Swiss Review 6/2020

Swiss Review / November 2020 / No.6 18 Reproduced by permission of the Federal Office of Topography, swisstopo (BA200186) Report SUSANNE WENGER The route to the Verena Gorge Hermit- age is signposted. Yes, you read that correctly. A hermitage should be se- cluded, remote and hard to reach. Not this one: the Verena Gorge Hermitage is a bona fide tourist attraction situ- ated just outside the city of Solothurn in the heavily populated central pla- teau region. According to the local tourist board, the hermitage is a “mys- tical place that exudes spiritual en- ergy”. Sounds intriguing – even to the more secularly inclined. The southern entrance to the gorge can be reached on foot in half an hour. Signs tell walk- ers that they are approaching a listed national heritage site situated within a nature reserve. No vehicles are al- lowed, and dogsmust be kept on their leads. Along the stream, through steep Jurassic limestone cliffs. Birdsong. A green canopy of leaves high above. Frenchman Baron de Breteuil knew what he was doing when he built a footpath within this dreamy land- scape garden setting in 1791. He had fled to Solothurn, weary of the revolu- tion in his home country. Only a few people have made it to the Verena Gorge so far this morning. Two dogs bounce around off the leash near the stone bridge. Their owner is in luminous outdoor attire. “Don’t worry, they’re well behaved,” he says. Further along, a married couple: they have been coming here for years to re- charge their batteries. “It’s just a pity we can’t buy any postcards,” they say. Social distancing expert One last bend, then the hermitage appears in the clearing: two small old chapels, with the hermit’s adjacent living quarters nestled under the imposing cliff wall. Everything is close together. It is a meditative place. Michael Daum lives in the little house overlooking a flower garden. The Sol- othurn authorities that own the site appointed the German as its new her- mit four years ago, continuing a cen- turies-old tradition. Since the 15th century hermits have dwelt in the Verena Gorge, where Saint Verena is once said to have healed the possessed and the blind. Nowadays, the resident hermit is entrusted with looking after the chapels and keeping the gorge clean. The council pays him a small salary in return. On moving in, Daum said he felt he had been called by God. It would be interesting to learn how the only official hermit in Swit- zerland is faring. Howdoes he seclude himself from modern life? And what does this social distancing expert think of the pandemic and the recent Living the quiet life The Verena Gorge near Solothurn is home to the only person in Switzerland who lives as an official hermit. However, keeping this historic site tranquil is easier said than done, given its popularity among tourists. Is it still possible to live a quiet life amid the crowds? Higher, further, faster, more beautiful? In search of the some- what different Swiss records. This edition: The extremely rare job of being an official hermit. reconnection that many of us have ex- periencedwith nature and the virtues of simplicity and frugality? We asked whether we could pay Daum a visit, but the council refused our request. Daum will not to talk to the media, andprofessional photographers are no longer allowed to take pictureswithin the grounds. e tremes Swiss