Day 08 - Trachselwald/Bern

The trip is winding up, but we are not slowing down!

This morning, we left Zurich and found ourselves in the greater Bern region, in the Emmental region (yes, like the cheese), and at Trachselwald Castle. 

Our guides took us around the 12th-century castle, and we saw the old living quarters that became a prison in the Early Modern period. Continuing the story of the Anabaptists from yesterday, the prison was used for Mennonites and other “radicals” up through the 17th century.

We then went to the historic Old Town of Bern, the Capital of Switzerland. 

Here, we learned about the significance of the Bernese Reformation, which took a slightly different path than Zurich and produced the famous “Ten Theses.” These are among the earliest Reformation statements of faith that leaned into the “Sola’s” (Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Scripture Alone, Christ Alone). 

We noted that the Reformation was pushed by pastors (like Berchtold Haller) and theologians, but ultimately guaranteed by the City Council—something that those independent Swiss Cantons could do, unlike the European powers with Emperors and Kings. 

We went inside the Bern Cathedral and saw the 12th-century church initially completed by the Catholic authorities in 1517! In just over a decade, it would become a center of the Swiss Reformation. 

We then walked across town to the French Church- and while it was closed (a lot of things are closed on Mondays), we sat and heard about the French Reformation and those “Huguenots” who Dan assured us were “French Calvinists” regardless of what Trivial Pursuit says. 

This set us up for tomorrow's last day of the trip. John Calvin was the most famous Protestant French refugee who made their way to Geneva. Tomorrow, we will see where his Reformation began and the epicenter of “international Calvinism.”