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For real, just made it;

 EVA Air's safety record is A+.

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Sepia Saturday 171; Chillon;

Chillon; Painting by Gustave Courbet 1875

This monument with over 1'000 years of history, has always inspired artists and writers, from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Victor Hugo and Lord Byron, from Delacroix to Courbet.

Chillon Castle, an architectural jewel located in the most beautiful setting imaginable - on the shores of Lake Geneva, right at the foot of the Alps.
In 1150, the castle is mentioned for the first time, but its construction probably started much earlier according to archaeological finds. Its location was once very important, as it was built on a rock on the commercial road to Italy, going via the Alpine pass of the Grand-Saint-Bernard.

Peter II, called the Little Charlemagne, owner of Chillon,was the Count of Savoy  from 1263 until his death. He built the Savoy Palace in London. 
Born: 1203, Susa
Died: May 15, 1268
A medieval fortress, it later became a summer residence for the Counts of Savoy. Among other things, the Savoyards constructed new halls, courtyards, a chapel and a “camera domini”, the master bedroom of the dukes and counts. In the 13th century they built a prison in the undergrounds, which had previously been used to keep weapons and food.

In middle of the 15th century, the House of Savoy, controlling Chillon for four centuries, started having problems. Finally, during the war of Religions, the Bernese acquired the canton of Vaud and with it Chillon. From 1536 to 1798 the castle was under Bernese’s control. Unfortunately during that period many earthquakes and hurricanes damaged the old building. When left inhabited by the bailiffs, Chillon was used to keep prisoners and store weapons. The Bernese definitely left at the Vaudoise revolution.

One room is dedicated to Peter II of Savoy (1203 – 1268), the displays show the dynastic power of the family and the State of Savoy.
 Peter came into conflict with Rudolf of Habsburg, and Rudolf occupied Peter's lands in the canton of Vaud, including the Château of Chillon. Peter returned from Piedmont in time to lead his troops in retaking the chateau and his lands in 1266.

Already elderly, he died without a male heir. Sources differ on the place of his death, some stating that he died in the Château de Chillon so closely associated with him. 

Chillon’s dark past  

But what really happened in Chillon?

 Since the construction of its prison until 1861, many people were jailed there for various reasons. Some were locked in because of political or religious reasons while others were kept as war hostages. Many women, believed to be witches, were tortured and burnt at the end of the 16th century through the middle of the 17th century. It is also said that the chancellor of Savoy in 1455 was drowned in the lake after being questioned in Chillon.

The prisoners of Chillon

Who were the most famous prisoners? The imprisonment of Bonnivard in the 16th century retained the most attention. The tragic treatment of the prisoners, including Bonnivard, has touched many artists over the years.                                                                                                 

The fate of the Villeneuve’s Jews

The 14th century was deadly for European Jews. The plague killed many people on the European continent around 1348. As the population needed to blame the deaths on someone, people quickly blamed the Jews for wanting to kill the Christians.  In the town of Villeneuve located around Chillon lived a group of Jews since 1284. Thomas of Savoy had founded the city in 1214 and Jews had come to settle there later.

It was incorrectly believed that the Villeneuve’s Jews were the cause of the Plague and its spreading across Europe. Rumors started; apparently, that they would have poisoned all wells and springs from Venice to Savoy causing the death of the people drinking the water.

In September of 1348, all Jews there were arrested and sent to Chillon’s dungeons, at that time under the rule of Amédée VI of Savoy.  

François de Bonnivard (or Bonivard) was jailed there for six years. But who was he to “deserve” to stay for so long?

About Bonnivard

Bonnivard was a monk from the prior of Saint-Victor near Geneva. He was also a heretic, a friend of the Reform opposing both the Duke of Savoy, Charles III, and the Bishop of Geneva. Bonnivard was a well-known scholar and historian of his time.

After his release, he wrote a dictionary in French-German-Latin and a grammar book. Later, the republic of Geneva commissioned him to write the Geneva Chronicles. Captured in 1519 (till 1521), it did not stop him to continue fighting for what he believed in, liberty, and in 1530 he was taken captive again by the Duke of Savoy.

The first two years, Bonnivard spent them in a room while the last four he was chained at the fifth pillar third underground in the dark. “There are seven pillars of Gothic mould, In Chillon’s dungeons deep and old, There are seven columns, massy and grey,” said Byron. Around Bonnivard were six other cells, where prisoners were chained just like him. He was stuck on a three feet long chain and could only walk a few steps.

The prison

Bonnivard was finally released in 1536 when the Bernese gained power over the House of Savoy. 

The poets and Chillon

The French poet Victor Hugo left a detailed description of what he saw in Chillon. “He could only-lie on the rock- with a great deal of sorrows and without being able to spread his body parts.”                                                                                                 

 Romantic poets started coming to Chillon beginning of the 19th century. The first one to visit the region and the castle was the Englishman Lord Byron.

After his visit to Chillon in June 1816, Lord Byron, inspired by what he had seen, wrote a long Sonnet about Bonnivard entitled the “Prisoner of Chillon.” 

More about castles?

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     and visit Sepia Saturday 171

                          

Friday; indulgence;

L'univers du Parfum;

Vera Wang Bouquet,  Eau de parfum,  is a wonderful, flowery perfection not just for brides, it is a pretty good all rounder for warm summer days which will bring  this scent to life.. with its  delicate blend  of Honeysuckle, paper white Narcissus, Sicilian bergamot, Lavender and a tiny sharpness of  black currant leaves and Moroccan cedar. Launched in 2008.  Made in USA

Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir  Eau de parfum , was launched in 2011.   Made in Italy

Mon Jasmin Noir  starts  with fresh  notes of citrus and the seductive florals of lily of the valley, fragrant  hints of jasmin to linger on musky nougatine and vibrant woods.

Top notes: citruses, lily of the valley

Heart: various kinds of jasmin

Base: nougatine, cedar, patchouli, musk

©Photo/text Ts 

Wednesday; Muse;

Sunset from my garden/31/01/2013 time 18:30 PM

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” 

 Oscar Wilde

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Links

http://titania-lavenderandvanilla.blogspot.com.au/

http://pelluciidityblogspotcom.blogspot.com.au/

Sepia Saturday 170; Café Odeon, Zurich;

Grand Café Odeon

In 1910  Julius Uster built a grand house on the corner of Sonnenquai, (today Limmatquai) and Rämistrasse. Incorporated into the building was a Coffee house in  Art Deco, in the style of  the Vienna coffee houses, With big windows, chandeliers, walls were decked out  in brass and reddish  marble.

On Sunday 1.July 1911 at 18:00 PM the Grand café Odeon opened its doors the first time. In the cellar operated their own “Konditorei” cake bakery.
Further up they had a Billiards room. The manager was  Josef Schottenhaml from Munich. The Odeon Café offered International papers, Lexicons and chess games were popular. There was no closing restriction, the Odeon could be open all night. In Zürich the Odeon was the first place where Champaign by the glass was served.

Writers, painters and musicians were regulars and gave the Odeon an ambience of a club  for intellectuals. Frequent visitors were Stefan Zweig,  Albert Einstein, Claire Goll, Frank Wedekind, Somerset Maugham, Erich Maria Remarque, Franz Léhar, Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Lenin, Max Frish, Friederich Dürrenmatt and many more.

A trusted person of the émigrés was the publisher Dr. Emil Oprecht who was printing and publishing the works of many writers in exile.
After the second world war, the Odeon was a meeting place for  the young generations of intellectuals.
In the beginning of the seventies the reputation of the Odeon was in disrepute because of its  neighboorhood’s  drug scene. Inside it was partly destroyed by drug rioters and had to be renovated.
Drug dealers had riots for the supremacy of the place. The Odeon was losing its good clientèle and lost more and more money.  The Odeon was made smaller and the northern entry was locked, to have a better overview and control of the place. On the 1. July 1972 the Odeon was closed and the house put under  listed buildings. After that only one third was  used again as café Odeon.

Bodega Espanola, was our haunt,at a time  when the sun did not set in the 1960s. After  a concert,  a movie or theater it was the place to eat a bowl of mussels in a spicy tomato sauce and toast our fortunate life with a glass of Spanish wine and for dessert a tiny glass of  of the sweetest sherry. Those were the days! 

©Photo/text Ts.

www.sepiasaturday.blogspot.com