Stationenweg Bern | Stationenweg Bern

Jacob Baltzli – a possible way of life

Try now to put yourself back 500 years to the time of the Reformation, the division of Christianity and ecclesial renewal in various directions. A tremendous upheaval in society! The common people had hardly any rights and daily had to fight for their survival. A small group – who became known as the “Anabaptists” – had different convictions and chose to go their own way. What the authorities and society did not like was also fought over in Switzerland for centuries. And so dissenters – among whom for a long time the followers of free churches also belonged – were persecuted, excluded and threatened for centuries. First and foremost, the Anabaptists. To here follow Jacob Baltzli's life is to immerse oneself in that time of persecution, the struggle for life and the hope for a better time. It's good to know that this fearful and brutal time in Berne is long gone.

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Start information

Sponsorship

Start information

In order to follow the trail, the start information must be read carefully and followed (i.e., no skimming). Each word is important. Please read the start information very carefully and consult it whenever you run into problems.

The station way begins in the minster and goes through the old part of Bern. It takes about an hour to complete, depending on how clever you are and how fast you walk. Altogether, its length is roughly 1.8 km (little over a mile).

Those who choose to go on this adventure will:

Experience the history of the Anabaptists interactively with all the senses
Go on an exciting treasure hunt to the Anabaptist hot spots in Bern
Locate the next stations via hidden messages, riddles and games, and
thereby help bring the history from back then into a modern context.

Ideally, teams will go on the station way together, since solving the puzzling tasks requires a range of talents and only concerted efforts will lead to achieving the goal.

The starting details are available in German and English at the minster information desk.

Weekdays
10:00 – 17:00 Summery half year
12:00 – 16:00 Wintery half year
Weekends
11:30 – 17:00
031 312 04 62

infostelle.muenster@refbern.ch

Following the station way is free of charge but a contribution toward its maintenance would be very welcome. Suggested amount: SFr 10.- / person

Put it in the box provided at the Minster information desk or send to
Mennoniten Gemeinde Bern
IBAN CH12 0900 0000 3002 6973 5
(Put “Station way” on the payment slip.)

Sponsorship

The Station Way is a joint project of the Bern Mennonite community and the minster parish. They commissioned Swisscovery to build a route showing the Bernese Anabaptist history like the popular Foxtrails. Thereby, those who take part have an opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of the Anabaptists with all their senses. Each station provides a fun, playful and educational message, a task and, with the right solution, a hint for finding the next one.

Striking images and interactions provide an impression of the intents and way of life of the Anabaptists and their decades-long collision with the social majority. Since it is impossible to tell the full story on the station way, only a few, impressive “snapshots” have been chosen. The history is told from the point of view of a fictional Anabaptist, knowing that the time period does not completely agree with what is protrayed.

The life and times of Jacob Baltzli are told along the way in the form of an entertaining, but also serious game and made so they are emotionally felt and experienced. Just as in a novel, the happenings and persons are protrayed without being necessarily scientifically accurate. In order to be true to the historical context, the historical facts are displayed at the stations. The same information is also presented on this website.

With the generous support of