Where Time Condenses – The High Altar of the Church of St. Calixtus in Brienz/Brienzauls

Sometimes, time seems to fly; at other times, it moves unbearably slowly. And in certain places, it feels as if time itself condenses. One such place is the Church of St. Calixtus in Brienz/Brienzauls, where five centuries converge into one.

The present church was built around 1519—before the onset of the Reformation in Graubünden and before the Free State of the Three Leagues, a predecessor of today’s Swiss canton of Graubünden, received its formal constitution. The centerpiece of the church is its late Gothic high altar, crafted roughly half a millennium ago specifically for the new building.

However, as motionless and solemnly quiet as the church interior may seem, the people of Brienz/Brienzauls have repeatedly learned that neither the church nor the entire village was built on solid ground. Due to an increase in landslides, the village has had to be evacuated several times in recent years—including the high altar. One can only hope that the church’s patron saint, St. Calixtus, will in time extend his protective hand over the village, the church, and its altar…