The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-12-13
SWISS PLACES OF WORSHIP

some of the richest and most varied
| tablets in Renaissance and Barouue
style.
Those enjoying the luxury of leis-
ure will have an opportunity to visit
the several other interesting places
of worship in this city before proceed
| ing through the thickly wooded, grace
full Jura hills to Soleure, the Roman
Salodurum, next to Treves, the Oldest
city north of the Alps.
SoIeure.
| In the year 272 B. c., when the Al
| lemans threatened the Romans. for
| tlt1catiOn was erected on the river
Aar where the present city stands,
| and remnants Of walls of the same are
| still visible in the Lowengasse and in
the cemetery. A legend relates that
| Ursus. and Victor, two of the early
| Christians who had fed to SOleure
| from Agaunum, the present Saint
Maurice in the Rhone Valley, in the
year 303, had been tortured and put
| to death in Soleure by the Romans
on account of their faith The Cathe-
dral is dedicated to their memory, and
| their sufferings are immortalized by
three reliefs on the facade.
The Cathedral of ST. Ursus at So
leure, built by Pisoni in 1928 on a
site, which, according to tradition, was
formerly occupied by Roman temple
to Apollo, is considered to be the fin
est specimen of late Italian Renais-
sance in Switzerland
Two interesting fountains, bearing
statues of Moses and Gideon, stand at
each side of the imposing marble
stairs which lead in three times elev-
en- steps to the entrance Eleven
marble affairs of exquisite design, in
dividual masterpieces of as many art
lists, add to the beauty of the interi-
| or, which has been conceived in the
shape of Latin cross. The church
treasury in the sacristy contains a
very ancient collection of artistic
| work in metal and textile fabrics.
While the hustle of modern COM
mercial life has transformed the placid
| medieval quarters of Soleure-the
city now being recognized as one Of
leading Swiss matchmaking centers-
there still exists in the vicinity a lit
tie oasis of. absolute worldly peace.
| the hermitage in the romantic gorge
of st. Verena.
A Real Hermitage.
Rocks and grottoes, clad with a YER
dure and foliage of the most refresh
| ing green, form the entrance to this
appealingly lovely shrine; a brook
saunters merrily along the little road,
and choir of golden-voiced, feath-
cred songsters offer their reverend
| ing anthems.
Then comes burst of golden sun
light, an opening into tiny, but lux
| uriant patch of land, the hermit's do
main. To the right stands his dwell
| ing house-a little gem in a setting
of rocks, shrubbery and fiowers-to
| the left are two chapels of diminutive
| dimension, but altogether ideal for
| quiet meditation. A goat and a few
| chickens contribute to the hermits
support and help to enliven this pic
turesque retreat.
Following the course of the river
Aar from Soleure, we pass the his
toric city of Aarau with it's venerable
| 18th century church, and beyond the
quaint little town of Brugg, on the
direct line, to Zurich now skirted by
the river Limmat, we behold another,
formerly very important place of wor
ship, the convent of Wettingen.
The Abbey of Wettingen.
| In this monastery of Cistercian
monks, founded in 1927 and now occu-
pied by the cantonal seminary for
teachers, are carefully preserved spec
| linens of the highly developed, artis-
tic culture of the 18th century. The
monastery church contains sarcoph-
agus in which the remains of the
Emperor Albert of Austria lay for Is
months before their removal to Spey-
er, and the beautiful choir stalls,
carved in oak, with fantastic heads
of men and animals and splendid or
naments, are considered to be master
pieces in the art of wood-carving.
1.-THE precious 10th and 18th century
stained glass windows, decorating the
cloisters, illustrate the different stages
of the wonderful development and sad
Idecadence, which the art of glass
!painting has undergone in the course
of some four centuries.
Zurich.
Near the spot where the Limmat
leaves the lake of Zurich, there stood
in very ancient prehistoric times, a
village of lake dwellings, the home
stead of probably the oldest settlers in
the country. The Lindenhof and the
Uetliberg-the latter still showing
the ruins of the Refugium' ramparts
are said to have been chosen
for their first colonies on terra
firma. On the mound of the Linden
; hof, the Helvetians erected the first
fortress of 'Turicum" which, in the
year So B. c., after the battle of Bib
, erakte, fell under the power of the
: Romans When the Romans withdrew
their legions, the Alemanns became
: masters of the country and the Roman
Turicum became Alemannic Zurich
l Under the dominion of the German
4 kings and emperors the town acquired
Il