Anabaptism had its Swiss beginnings near Zurich in 1525. From there it spread to several regions of Switzerland, South Germany and Austria. Shortly after that Anabaptists were severely persecuted by both Protestants and Catholics in most of the Swiss confederation and they were banished from living in the populated areas of Switzerland but they were allowed to live in the dense forests in the mountains above 3000 ft. elevation.That accounts for why most Swiss Mennonite church communities are in the high rural mountainous areas today.
Cedric and Jolanda Geiser were my hosts for the 10 day stay in Switzerland. They have two teenage children and operate a beef cattle farm near Neuchatel. I had met the Geiser family a year ago at MWC, Harrisburg and it was there we started making plans for this visit.
The Geisers are a wonderfully hospitable family and went out of their way to enable me to see and do the things that interested me in Switzerland.
Typically Swiss, the Geiser house and barn are all under one roof (although other buildings have been added to accommodate some of the animals). The first dwelling on this farm was built 800 years ago by Cathari refugees from France. The current structure was built in the mid 1600’s and extensively updated in 1992. I had a cozy room up on the 3rd story under a roof dormer.
The Bern banishment order of 1711. From the beginnings of Swiss Anabaptism in 1525 until 1750 persons converting to Anabaptism stood a strong risk of being driven from their property and their possessions confiscated. They were forced to take refuge in the more tolerant areas of Alsace and Lorraine in France. Beginning with the 1800’s Swiss Mennonites who were unwilling to compromise their faith made mass migrations to North America to escape persecution and discrimination. Another option was to move into the forest highlands of the Swiss Jura mountains above 3000 ft. elevation. For this reason most Mennonite communities today are found high in the Jura mountains. The rural, agricultural pictures in this blog are all from that upcountry region.
Jura wildflowers
Cedric is following his Simmental beef herd from the barn out the maple lined lane and into the pasture.
Images of Cedric’s livestock.
Mennonite farm homes in the high Jura
Cattle watering trough available to cattle in either pasture divided by a stonewall cleared from the pasture.
Anabaptist Historical Sites
The Anabaptist bridge. The bridge is at a rugged mountain site where two sheer walls of rock were separated by geologic movement. The space between the walls was bridged many centuries ago as a pedestrian short cut. The bridge had a span of 14', and was 20’ above the dry creek bed below. During the persecutions of the 16th and 17th centuries the space under the bridge provided a secluded site for Anabaptists to gather for worship.
The stone arch bridge was built in 1834 to replace a wooden span. The stone bridge collapsed in 1924 and in 2011 the Swiss Mennonites developed the site as a point of historical interest.
The new steel floor bridge with protective side rails and the descriptive signs in French, German and English makes the site a very interesting point to visit. For a more complete explanation please enlarge sign text.
The rock walls of the meeting place are engraved with encryptions of those who frequented the site centuries ago. Encryption experts have yet to decipher these engravings.
The Anabaptist Cave. Some 7 or 8 miles along the same mountain crest from the above bridge is another secluded worship site where the Anabaptists were able to meet undetected during the 17th & 18th centuries. 
Some 400 years later an anonymous 21st century Swiss Anabaptist descendent sits in the cave contemplating the Anabaptist spiritual heritage he is passionate about sharing with believers in West Africa.
The Jeanqui Mennonite Church (Sonnenberg Congregation) houses an archive of significant collection of documents related to Swiss Mennonite history.
This Froschauer Bible (German) printed in 1744 in Strasbourg, France is a special Anabaptist edition. The title page for Genesis offers an engraving of covenantal sacrifice. The Froschauer Bible was the Anabaptist edition of choice because some of the wording regarding baptism and sanctification favored Anabaptist understandings.
A 1534 Froschauer Bible with scenes from the Apostle Paul’s life surrounding the publisher’ imprint.
Another Froschauer Bible but this one the front page has the printer’s mark cut out. Why? Because Swiss government authorities representing the State church could come around anytime hunting Anabaptists. The police would ask to see the household Bible and if it had the Froschauer imprint that was a dead giveaway that the family was Anabaptist. And since the police were illiterate they were easily put off if they did not see the Froschauer trademark.
The Dirk Willems engraving from a 1780 edition of Martyrs Mirror. The Martyrs Mirror first published in 1660 and still in print, remains an integral part of many Amish and Mennonite home libraries.
Ernest Geiser a Mennonite pastor from Tavannes, Switzerland was our guide for the archives. Here he is talking to my hosts, Cedric & Jolanda on the front bench of the Jeanqui meetinghouse.
An old Swiss military arsenal soon to be transformed into the Tavannes Mennonite meetinghouse. How’s that for an example of swords to pruning hooks ?
In the same compound with the meetinghouse is also the home for the NGO Digger. They build a remotely operated rototiller looking machine that explodes landmines. This model is ready to be sent to a war zone so that mined land can once again be made safe for agriculture.
The 16th century Reformation: The other side.
At the highest point of the city of Neuchatel stands the power house of the medieval world: the Count’s chateau and the Catholic church. This church called the Collegial started life in the 12th century as a Catholic cathedral.
But in 1523 William Farel a powerful Reformation leader appeared and convinced the Neuchatel city council to abandon the Catholic church and become Reformed. The Canton, city and cathedral all came under the Zwingli’s Reformed Church. This highly symbolic sculpture shows Farel holding the Bible on high and under his feet he is crushing the images and holy relics of the formerly Catholic cathedral.
The nave of the cathedral looks much like it did before the Reformation, but the apse looks desolate and bare compared to what was there under the Catholic regime. Gone are the ornate altars, golden crucifixes suspended from on high, flickering votive candles, chairs for the hierarchs, the host cupboard and all the sacred accouterments necessary for the mass.
The Collegial has preserved the memorial to the 13th century Count Louis with his 3 wives, his sons and grandchildren in perpetual adoration and prayer for his soul. This cenotaph was spared destruction in the Protestant reformation because the Count’s decedents sympathized with the Reformers. 
The pulpit and the new organ. By Divine appointment I arrived in the church just minutes before the organist began his rehearsal for the Sunday service. I was wondering how I would be able to get in on an organ recital on this trip. And there it was: the organist, me and 3 other visitors in this massive vaulted space; what a treat.
The gargoyles. All over Europe on medieval buildings, especially churches, you will see these grotesque stone creatures peering down. They simply carry rain water away from the walls of buildings. But they have a tradition of warding off evil spirits.
In conclusion it needs to be said that since 2007 much discussion and listening has gone into a process of bringing reconciliation, peace and forgiveness between Mennonite and Reformed churches in Switzerland.
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