Murten has retained its medieval buildings, even though cars clutter
the cobbled streets of the centre, and the town holds many traditional
festivals. One of these is the ‘slow up’ 20 km. walk around the lake every
October. There is a carnival in March, flea markets in June, the ‘Solennität’ youth
festival commemorating the Battle of Murten, and a Christmas market. There are
no electric street lights in the town and the old coats of arms and shop signs
have been retained everywhere. There is
a grid of old streets with alleyways or Graben in between, where the fire
service had access and rubbish used to be thrown out. Overshoes were de rigeur in those days. The reformer
Calvin had 30 people burnt on account of the plague in the 16th
century. The witch tower still exists
where women suspected of being too clever or having moles on their skin were
tortured and beheaded or burnt. Nowadays as then the cellars and ground floors
could be used for business while the upper floors were residential.
It is also possible to climb up onto the city wall and see the view
over the rooftops, with their distinctive tiles. Outside the walls, the
Catholic church of St. Mauritius is located, and inside it we discovered very
modern stain glass windows designed by a local artist in 1977. Murten today
thrives from four types of business – tourism, local shops and crafts, small
industry and farming. One curiosity is
the former clock from the old city hall which has been restored to its former
design and chimes the quarter hours and the hours. In the arcaded shops reminiscent
of Bern one can buy local products including the famous Nidelkuchen.
There are numerous restaurants and cafes in Murten where one can enjoy
lunch inside or out. We chose the Murtenhof, with its terrace overlooking the lake,
and afterwards walked down to the boat landing stage to take the boat across
the lake of Murten. On sunny days it’s very pleasant to take a picnic beside
the lake and enjoy the water sports. The boat to Biel crosses the Murtensee and
glides through the Broye canal to the Lake of Neuchatel. The sun shone on us
for this pleasant journey and from there, after a steep climb to the station,
the direct train takes you back to Zurich.Murten Tourist Office links:
