Rhine-Reuss-Rhôneweg: Salgesch - St. Léonard

The medieval pilgrimage centre Salgesch is the last German-speaking place on the language border. 13000 years ago, a huge landslide from Varneralp covered the remains of the former Rhone glacier and the remaining glacier transported the material to today's Sierre. On one of the remaining hills stands the monastery of Gerunden, whose first church was built in the 5th century. In the middle of the heavily sprawled town of Sierre, Christophorus greets you on the entrance façade of the former medieval parish church of Notre-Dame-des-Marais. To the west of Sierre we climb into the vineyard. Behind the Château Villa – the epicentre of raclette and wine in Valais – we come across the chapel of St. Ginier, where a Christian sanctuary is said to have stood as early as the 7th century. We enjoy the path through the vineyard to St. Léonard, where an illuminated Madonna is waiting for us at the back of the underground lake.