Stein & Rein


Advertisement
Switzerland's flag
Europe » Switzerland » North-East
June 13th 2010
Published: June 13th 2010
Edit Blog Post

Another magnificent old town!

What a wonderful way to see the city as a teacher in practicum - field trip! The high school class arranged a half day trip to learn some history about a famous, courageous baker that lived in Stein and Rein. Now, it must be said that Stein and Rein is a beautiful, incredibly decorated old town. This small town has been preserved, but was actually nothing much more than any other local town - until they came up with the mural idea. It was ingenious, they had the plan a few decades back, that they could paint the towns history on the building and invest in preserving the old beauty, colours, and historical feel. This combined with the ideal setting on the lake and the old monastery did exactly as planned, and soon made the local town a top priority on tourist lists.

The train ride to the town itself was scenic, passing Rein Falls, and also Schauffhaussen so that we could see the old fortress and the low hung morning fog on the hills and small towns. Once we arrived in Stein and Rein, there were tourists everywhere and long-distance cyclists swarming the streets. The morning fog was just breaking, and the sun began to beat down on us as we meandered from mural to mural. The teacher explained the history in German for all the students to hear, and then I asked that they translate what they could into English so that I could follow the stories as well.

The most famous story, and perhaps the true reason we were able to make this trip was the history of the baker saving this small town. More than a century ago, there was an attack planned on this little town. A ruler who had been banned had planned a revenge attack on the town, and put together a small group of soldiers. These soldiers hid themselves in barrels inside ships, and they all sailed over. However, somehow, the baker was very suspicious of these boats and soon learned of the plan. He knew he could not stop them himself, so he ran over and whispered for the attackers to wait, that it was not a good moment (pretending to be an informer on the same side as the attackers) then he ran into town and told them to prepare a defense) all the while, running back and assuring the soldiers hidden in the barrels to wait a little longer. In the end, the town was able to prepare a counter-attack, and when the baker signaled for the soldiers to attack, they were instantly defeated and the town was saved.

We spent the afternoon walking around the town in separate groups, taking pictures of the many, many beautiful buildings and learning more and more of the history. In fact, this was the first time that I learned that some of the famously bright classic structures were preserved with a more reddish paint in this old town to stay true to the original colour of the oxen blood... yes, those beautifully coloured buildings were originally painted in blood....

We met up again to tour the monastery - and it was incredible to see all of the detail in the wood carved throughout the building. Of course, my only pair of batteries (despite the package of 8 that I had at home in my room) died, so I spent less time behind my camera and really walked through the monastery, imagining how life would have been for them. I have to say, not one that I can imagine surviving.... but the tiles, colour, carvings, and lavish inside of the building were very well preserved and indeed, beautiful to see...

Until the next time...

Trish xx





Additional photos below
Photos: 30, Displayed: 24


Advertisement

Morning fogMorning fog
Morning fog

(Typical of this area)
The best house ever...The best house ever...
The best house ever...

swim next door!


Tot: 0.219s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0964s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb