Swiss Review 6/2018

Swiss Review / November 2018 / No.6 7 Corehendi beaqui est rehe nissim et peror aboria nonsequia quas exeri doluptati qui debis magnim es- tioreru not yet listed as historical monu- ments are candidates for demolition. One such exception is St. Mark’s Church in Basel. In the near future, demolition work will commence. On the other hand, a considerable number of the 200 places of worship recorded in the database, about 70, have been sold. These include a no- ticeably large number of Methodist and New Apostolic chapels. If such a chapel is transformed into a residen- tial building or a concert hall, it does not spark amajor debate, since it does not greatly change the neighbour- hood. If, however, a very large church is under consideration, things are dif- ferent and can also go badly wrong. This is what happened to the St. Leon- hard Church in St. Gallen, an urban landmark. It has been closed for 13 years and is a bone of contention. Addressing the non-religious The remaining churches were either rented out or given extended use. Stückelberger’s recommendations also clearly point in this direction. It is an advantage if a parish remains in possession of its church and thus stays involved, he says. If it is possible to make it available to outsiders this sends a “strong signal” for the devel- opment of the church as an institution, showing that activities that not only benefit the church population are tak- ing place under its roof. According to Stückelberger, “Churches must open themselves up to a non-religious soci- ety and show that they are not giving up on themselves”. He sees the Maihof Church in Lu- cerne as a prime example of this. It was also in need of renovation. How- ever, the parish decided to combine Franziska Huber (left) and Beatrice Tobler in front of the Paulus Church in Bern, a “complete work of art” and “a national monument with high conservation value”. There is a proposal to give up this church. Photo: Danielle Liniger