1600Switzerland Abbey

1500 years continuous presence
A historical staging post lying in the heart of the Alps at the important intersection of the Great St Bernard Pass and the Via Francigena, the Abbey of St Maurice d’Agaune is celebrating the 1500th anniversary of its founding in the year 515. A place of spirituality and artistry which deserves to be (re)discovered!

Travellers from Lake Geneva to Valais are obliged to pass through the gorge at Saint-Maurice. Hemmed in by hills and cliffs on either side, the river Rhone, a railway line and roads are squeezed into this narrow passage. Ever since ancient times, Agaune has been a staging and customs post on the journey from Rome through the alpine passes to the north. The decisive turning point in the history of the town was when troops of the Roman Emperor Maximian passed through in 300 A.D. The Theban Legion, which formed part of this army but came from Thebes/Luxor in Egypt, set up camp on the hillsides above the gorge. As Christians, these legionaries refused to carry out the unjust commands of the pagan Emperor. As a result, they were massacred together with their leader Mauritius. Ever since this event, Saint Maurice and his martyred comrades have been commemorated at this site.

In the year 515, new kingdoms sprang up from the ashes of the old Roman Empire. Western Switzerland – and also neighbouring parts of France – came under the rule of the Burgundians. King Sigismund of Burgundy based his rule on Christian values so he founded the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, introducing the practice of “perpetual psalmody” (laus perennis), a form of which still continues to this day. The abbey suffered all the usual vicissitudes of history, experiencing periods of difficulty and impoverishment, but also more prosperous times. Since the 12th century, the canons have been members of the Order of St Augustine. Nowadays they devote themselves to serving in the communities of the surrounding parishes, running a secondary school in Valais, and teaching at Swiss universities, as well as being active in art and culture. Their lives, however, are still very much centred on prayer and their role as guardians of the relics and the remembrance of St Maurice.

As well as being a religious community around a basilica, the abbey is also an archaeological site and boasts important historical archives and a rich ecclesiastical treasury. Thanks to the latest museographic techniques, it can now be seen in an entirely new light in its jubilee year. Lovers of little nuggets of history will be well rewarded. The old walls veritably come to life, while the massive Romanesque bell tower stands eternal guard
over the beautiful artistry of the reliquaries, symbols of the wealth of previous centuries.
The Abbey of Saint-Maurice stands as an invaluable witness of European history to the present day and it is well worth making a detour to Saint-Maurice to sample the riches of its continuous presence over 1,500 years.
Guy Luisier Abbey of Saint-Maurice

Released February 27, 2015