240 years ago, the Arlesheim Hermitage was designed in the style of an English landscape garden. Not far from the Goetheanum in Dornach, it’s one of the most beautiful and important landscape gardens in Switzerland.
Visitors are greeted by a natural oasis with streams, ponds, and labyrinthine paths reminiscent of a fairy-tale landscape where time seems to stand still. The Hermitage was opened in 1785 as a place of “romantic solitude near Arlesheim” by Balbina von Andlau-von Staal (wife of the bishop’s bailiff of Birseck) and her cousin, the canon Heinrich von Ligerz. Visitors could stroll around and enjoy nature, with Birseck Castle, built in 1234, towering above them. The castle was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1793 and was then incorporated into the landscape garden as a romantic ruin. In 1997, the Stiftung Ermitage Arlesheim und Schloss Birseck [Arlesheim Hermitage and Birseck Castle Foundation] was finally established, which set itself the task of preserving and maintaining the Hermitage—a place of quiet with 35 rest areas.
On top of the castle grounds, at the foot of the venerable ruins, the Café Weidhof im Schloss Birseck [Café Farm Pasture in Castle Birseck] is now open every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m. between Easter Sunday and the end of October. The new hosts are Gerd-Mari Savin-Nordström and Thomas Meier. They treat their guests to delicious homemade cakes and invite them to sit in the forecourt or in the stylishly furnished interior of the Weidhof. The historic rooms create a place for new encounters and conversations, inviting you to come back again.
During the café’s opening week, the hosts also invited Eunike Engelkind to perform her piece Parsifal, a one-act play based upon the opera by Richard Wagner. Despite the fact that Wagner’s sacred festival stage drama was being performed with eurythmy at the Goetheanum to a sold-out crowd at the very same time, every seat was taken at the café. Eunike builds upon Wagner’s libretto, supplemented by Wolfram von Eschenbach’s verses, and brings Parsifal’s quest into lively dramatic scenes. The setting could not have been more appropriate, as centuries ago, some of Parsifal’s encounters on his way to the Grail Castle are said to have taken place nearby and in the caves of the Hermitage. In seventy minutes and seven roles, Eunike Engelkind led us through the drama of the play, speaking, acting, and singing in her mezzo-soprano. The events unfolded in a lucid, graceful speech, bringing the protagonists to life before our eyes. The experience was so intense and palpable that the audience was taken right into the action as if it were their own life. The clear and finely nuanced speech made the content very easy to follow, so the short play serves well as an introduction to Wagner’s epic Parsifal. Perhaps next year, it may be performed in the Goetheanum’s own Foundation Stone Hall?
Special cultural events will now take place regularly at Café Weidhof. Elizabeth Davidson will sing songs she wrote herself about Saint Odilia, and soprano Verena Krause will perform. Poet Barbara Groher and accordionist Vivianne Chassot will present an extraordinary linguistic and musical work of art on June 29 at 5 p.m. to mark the 240th anniversary of the Hermitage. On Sunday, August 24, at 11:30 a.m., the traditional matinee with the Ensemble Dúil will take place again on the Carousel Square [Karussellplatz] in the Hermitage, where four musicians will play traditional Irish folk music.
Lastly, we’d like to bring to your attention the recently published book by Sibylle von Heydebrand and Vanja Hug, Die Ermitage in Arlesheim. Ein Paradies im Grünen [The Hermitage in Arlesheim. A paradise in the countryside]. In the tradition of historical garden guides, the authors write about the significance of the Hermitage and its historical development. One focus of the book that reveals some of the mysteries of the place is the explanation of the circular trail, laid out in 1785 and extended in 1812, which still exists today. Even after 240 years, new things can still be discovered.
More Arlesheim Hermitage, Café Weidhof im Schloss Birseck
Also Barbara Groher, Eunike Engelkind, and Verena Krause
Book Sibylle von Heydebrand, Vanja Hug, Die Ermitage in Arlesheim. Ein Paradies im Grünen [The Hermitage in Arlesheim. A paradise in the countryside] (Basel: Schwabe, 2025).
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Image Colored engraving of the Hermitage Castle, undated, unsigned
