The Jesuit Church of Solothurn

On my way back from the Autumn fair on Sunday I had a look around in our local town of Solothurn. One of the oldest towns in Switzerland, so we have quite a few old monuments and churches. I am not a church goer, and am not even a member, but nevertheless I enjoy visiting churches as their architecture is sometimes very impressive. The photo shows the outside of the Jesuit church of Solothurn. Sort of built in between the shops and really not actually looking like a church. I noticed there was a small guided tour of tourists being carried out so thought I would have a look in and naturally take a few pictures.

I have spent a few evenings in the church. The benches are very uncomfortable and hard and I can assure that it was only because my youngest son was a member of the cathederal choir that I was visiting the church at their annual Christmas concert where they always performed Handels Christmas Oratorium. I like classical as well as modern music and so the music compensated for the uncomfortable seats. I think the Jesuits were used to a hard life in any case. Here are some pictures I took of the inside of the church.

I had a look around to see if I could find some sort of historical words about the church, and found the following on the Internet. It was completely in German so I did a translation. My German is quite fluent, but I am not exactly an expert in architectonic or clerical German so I did my best. I hope it is understandable. As I mentioned earlier, the town of Solothurn is very old so most of the building of the churches was done a very long while ago:

"The Jesuit church in the ambassador town of Solothurn is one of the most attractive barock buildings in Switzerland. The church was built from 1680 to 89. The plans for the church were probably developed by Brother Heinrich Mayer according to the models of the Austrian Vorarlberg master builders. The Italian style ornaments have herbal as well as figurative symbols. The high altar which was constructed in 1704 by Franz Carl Stauder and shows the Assumption (Maria Ascension) surrounded by columns. In the Gables there finely carved ornaments with the crest Hartmann. A magnificent tabernacle in Rokkoko style was donated by F.A.V. von Roll in 1756."

You may notice the town is called the "ambassador" town. This is because for many years it was the seat of the French ambassador in Switzerland. He had both his town and country "house" in Solothurn. When I left the Jesuit Church the sun was still shining. On my way out of town I passed our St. Urs cathederal so I didn't miss the opportunity of taking a photo of one of its fountains.

Autumn Fair Solothurn - Harley Davidson

I cannot even ride an ordinary two wheel bycycle. I could never keep my balance on it, although I had no problem with three wheelers. On my last trip to the local Autumn Fair it was Sunday and they had a special Harley-Davidson day. I thought I might catch a glimpse of some Hell's Angels (yes we have them in Switzerland as well), but nothing like it, just normal Harley Davison fans with their bikes. One of my collegues at work came to mind. He is a Harley fan and I have often sent mails in english to the States for him ordering some sort of spare part or so. This year in Summer he realised his dream and went with his son to the States, where he spent his holiday travelling down the old Route 66 on his Harley.

If there are any Harley fans out there, they would probably be able to tell a bit more about the bikes shown on the photos than I can. The big one at the top particularly impressed me. The owners of the bikes were standing next to their machines and one of the local radio reporters was broadcasting live from the show, interviewing the bikers.

I usually have a lot to say, but this time it is a quiet blog. Just look at the photos and enjoy. On my walk home down the main road, the bikers were going home, so one after the other zoomed along making a very impressive noise. I think Swiss roads are probably quite useful for Harley riders. Lots of curves and mountains in between.

Autumn Fair Solothurn - Animals and children

To continue - I revisited the fair on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours. I actually wanted to buy a cat comb/brush that they were selling on the Hills pet food booth. Our long haired black fat cat Nera is very sensistive about being combed, especially on the tummy. We have tried everything up to now (even a full aneasthetic at the vets as her fur was slowly resembling an insectarium) so why not invest twenty-eight swiss francs in a comb for her. Did it work - well sort of, but she didn't actually say oh yes I love it, can you do it again.

In any case whilst I was at the fair I decided to see what had been done for the kids. They have a small zoo each year with some farm animals, called a "stroking zoo" so the kids can get near to the animals and have fun. I wasn't exactly so sure if the animals were having fun. These dogs seemed to have given up entertaining and made the most of a straw bed.

Actually the first animals I saw were the white geese - at least I think that was what they were. They are a bit stupid I noticed. When one goes left (probably the leader of the pack) the rest just follow him. They were kept in a nice big green part and seemed to be enjoying theirselves. Now and again they did a group cackle just to let you know they were there.

I then walked around the corner and found some cows. They weren't exactly available for a stroke and if I had a kid I don't think I would have allowed him to touch one of those cows. However they were having a peaceful lay down and let me take their photo.

Just nearbye there were some sort of goats. Goats are no problem really. There were sharing their enclosure with about 20 children, but it didn't seem to bother them. I quite enjoyed walking around the animals taking photos and the youngsters really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Naturally no local animal show would be completed without chickens. They were mostly hiding in their coup, but a couple saw me with the camera ready and decided they wanted to appear on my blog. The one on the left is an ordinary farm hen, but the one on the right seems to be something special.

There were a couple of pigs laying around with the goats, although funnily enough I didn't see any children trying to stroke them. Some rabbits were also wandering around looking for something useful to do.

All in all there was a fair selection of animals shown. Although we are a farming area, so you don't really have to walk far to find the next farm with some cows. I quite enjoyed the animal visit myself. Eventually I made my way home, sort of tired but happy. It was the last day of the fair, but it will be at least a week until everything is cleared away. There follows a photo of the tractor, probably bringing some food for the animals, and I also managed to get a photo of the train. This runs especially for the visitors and their children as a sort of fun thing. I was actually planning this to be my last news from the HESO, but on Sunday there was a special exhibition which I was surprised to see, so I will bring short report about that tomorrow.

Autumn Fair Solothurn - the food

Now what would an Autumn Fair be without food. Our town of Solothurn has enough bakers and cake makers together with various cafés so they were all represented at the exhibition. The apparatus above is known as a chocolate fountain. I wasn't sure what the purpose is but it looked and smelt quite attractive. It was on the booth of the town's biggest cafeteria. The owner is well known for making pralines and the famous Solothurner cake - here is a link.

And here are some of his biscuits and cakes. He isn't cheap, but very good.

So, after doing some advertising for Mr. Suter's cake shop and restaurant, I will move on to the next part. I wasn't sure what this was, but I am certain they were nice and crispy. If I had my kids with me when they were younger, I am sure it would have been a bit of "mum can I have some".

Of course, some of our restaurant owners decided to open up a branch at the fair. The restaurants are quite well visited during the day and evening (the fair closes at nine in the evening except for the special happenings like dances and radio programmes).

This is the so-called "spaghetteria" so I don't have to explain what the people eat. Needless to say it is served with a large choice of sauce from bolognese to napoli and alla panna.

This restaurant seemed to be more in the Autumn sort of thing, so I am sure there was something on the plate to do with hunting. Not exactly deer steaks, but perhaps what we call "pfeffer" - various meat and poultry marinated in wine and cooked in a rich wine sauce, served with various fruits and veg. Cooked red cabbage with chestnuts is quite popular.

I saw this small arrangement of things to have with your meal as I was passing through. To finalise the culinarial trip through the exhibition, there was a booth with a large choice of various teas. In Switzerland, we do not usually drink black tea with milk as I knew from my England days, but we seem to make tea out of almost anything that grows. Even nettle tea is known (supposed to be good for nursing mothers). So, here is the tea selection.

Autumn Fair Solothurn

Our Autumn Fair takes place every year at the end of September, for approximately the last 20 years. Some of the shopowners and business people of the town had the idea to get together to create an exhibition of their goods and the idea became a success. To us Solothurn people it is know as HESO (Herbstmesse Solothurn - Autumn Fair Solothurn). The location is just outside the town walls on a large field and in the ramparts of the one time fortress. It is very big as you can see from the plan. It is not only just an exhibition but a place where you can meet old friends, catch up on what is going on in town and just have fun. As I usually avoid large collections of people, I don't often go, but armed with my camera I decided to have a look around. First of all I took a few photos outside.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when I went so ideal for being outside as well as inside the exhibition halls. As you can see there are a few stalls selling food for adults as well as kids. Traffic is more or less forbidden when the fair is on so it is safe to walk across the roads.

I then entered the hall. I think every shop and business in Solothurn is represented, from the police force to the local radio station. There is also a studio where various local prominent people are invited to a discussion with each other, and where members of the public can also ask questions. Sometimes it might be a local politician, or it could be the director of a local company and once they invited Mr. Swiss, which is about the only time I ever bothered to go. Our local radio station, Radio 32, usually has a carioke competition going through the whole week of the exhibition with a prize of 2,000 swiss francs. My oldest son usually takes part, being a Stones fan, but has never won anything up to now. Here are some photos of what was going on inside.

I have put descriptions on the photos where I found it might be necessary. As you can see just about everything is represented. It looks a bit empty, but I went early in the afternoon. Towards evening it gets quite packed out. In the evening there is usually a dance going on for the youngsters. The place where they were advertising the cat and dog food was quite interesting. They had a lady there from the local dog parlour and she was cutting the dogs hair and trimming it for free. They also had a show for the senior citizens. I had a walk around and one of the women in charged decided to recruit me for information purposes. I told her I had another three years to go, so was not quite ready yet. However, it is always useful to know what lays ahead.

Of course, there was quite a range in connection with household objects. We all have blinds on the windows in Switzerland, and they are getting more colourful and stronger these days. Toilets were also shown. Long ago they were white and all looked alike. These days they are fully automatic and there is nothing really left to do but just sit there. The toilet seems to do the rest.

There were also some exhibits showing ornamentions for the house, or health foods. I particularly liked the wolf and the tiger. They looked quite realistic, but I don't think I would want one in my living room.

Needless to say I was feeling a bit tired after walking around all afternoon and was glad to get back home again. But there is more to come. I decided to make a separate blog about the food and I then discovered they had an "animal stroking zoo" for the kids, so went back on Sunday afternoon again to buy a special cat comb they were selling and to catch up on the photos of the zoo.

Who do you think you are Fluffy?

Fluffy: Sigh, oh dear
Tabby: Fluff, what’s the problem. Not that I am actually interested, but your sighing gets on my nerves and I can’t relax and sleep.
Fluffy: I heard about Mrs. Human’s last blog on her computer. Photos of her ancestors and talking about where they lived and all that.
Tabby: Don’t tell me that human background stuff interests you.
Fluffy: No, of course not, only the cats they had and there are no photos or mention of them. It just brought back a few memories of my mum and dad.
Nera: There he goes again. Ancestry of a Selkirk Rex etc. etc.
Tabby: You said it Nera, white curly fur like cotton wool and he thinks he is something special.
Fluffy: Well, if you must know, I was pawing around at the keyboard on Mrs. Human’s computer yesterday when she was asleep and guess what I found?
Tabby: It doesn’t really interest me what you found, but I am sure you are going to tell us all the same.
Nera: I know, you found the picture of me when I won the cat of the year competition .
Tabby: If I remember rightly you didn’t actually win the competition, but just got a special mention as being something out of the ordinary. Although they said that the chances were looking good, until they found two dried up snails in your fur.
Nera: Well Mr. Human should have removed them before the competition, but he didn’t did he?
Tabby: You didn’t let him did you?
Nera: Ok, forget it. So Fluffy what did you find on Mrs. Human’s computer.
Fluffy: I found photos of my mum and dad and not only that but clues leading to a web site with my ancestry.
Tabby: Nera make the door wider, Fluffy won’t be able to get his head through soon.
Nera: And what do you propose to do with those photos Fluffy.
Fluffy: Well you know I don’t see so well any more and us cats have the gift of telepathy making the humans do things that we want, so I thought I would apply our gift and see if Mrs. Human might put my family tree on her blog.
Nera: Fluffy, Tabby and I also have a family tree, so I think that would come first.
Tabby: One small problem Nera – not even our mum remembers what our dad(s) looked like, she didn’t even know if your dad was my dad as well. You know how she was, just enjoyed life to the full.
Nera: There is something of truth in that Tabby, although our other two sisters seem to look more like me than you.
Fluffy: I didn’t know there were more of you.
Tabby: Oh yes, we were four all together, but I was the one with the short tabby hair. One of us stayed where our mum lived and the other one found a perfect home with the vet’s assistant nurse.
Fluffy: What a life – living with a vet’s nurse. Always getting the best treatment and food.
Nera: Well, I have never found anything nice about being at the vets. They wrap me up in towels and pin me down. Sometimes they even put me to sleep.
Tabby: Now I wonder why????

Next Day
Fluffy: Did you see it, did you see it?
Nera: Did we see what?
Fluffy: It worked. My influence on Mrs. Human’s brain has shown results. Take a walk over the computer keyboard and have a look at her latest blog.
Tabby: Well, I never – come and have a look Nera.
Nera: Who’s that big white fluffy cat with the blue eyes?
Fluffy: That’s my dad, Coolman, although he was known as coolie to the girls.
Tabby: And the cat lady next to him. Is that your mum?
Fluffy: Yes, they called her Lucy. She was a very nice mum, but my dad didn’t have so much time for us babies. There were five of us and a month after we were born one of his other wives had six kittens so he just couldn’t be everywhere at once. He usually just relaxed on his perch where he kept us under control, although his wives seem to be doing most of the work.

Nera: And who do we have there. Looks like baby pictures.
Tabby: Is that you Fluffy?
Fluffy: Yes, I am the one on the right and that is either one of my sisters or brothers on the left.
Tabby: You have blue eyes like your dad on that photo.
Nera: Tabby, you can really say stupid things sometimes. All cats have blue eyes when they are kittens.
Fluffy: Yes, but my dad kept his all his life.
Tabby: Big deal.
Fluffy: Don't have to get cheeky. Just because you don't know who your dad was.
Tabby: Hisssss.
Nera: Stay cool Tabby, that's life.

Tabby: And who is the little cat with the blue eyes.
Fluffy: That must be my dad when he was a kitten.
Tabby: Where is he now?
Fluffy: Well the last I heard through the cat vine was that Daddy Coolman is now somewhere in another Swiss town, and has a new harem. Lucy has also gone on to other pastures and now has a new man looking after her.
Nera: Let’s face it cats, it’s a cat’s life one way or the other. All this family stuff is a bit of a stress.
Tabby: You are right Nera, no time for a good sleep.
Fluffy: But you must admit, my dad was a fine cat. Sigh – good night all.