Arlesheim Cathedral

Description

The Cathedral of Arlesheim served as the main church of Arlesheim and the cathedral of the Diocese between 1679-1792. After the French Revolution, when the Prince Bishop Sigismund Roggenbach had to leave and go into exile in Constance, then he returned to Freiburg in 1793. The building and its contents were auctioned after serving successively as a wine cellar and a stable. It became a religious building again in 1812, and was later consecrated as a parish church of the parish of Arlesheim.

Arlesheim cathedral belongs to Switzerland’s first great Early Baroque church buildings. The foundation stone was laid in March 1680 and the building was consecrated in 1681. Canon houses were built and nobles, highranking clergy, diplomats, artists and craftsman all moved here. The cathedral with its famous Silbermann organ is not only under the Virgin Mary’s protection, but also under federal protection as a cultural monument.