Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Kanton Jura

Saint-Ursanne (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47356382 ) is a charming old town on the banks of the river Doubs, considered being one of the most beautiful villages in Switzerland with its medieval architecture. The most important monument is the Collégiale with the adjacent monastery. This collegiate church was built at the end of the 12th century with clear Burgundian influences. The architectural style shows elements that point to the transition from the late Romanesque to the early Gothic period. Construction of the choir, the apse and the crypt was finished before 1210. The inside of the church was altered significantly in the 14th century. Major decorative work in the baroque style was undertaken between 1660 and 1702. The church has a richly decorated gate, most probably from the second half of the 12th century. The semicircular tympanum (PiP1) shows a figure of Christ sitting on a throne; at his right hand praying Saint Ursicinus, the founder of Saint Ursanne. The cloister (PiP2) is situated to the northwest of the collegiate church. It was constructed and enlarged in 1380 on the existing foundations and later underwent two restorations in 1551 and 1906. It has a series of arcades with so called ogive windows.

Saint-Ursanne is one of the jewels of the Swiss Jura. The medieval town is situated on the banks of the river Doubs at the foot of a rocky mountain ridge. According to legend, the little town of St-Ursanne was founded at the end of the 6th century by the Irish monk Ursicinus, who lived as a hermit on this isolated spot. His hermitage within a cave can be reached by climbing 180 steep steps. Between 623 and 635 a first monastery community was founded. Around 1100 it was converted into a canons chapter. Saint-Ursanne has conserved its medieval character (PiP1). Among the most important buildings in the centre are the collegiate church and its cloister (PiP4) built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Other parts of the old town contain heritage buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Even today, the town can only be accessed through one of the three historic gates. The ‘Porte Saint-Pierre’ is decorated with ‘La Berbatte’ (PiP3), a clock installed early in the 18th century. The four-arched stone bridge (PiP2) over the river, built in 1728, awards a particularly splendid view of the picturesque town and its environs. A sandstone statue made in 1729 of St. John of Nepomuk, a protector against floods, stands on the bridge.