Fort Pre Giroud, Les Clees Castle, SICPA, Switzerland (Part 1)

I've spent the last 30 summers cycling in Switzerland. The Jura Mountain range acts as a natural border between France and Switzerland and I love exploring the area. I think it was second summer that I unexpectedly came upon something really unique so I'm returning for another look.

I was cycling along this back road when I came upon a sign up ahead.

Don't recall the tank being here back then--only the sign. What did "Fort 39-45" mean? I had no idea but headed up the mountain road. 

It's a long ride up the road but it brings me here. What are we looking at behind the tent?

It looks like a typical Swiss chalet on a mountain side (actually that huge Swiss flag painted on the structure wasn't there on my first visit). 

In reality, that Swiss chalet is a disguise. It's actually a concrete fort (Fort Pre Giroud).

This is the entrance. Upon entering it's 100 feet down a shaft.

When I was here (about 28 years ago) it was around 1PM and a tour group was just about to enter. I was lucky to join the group (tour took an hour and a half--in French). It was a fantastic experience!

It's self-contained inside with an industrial-size kitchen, infirmary, command center etc... with dorms capable of accommodating 125 soldiers. Thankfully I had a coat as it was cold inside (high 50's). The tunnels seem to go for miles.  

Summer is over and I knew the place would be closed today but, it's still fun to see the outside again. 

Closer look. The windows are all fake.

Opening for machine gun.

It's about 8:30 in the morning and the sun hadn't come up on this side. I was walking around to the back of the structure when I came upon this guy. That back area behind him is fenced in and I was blocking his escape route. 

Here's the view from the fort. In the distance you can see more of the Jura Mountains. You can see a gap. That's the Jougne Pass. This isolated artillery fort was built between 1937 and 1939. The Fort Pre Giroud complex was carved into the rock. Why? Switzerland wanted to be prepared to block the pass if any foreign army invaded. 

Right below the flags are fake boulders which housed artillery guns.

Some of the artillery.

Another big artillery piece.

Sentry post. Looks like a stand-up metal coffin.

That's a fake barn. A tunnel goes from the fake chalet to the barn. The cow is real. 

That's another fake barn connected by tunnel to the fake chalet.  

Coming down from the fort you can still see concrete blocks from World War ll. They're shaped like that to prevent tanks from clambering over. 

Verbier, Switzerland (ski resort)

 

Many ski resorts in Switzerland can be reached via train (Zermatt, St. Moritz, Davos, Engelberg, Gstaad, Grindelwald to name a few). 

The upscale ski resort of Verbier (population 2,900--though it swells to 35,000 in the winter) can't be reached all the way via train. Though trains will deposit you here in the valley floor village of Le Chable. 

That white building with blue is the train station. From there you can hop on a gondola (you can see several going over the road from the train station) and be deposited in Verbier's town center in about 13 minutes.    

Another way to get up to Verbier is by bus or car (25 minutes).  My bike and I are cycling up via the switchback roads. 

Roundabout in Verbier's town center. 

Another view of Verbier's main shopping street.

This is where the gondola ride from the valley floor ends.

You can see gondolas coming up from the valley floor to the town center.

A colorful piece of art in town.

Another piece of art.

This is the five-star Le Chalet D'Adrien hotel. 

Having lunch on the deck of Le Chalet D'Adrien gets you this view.

Or this view.

The Verbier Golf Club and its 18 holes has been around since 1992. To say it's an up and down course is an understatement. 

The clubhouse for Verbier Golf Club is underneath their indoor/outdoor restaurant (open to the public-- with great views). 

On the left is a trail for runners and to the right a trail for mountain bikers.

This is where you tee off on a par 5 hole on the golf course. Can you see the massive drop-off---way the heck down?

Met a couple who were NOT using a golf cart on the course. They will definitely get some exercise. 

Castles & Prisons and a Mormon church near Bern, Switzerland

I'm in central Switzerland, about 15 miles from Bern (capital of Switzerland). I love cycling around this region as the farmland is absolutely beautiful. Farmhouses have these unusual-looking wooden roofs. 
 

Cycling through Krauchtal (population 2,300)  I spot this massive structure way up on a hill.  Wow, is that a castle?

In the town center I use the zoom lens on my camera to get a closer look. 

Looking for the road up to the castle I start stopping locals for info. This is the German-speaking part of Switzerland and my command of the language is pretty much nil (just like my French). 

I ask this elderly couple how I can get up there. I say "Schloss", which is German for castle, point to my bike and point toward the castle. The couple smile and just nod. Jeez, I stop at a car repair shop and I'm given the same response. I spot a young woman walking her dog and ask if she speaks English, "a bit", she answers. She says the place is a prison. Then, it hits me: What a dummkopf! I've been here before! 

In 2016 I cycled through the town but came via a different route.

Back in 2016 I posted about the prison. It was originally Thorberg Castle (dating back to 1175). It was for many, many years a monastery. In 1893 the castle was turned into a prison with a new cell block built in 1998. Now, it's the only maximum security prison in Switzerland. 

So, here's the deal. I have several Swiss maps and they show historical points such as castles with a tiny symbol of a castle. Hindelbank, a farming community of 2,500 inhabitants, is home to Hindelbank Castle. 

I then go to a website listing castles in Switzerland---hundreds are listed but many are just castle ruins. According to this website Hindelbank Castle is now an administrative building for the only woman's prison in Switzerland and it's "public" as opposed to "private".  

So, after leaving Krauchtal (home to the men's max prison) I cycle about three miles into another valley.

In the distance I think I spot Hindelbank Castle. 

Using the zoom on my camera I can see the castle and what looks to be a prison.

This is the road going up to the prison. To the left of the castle is a parking lot. 

The entrance to the prison is at the end of this road. Lots of barbed wire fencing and two female guards are patrolling the gate. I'm shirtless (it's 90 degrees) and after parking my bike in the parking lot--with the guards eyeballing me-I head over to the castle--thinking there's a separate entrance. Nope, the castle is part of the prison compound. One has to enter via the prison gate.

What the heck! I'm not going to enter the prison! That idiot website was wrong about the castle being open to the public. So my original plan was to snap photos of the castle exterior but, with lots of signs announcing security cameras monitoring the area I nix snapping photos as maybe I'd be detained for suspicious behavior. I could imagine the headline in the local paper: " Shirtless American cyclist in custody for taking forbidden photos of the prison". 

So I end up halfway down the road using the zoom lens to snap photos. The castle dates back to 1720. 

If you google Hindelbank Castle you'll see it's huge with extensive gardens. Don't know if the inmates get to enjoy the grounds. 

I'm a mile from Jegenstorf's (population 5,700) town center and this is the entrance to Jegenstorf Castle. 

Can't get a full picture of the castle as two gigantic trees block the view. Fill my water bottle with the cold water from the fountains. 

Still can't get a full picture of the castle.

Why are those black metallic cardboard-like figures placed there? Though Jegenstorf Castle dates back to the 12th century it's famous for hosting/housing General Henri Guisan during World War ll. 

During World War ll General Henri Guisan was the Supreme commander of the Swiss army (similar to  General Eisenhower being the Supreme commander of Allied forces). Don't forget Switzerland was a neutral country and didn't trust the Germans not to invade. In 1944 Jegenstorf Castle became the command post for General Giusan,

Side view of castle. In the Middle Ages a double moat surrounded the castle.

Rear view of castle. In the pond that's a statue of Minerva (Roman goddess of wisdom).

Other side view of Jegenstorf Castle.

Horse stables and housing for the castle help.

Those are the two gigantic trees obscuring the front of Jegenstorf castle. 

Horse stables near the castle entrance. 

I'm in Zollikofen (population 10,500) and this is a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints (LDS) or a Mormon church. So? Built in 1955, it's the first LDS Church in Europe and the first outside the USA and Canada. 

Nice grounds. Atop the church there's a statue of a man (in gold leaf?)--that's Angel Moroni and he's blowing a trumpet. 

Joseph Smith Jr., founded Mormonism in 1830.