Anabaptist Hideout

Anabaptist Hideout - Fri. June 18, 2010

Before breakfast I went for a short hike on the Jacobsenweg - often times paved 4 foot wide paths and other time gravel paths up behind the Kunzi farm. Mrs. Kunzi our hostess had a great breakfast of Canadian style coffee and buns and meats and cheeses as well as cereal and yogurt and jellies and more - a good start to our day.
We 4 decided then to drive to Langnau a small town about 20 km east to look up the Mennonite church from which many of our families had left some 300 years ago for Pennsylvania. It is the oldest still operating Mennonite church in Switzerland. Churches are often open we were told so we went inside and it had all been remodeled to a modern building. A large cemetery was beside the church with familiar names like Wenger, Lehmann, Engle and others. Of coarse all stone markers are recent - within the last 10 - 15 years since the law requires families to relinquish their plots after 30 years or buy it again. We were told that many families remove the stones to somewhere and old sections of the cemetery become new burial places.
Next we drove up tp Eggiwil and out into the mountainside to try to find a cave where Anabaptist Mennonites met in secret in the 1600 and 1700’s again to avoid persecution for their beliefs. We found the area - a deep gorge - a spot similar to Walkins Glen that was onlu accessible by foot path. Trouble was the foot path was also used by the local farmer’s cows and with all the rain it wa a soupy mess most of the way down to the cave. The farmer we talked to about its location looked at my shoes and pointed to his knee high rubber boots and just laughed as he motioned in the downward direction. We decided against going down but took some pictures of the rock formation above instead.
We had read about a barn in the area called Hinter Hutten where early Mennonites and Amish hid to avoid persecusion in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Found the barn high up in the mountains on a gravel one-lane path and a long way from nowhere. It was strategically located so that it was a 2 day journey in those days for authorities to arrive from the city. Someone or organization had documented a lot of history of the period and a brochure led us step by step through the still private farm/barn/house detailing all that happened. The present owners the Fankhausers - he is the 14th generation to live and work the farm, met us at one point and helped us get oriented. The house/barn combination was built in 1608 - the date still visible above the main house door. A hidden chamber about 3’ x 6’ is still visible behind a log wall in the “meat room” in the centre between the house and barn. A very interesting afternoon. The Langnau Mennonite church is approximately 30 minutes south west of the Fankhauser Barn.
Back at the Kunzi farm we moved into the Pilgrimweg cabin for 2 more nights accommodation - this time by ourselves.