The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-12-13
written for The Catholic Bulletin
by Marie Widmer)
Natures Great Temples.

| ~~'~ ~'ScS SHDP1SSs
A living temple of God with affairs
towering high into the heavens and
with veritable labyrinth of exquisite
side chapels of rare individual beauty,
such is Switzerland, Creations mas
terp1ece. For could mere man ever
conceive a more uplifting altar than
| GOD has created unto Himself; those
glorious mountains, pointing heaven
ward, silent reminders of eternity in
their statuesque beauty of fawless
marble, and overwhelmingly lovely in
their occasional periods of transfg-
uration-at dawn and at sunset, when
their serene broWs shine in a halo of
rose and gold, and when the very
| doors OF heaven seem to have been
thrown open.
And has any architect or artist
ever conceived loftier ideas for the
design of a side chapel of a great
Cathedral than the Creator displayed
when He called into existence and
permitted the formation of that null
titure of side valleys with their rest
full charm, only enlivened by the sweet
music of jubilant birds and babbling
| brooks. The distant roar of ava
lanches and the thunder of great wa
terfalls, are they not perpetual remind.
ers of the Almighty?
To live in a land where the Gre
| ator has manifested Himself so forci-
bly, can have but one effect upon a
normally receptive mind-almost un-
consciously it is filled with a reverent
| feeling for nature. 1t is therefore not
surprising that historians and writer's
| have frequently dwelt upon the fact
that the natives of Switzerland pos
sess very deep religious convictions,
and that they display simple, child
like faith in matters which they con-
slider as ordained by Heaven.
Early Christianity.
Christianity has had it's beginning
| in Switzerland in the early centuries
of the Christian Era when places of
worship sprang up in the settlements
of the valleys and on the lakes, on the
even on the difficult Alpine roads.
Whether it be but a humble way
! side shrine, or a diminutive chapel
clinging to the steep mountainside; :;
whether it be one of those quaint old
village churches whose stained glass
windows would be the envy of many
of our modern churches, or one of
those glorious athedrals-architec-
tural masterpieces of the Middle Age,
| dotted here and there we find them
in great numbers in Switzerland, an
everlasting object of pious devotion
and admiration on the part of the
natives.
1t would be impossible to dwell, in
this limited space, upon all the note
worthy places of worship in the land
of the Alps, and the descriptions now
| following will therefore have to be
regarded as a representative selection
only.
Basle.
| Starting at the northwestern corner
of Switzerland, we encounter the his
toric city of Basle which was prob
ably founded by the Roman armies
when they were forced back from
Gaul to the Rhine in the fourth cen
tury The settlement was known as
Basilea, and in memory of this the
heraldic symbol of Basle, the basilik
is seen in various places.
The monumental structure of the
city is the Cathedral, a truly magnifi
cent building, begun in 1910 by En-
peror Henry II, unique alike in its
lines and coloring. 1t was originally
erected in the Byzantine style, but
after a fire and earthquake it was
rebuilt in the Gothic. The material is
a brilliant red sandstone and the roo
is covered with green, white and rec
tiles that look like enamel.
| The northern portal, known as st
Gallus Gateway, remains of the orig
inal Romanesque construction, it
statues, reliefs and ornamentation be
ing we'll preserved. The choir is alst
of this period, while the western
front, towers and other parts are o
the later Gothic. The towers-ove
1900 feet high-are exceedingly grace
full and terminate in spires carved il
wavy lines, like a delicate piece o
goldsmith's work, showing the lgh
through innumerable openings.
j While the choir remained of tn
Romanesque period, the western front
towers and other parts are of tn
later Gothic. The sculptures on tn
facade reproduce the Virgin and Chile
, having under them the Emperor Her
| ry and the Empress Kunigunde, wit
a model of the Church. The side Ell
; frances are ornamented with the sta
J ues of the two saints most admired
| / that period-St. George and the drago
: and st. Martin. The interior is owe
t 200 feet long and about half as wild
being nave with double aisles
> To the east, adjoining the Cath
. dral, is the beautiful Gothic cloiste
wonderful in its solemn effect, wit