Sion: Château de Tourbillon and Basilique de Valère

Today I decided to take a trip into the mountains and explore the capital of Valais Canton (Canton are the "states" of Switzerland), Sion. It is a small city with a population of just under 30,000 people. Because it isn't a preferred tourist site it is a town that really is the "real" Switzerland. Sion itself is situated in the middle of a valley with huge mountains on either side in the south of Switzerland. It is decently close to Italy and almost all signs are in three languages, French, Italian, German and most times English.  Some of the furthest ones are actually still snow capped which is a really cool sight to see in person and pictures REALLY don't do it justice. These mountains tower over you.

The two main tourist attractions are the Château (castle) de Tourbillon and Basilique de Valère. They were both built on large rock outcroppings in the middle of the valley and it was a hike to get up to.  The Basilique of Valere was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and Is a wonderfully ornate church. It was given the rank of basilica when Pope John Paul II visited the church in 1984. The churches organ was believed to have been built in the 13th century and that makes it one of the oldest organs still working today. One of the highlights of this fortified basilica was a little church that was located on the twisting path to the top of the rock. The signs for this little church were only in French and German so I really couldn't tell what it was for or why it was there.

After I explored the Church and descended the mini mountain, it was time for the trek to the significantly taller Tourbillon perch. This was quite the hike, a solid 20-25 min up the winding, path. The path was composed of mostly lose gravel and jagged bedrock that composed the mountain and the surrounding peaks. Climbing up to this castle would have been downright dangerous (as if it wasn't already) in flip flops. There were no real barriers or safety precautions anywhere and quite honestly one slip or dumb move would send you 300+ feet to your death. At times it was really very, very scary. From what I read online (this time there were no signs at the castle at all) it was home to the Bishops of Sion for many centuries. One advantage of this location that is was damn near impossible to scale. And would be downright hard to get up to the fortification with any sort of weapons in an attempt to take the castle. The downside of this is that it was a building that could easily be sieged. While it would be difficult to
actually attack the castle, with its one realistic entrance it would be quite easy to block all supplies going to the top. Currently the castle is in a state of ruin permanently destroyed by a fire in 1788. Since then only the Chapel has been restored and placed as a protected site within Switzerland. The castle had a tumultuous history and was attacked multiple times as the Bishops were the ruling men of the Middle Ages and power was constantly changing hands. In 1417 it was burned to the ground during the Wars of Raron and rebuilt sometime later by Bishop William Raron. Needless to say, the castle provided excellent views of the surrounding area.

Tonight, my host Marco is having a BBQ with a few friends. Pictures to
follow soon on Picasa! (Of Sion, not the bbq)