Monday, 12 May 2008

Do you know where the first book in Switzerland was printed?

I do, or at least I do know, where the first dated print was made in Switzerland. It was 1470 in the small village Beromünster when the seventy years old canon Helias Helye decided, it would be a nice idea to have a printed issue of the Mammotrectus (some kind of bible-related dictionary written by Marchesino da Reggio). By the way, Beromünster is always worth a visit as it is a really beautiful small village with over 1000 years of history (the site of the printing, a medieval tower called Schlössli - engl. little castle - is still around and is nowadays a museum with a reconstruction of the original printing press) and some interesting stories and personalities, such as Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler, Josef Vital Kopp or Pirmin Meier. By the way: If you're looking for good book to read this summer, I can recommend Kopp's Der sechste Tag (engl. The sixth day), an account of Kopp's youth in Beromünster around the time of the first world war. It's also an interesting portrait of a central swiss catholic milieu at the beginning of the 20th century.

Schlössli BeromünsterMammotrectusBlosenbergturm Beromünster

St. Michael Stfit BeromünsterKustorei Stift Beromünster

Chorgestühl Stift Beromünster

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