Schwandegg Castle

The European Heritage Days 2020 have attracted many visitors to various places in the canton of Zug, including Schwandegg Castle (Schloss Schwandegg) near Menzingen. The history of the historic group of buildings is extremely varied.

Thanks to the wonderful late summer weather, the members of the cantonal Monument Preservation department were able to explain the renovation work outdoors. The renovation work included the Jägerstube (hunters’ room), which was built in the first half of the 19th century, and the neo-Gothic chapel, built in 1938. Modern monument preservation goes far beyond the mere preservation and protection of historically valuable buildings, said Nathalie Wey from the Office of Monuments and Archaeology. It increasingly involves the participation in modernisation and refurbishment. In this case the owners, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X on the one hand, (see box), and Josef Suter as a specialist in timber construction on the other.

This applies in particular to the Jägerstube, whose wooden construction has been restored and given a new use with the installation of two Oratorios (prayer rooms). As Olivia Fontana, a colour design expert, pointed out, it was not easy to restore the interior colour scheme to its origin appearance. This was true to a similar extent for the interior of the chapel, whose walls were soiled and partly mouldy. After the restoration, the interior now shines in a new, but by no means exuberant, splendour. This is especially true thanks to the renewed glass windows, which "create a very special colour atmosphere", says the expert.

Photo 1: A real jewel of a building: Schwandegg Castle in Menzingen
Photo 2: The so-called “Jägerhalle”

The noble name obliges
Together with the already renovated main house, the castle, and the new sister house, the Schwandegg radiates an elegance that one does not really expect in the moraine landscape of Menzingen. Noblesse oblige is one tempted to say, also with regard to the origin of the property. The concept of the castle did not have a noble origin, however, but has become a legend, said Michael Cerezo, who exolained the historical development. Karl Josef Arnold, farmer and founder, had made a name for himself as a natural healer. Despite the scepticism of the authorities, he experienced such a flow of visitors that he was considered "the richest person in Menzingen" at the time. The first Zug Kurhaus (spa house) was built in the middle of nature in 1839, and attracted guests from far beyond the canton. His son modernized the complex, and expanded it with a spa park and attractions such as a covered bowling alley and a shooting range. One of the pictures that was available as an illustration even shows a small lake, for which the Jägerstube served as a bathhouse.

From the Kurhaus to a Spiritual Centre
The whole complex remained closed during the First World War, and was re-opened as a recreation home under the direction of the Menzingen Sisters after the end of the war. The Jägerstube served the Zürcher Sängerknaben (Zurich Boys' Choir) as a rehearsal venue from 1979, and the chapel as a venue for their performances.

The Priesterbruderschaft St. Pius X acquired the estate In 1990, and made it into its General House. There is a divine service in the chapel on Sunday at 9.30 a.m. and a Holy Mass is read at 7.15 a.m. on weekdays. According to Brother Konrad, there are visitors every morning, who attend mass before they go to work.

A community of traditionalists
Schwandegg Castle is the general house that was acquired by the Priesterbruderschaft St. Pius X (Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X) in 1990. Holy masses and devotions are celebrated on Sundays, and also on weekdays, in the Priorat Mariä Verkündigung (Priory of the Annunciation), as it is called. The community includes priests, brothers and sisters, and is committed to the Catholic tradition. Founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the community adheres to the rites and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, which, from its point of view, were abandoned by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The community therefore rejects the liturgical reform as "modernist" and considers itself to be the guardian of "authentic Catholic doctrine".