Convento del Bigorio

The Capuchin monastery was founded in 1535 as the first of its kind in Switzerland. The complex is terraced and has been expanded several times over the centuries. The chapel by architect Mario Botta is also worth seeing. Three brothers still live in the Convento del Bigorio.

More information about the monastery can be found at: bigorio.ch/de/kloster

The first Capuchin monastery in Switzerland to be founded in 1535, just a decade after the Capuchin reform, the Bigorio monastery was a sign of its time, a loyal interpreter of Catholic renewal. In 1577 his new church was inaugurated by the Archbishop of Milan, Karl Borromäus. For a long time, the place was a center of Capuchin life and also housed the chapter of the Order several times. In this spirit and because of its peculiarities, the monastery was later dedicated to the admission of young people who spent the first year of their spiritual life here. The monastery was enlarged for the first time in 1659. In 1688, another floor was added to the monastery building, and finally, in the total renovation of 1767, the complex acquired its current structural character.

The Second Vatican Council changed the direction of the monastery. It was fully restored in 1966 to convert it into a place of religious, intellectual and cultural education. The chapel, a youth work by the architect Mario Botta, must also be mentioned.