Amsoldingen-Romont (Berne/Fribourg route)
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81 km, waling time around 20 hours
The famous provost church St. Mauritius in Amsoldingen is the starting point of this section. The route takes us from the German-speaking and reformed Bernese Gantrisch region into the French-speaking and catholic Fribourg region, through hills and forests and villages still presenting the characteristic features of rural life. Shortly before Fribourg, language and culture change. The German “Freiburg” becomes “Fribourg”, and the German “Pilger” (for “pilgrim”) becomes “pèlerin”. Along the way, you will see many stately farmsteads with wide roofs and well-kept stables, built of wood and adorned with flowers. On the pastures cows are grazing, and while so far we saw mostly brown cows, in the Fribourg region, they are mostly black. Pilgrims will meet with a hard-working and often bi-lingual rural population. Although the farmers today till their fertile fields with modern machines, and the animals are kept in a near-industrial style, there is no hectic. In the hilly landscape, pilgrims enjoy an agreeable quietness and find their peace and composure. Along the way are places marked by old pilgrim tradition, inviting pilgrims to visit them and to meditate. There are so many old chapels and churches with statues of St. James and scallop symbols and with doors open to pilgrims; monasteries that invite pilgrims to a visit, for instance in Tafers the chapel with the famous gallows legend, and old inns that formerly were pilgrim’s hostels. The city of Fribourg as a stage-post for pilgrims offers many sights that recall a long pilgrimage tradition.
Important pointer
The brief route descriptions were written and checked by helpers and association members in voluntary work after travelling the route themselves, and based on the state as encountered then. The accuracy and especially the concordance with the official Way of St. James marking cannot be guaranteed by the association “jakobsweg.ch” and the authors, neither in the sense of a product liability. In case of discrepancies, pilgrims are therefore in any case asked to please follow the official Way of St. James fingerposts, and to notify us of possible errors. Thank you.
Texts: Winfried Erbach, Joe Weber and Klaus Augustiny (proof reader).
Translated from German by Hans Bamert.
Pictures: Wolfgang Hörer, Winfried Erbach, various others.