Reformed Church Spiez
«For centuries, Spiez was a small, rural settlement with widely scattered farmsteads. Only down by the lake, in the bay, were a few fishermen's huts grouped together: the Städli. It was not until the 19th century that tourism began to tear the quiet place out of its dreamy existence. With the construction of the railroad, the new era was stormy. Spiez became the center and hub of the Oberland traffic.
The economic upswing that started for these reasons drew a large number of people to Spiez who found work and income here, or hoped to find work. As a result of this influx from abroad, the population of Spiez grew rapidly.
The thousand-year-old church near the castle was soon too small, and the cemetery around it was no longer sufficient.
At that time, the owner and resident of Spiez Palace was Mrs. Rosina Magdalena Gemuseus-Riggenbach, an elderly, ailing, well-to-do woman from Basel. The coming and going of people through the courtyard after the church disturbed their need for rest. She wanted to be alone and looked for ways and means to keep through traffic away from her property. This gave them the idea of moving the church and cemetery to a suitable place. She offered the community of residents and the parish the donation of the entire Längensteinwiese with a holding of 2.5 hectares, plus a sum of CHF 150,000.00 in cash, against the transfer of ownership of the old church and the old rectory.
One would have thought that this generous offer would have been happily and gratefully accepted, but far from it. The offer divided hearts in Spiez.
After a long tug-of-war, spiteful letters in the press and discussions up to the Bernese Grand Council, construction of the new village church began in 1905. 100 workers were immediately employed for the excavation. But there were also unforeseen obstacles. In mid-October, 200 Italian workers who were involved in the construction of the Simmen tunnel for the electricity company went on strike. Out of solidarity, 20 Italian bricklayers who were working on the building of the church stopped work.
The new building was inaugurated on Sunday, March 24th, 1907. »
Text / source: Ref. Parish of Spiez, Mr. Grünig