked a section of Trail no.3 starting there, a couple of weeks earlier (photos are HERE)

From here I can even see to Lake Sihl (Sihlsee) to the east

Descending to Bennau to the north instead of Einsiedeln to the east. 

The bus stop is in front of the church and I had enough time to investigate.

Replacing tiles on the church roof is like rock climbing...

We had seen this church from below from the train when heading to Einsiedeln two weeks earlier (upper left) and I had wanted to visit it anyway, so this worked out well. The church is not that old, ca. 1895 

St.Sebastian church in Bennau is not very "old" (1895) but it had a stunningly beautiful decorated interior. 

This artwork is so different from the simple frescoes we usually like to admire. But I found it quite beautiful, the colours are the opposite of "loud". 

Organ in St.Sebastian Church in Bennau. 

I caught a bus from Bennau to the train station in Biberbrugg, and this was the view along the way, to the Schwyzer Alps

Sections of the Alpine Panorama Trail which we have done around Einsiedeln and the Raten Pass

I took the train back via Arth Goldau in the Reuss Valley, and got a different view of the Mythen Mountains from the north side. This was the area I hiked in the day before. 

Location of Raten Pass and Einsiedeln in Switzerland, not far from where we live.