STEFFISBURG CHURCH

For any Yoder traveling to Steffisburg, the principal sight is the ancient village church. In fact, the town is named after the church. The church's patron is Saint Stefan, and ``Steffisburg'' is believed to be a modification of ``Stefansburg.''

Church History.

Steffisburg church was completely restored between 1980 and 1983. Extensive archaelogical excavations were conducted at this time, and from these a remarkably detailed history of the church has been constructed. (The first 3 dates are estimates based upon archaeological and architectural evidence.)

700 The first church is erected in the early Middle Ages. No traces remain. Its existence is known from the positioning of old graves.

900 A second church is built on the same site. The altar and a portion of the foundation were uncovered in the archaeological excavations.

1000 A Romanesque basilica, about as large as the present church, is built. It has a central nave with aisles on either side. The wall between the nave and the southern aisle survives as the present south wall of Steffisburg church, complete with filled-in Romanesque arches. (See photo.)

1320 The clock tower is added.

1491 A chapel is built adjoining the basilica on the south, but it is soon torn down, perhaps about 1528, the time of the Reformation.

1681 The Romanesque basilica is torn down for reasons that remain obscure. A new church is built on the same site. It is this church, now more than 300 years old, that stands in Steffisburg today.

Church Tour.

We'll inspect the inside of the church first. Find the main door. It will probably be unlocked, and you can enter quietly. The Steffisburg church was Catholic at one time, but became protestant during the Reformation. Today it is a Reformed Church. (The nearest modern U.S. equivalent would be the United Church of Christ.)

The interior is elegantly simple. Instead of pews, there are straight-backed chairs arranged in neat rows. Instead of stained glass windows, small colored shields hang in plain windows. The pulpit, standing high against the right hand wall, dates from the 1681 construction of the church. In the balcony to the rear is a 29-register Kuhn organ installed in 1933.

On the left-hand (north) wall of the church near the rear are two gravestones of people buried underneath the church. The one on the left is for Hans Jakob Freudenreich, 1639-1711, who was minister of the church when the present building was constructed in 1681. [There is therefore a strong possibility he's the minister who baptized Hans and Yost Yoder who emigrated to the Oley Valley, but this needs further research.] The one on the right is for Maria Katharina Wyttenbach (nee Hugin) who died in 1716.

The treasure of Steffisburg church is the ``Mosestafel'' that hangs on the left hand wall. This wonderfully preserved work of art was painted by Christian Stucki in 1682. It depicts Moses poised behind two tablets containing the Ten Commandments. The Moses painted here looks like a happy Swiss shepherd, in contrast to the stern Moses often seen in art works.

Around the border of the Mosestafel are the Wappenschild (heraldic shields) of Steffisburg's leading citizens of 1682. Two Yoders are to be found there: along the left-hand edge of the Mosestafel, look for Caspar Joder, and along the bottom, look for Jost Joder. [Would be interesting to determine the relationship of these Yoders to the American emigrants.] There is also a Zook shield. Look for Mathys Zaug right next to Jost Joder.

Now, go back outside. Straight ahead is the parsonage, built in 1738. To the left, in a patch of ivy, are a couple of 19th Century graves. (The main cemetary of Steffisburg is nearby, several blocks to the southwest. But don't expect to find many old tombstones there. Graves in Europe are often recycled after 30 or 40 years.) To the right is a pleasant small garden, where you can stroll and appreciate the beauty of Steffisburg church and, on a clear day, the Alps beyond it.

To view the most historically interesting part of the church exterior, turn left from the main door, and walk around to the south side. The south wall of the present building was once an interior wall of the Romanesque basilica built around the year 1000. At that time, this wall separated the central nave of the basilica from a side aisle. It had many arches, which are still clearly visible but have now been mortared shut. At the base of the clock tower, you can see a profile of the side aisle of the Romanesque church. To the right and this side of the clock tower, the floor of the short-lived 1491 chapel can still be seen.

Reference.

Dorfkirche Steffisburg by Hans Peter Würsten, 28 pages, in German. Published by Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte, Bern, 1989. As of March 1997, this booklet could be obtained in the narthex of the Steffisburg church for 5 Swiss francs.