Solothurn is a Swiss city obsessed with number eleven

Solothurn is a Swiss city obsessed with the number 11Photo from open sources

Solothurn is a picturesque city in the north-west of Switzerland, known for his unusual attachment to the number 11.

Almost everything here is arranged so that the “magic” number 11 was ubiquitous, or at least as common as possible. IN Solothurn 11 churches, 11 historical fountains, 11 museums, 11 towers etc. And in the town square, weird time is counting down on the dial of which there are 11 numbers instead of the generally accepted 12.

Despite the fact that every resident of Solothurn is well aware of of this feature of the city, the origins of such a strange superstition are a complete mystery. Local legend says that once with the nearby Weissenstein mountain the magic elves descended and brought happiness to the townspeople. And since “eleven” in German sounds like “elf”, grateful Zoloturnovtsy decided to tie their fate precisely with this number.

According to another belief, it was taken from the Bible – in order so that higher powers protect local residents and they don’t know anything lack and did not know the troubles. Be that as it may, one thing is with accuracy: Solothurn’s obsession with number 11 has centuries-old a story.

A photo from open sources

The first mention of mysterious superstition dates back to 1252, when it was decided that the city council should consist of 11 members. Then, in 1481, Solothurn became the 11th canton (administrative unit) of the Swiss Union. A a century later, the city was divided into 11 protectorates. And that in his stories featured 11 medieval societies, or guilds, hardly a coincidence.

Another vivid illustration of this tradition is the local Cathedral of Saints Ursus and Victor, designed by Italian architect Gaetano Matteo Pisoni.

A photo from open sources

The construction was built for 11 years. He has 11 doors, 11 bells and 11 altars made of 11 different types of marble. All altars are visible only from one place – these are 11 black stones in the nave. In addition, a three-span staircase approaches the cathedral 11 steps each. Parishioners sit on 11 rows of benches, and the number of pipes of a large organ is a multiple of 11. Facade height executed in the Romanesque style, is 11 meters, distance from the base of the tower to the weather vane is again 11 meters.

Many local holidays also fall on the 11th of that or another month.

Here is such a town “with strangeness”, although this strangeness the only, but otherwise Solothurn is quite ordinary, patriarchal and small: to date, only about 20 thousand live in it human.

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