Castel chapel / Vissoie

Exhibition in the Castle Chapel
Sacred art and treasures from the parishes of the Val d'Anniviers from the 14th to the 19th century

Having made an inventory of the objects of worship in the parishes of Anniviers, Jean-Louis Claude of Zinal found that each parish possessed sacred objects, real treasures hidden from the public eye, some of which are totally unknown to the people of Anniviers. This is why the project of exhibiting these emblematic objects in the chapel "Notre Dame de Compassion" in Vissoie is a great opportunity to reveal a historical aspect of religious life in the Alps.

Exterior wall of the Castle Chapel
Photo exhibition: A century of hotel advertising in the Val d'Anniviers (1860-1960)

In the 19th century, the whole of Europe travelled to see the sun rise over the Alps. From the shores of the lakes to the panoramic promontories, hotels and palaces flourished. A new era began, that of the holiday resort, which combined the pleasant with the useful.  
In 1863, the Englishman Thomas Cook organised the first group trip to Switzerland. The arrival of the railway in this context helped to open up the Alps to tourists. From then on, travel ceased to be the privilege of a few wealthy people and became the leisure activity of a much wider class of society: the educated bourgeoisie, financiers, industrialists, career officers, teachers, civil servants, politicians, etc.  

The Val d'Anniviers, a region that was still quite isolated in the middle of the 19th century, did not escape this phenomenon. Some inhabitants very quickly understood where their interests lay. At first, in Zinal and Luc, two guides were content to set up a few rooms in their house before transforming it into an inn. Very quickly, with the increase in the number of visitors, hotels were built in Zinal, St-Luc, Vissoie, Chandolin, Grimentz and Ayer, because it was necessary to be able to welcome travellers decently in establishments that were both comfortable and pleasant.