Page 117 - DIVA_MY WORKS 1918-2022

International

disturbed his writing. The farmers refused,
and Cassel had to intervene, asking them to
stuff straw in the bells to muffle the noise.
The writing Churchill subsequently produced
included a biography of his father.
“I have waited a week so as to write with
King, Churchill, Tyndall, certainty about the effect which this place

produces,” he told his mother in August 1904.
Witch and… The Pope “It is wholly good. I sleep like a top and have
not ever felt in better health. Really it is a
wonderful situation. A large and comfortable
All Saving a Fragile Titan (part 2) four-storied house, complete with . . . every

luxury that would be expected in England, is
perched on a gigantic mountain spur 7,000ft
high, and is the centre of a circle of the most
glorious snow mountains in Switzerland.
The air is buoyant, and the weather has been
delightful. The days pass pleasantly and very
rapidly - I am astonished to think I have been
here a week. Far below in the valleys which
drop on both sides of the house, the clouds are
drifting, and beneath and through these, green
plains and tiny toy churches and towns . . . ” The
By Evelina Rioukhina construction so that the community would be Villa was one of Churchill’s treasured places, “Far below in the valleys which
prepared to sell him land. definitely his favourite place in Switzerland, drop on both sides of the house, the
The Villa was built between 1900 and 1902, and is still sometimes called “Churchill’s Swiss
The previous article considered dramatic climate and everything from chandeliers and leather retreat”. clouds are drifting, and beneath and
change impacts on the Aletsch glacier, a Swiss armchairs to pianos and bookcases had to be
UNESCO heritage site and Europe’s biggest carried up by mules, carriages or by hand. Pro Natura Centre – the first Switzerland through these, green plains and tiny
glacier. This article is about the fascinating Cassel, his family, and guests - including nature reserve toy churches and towns . . .”.
stories and legends surrounding this glacier major European nobility and politicians – also After Cassel’s death in 1921, the Villa was used
– people, spirits and witches, kings, prime made the four-hour journey from the valley as a 25-room hotel, and many famous people
ministers and even the Pope – how they have on mule or horseback. Once there, the banker stayed there. However, in the ‘60s, its remote
all been involved with it. The first article ended entertained them with rounds of bridge, location made it unsustainable, and it was due special flavour. At that time, not so long ago,
with the Villa Caselle, at the foot of Riederalp. excursions into the Aletsch forest, and grand to be demolished when it was bought by the the Glacier was still much bigger and higher,
balls. Apparently, political discussions were Schweizer Bund für Naturschutz, and in July so it was easy to go down and take a tiny slice.
Villa Caselle frequent and heated. King Edward VII was 1976 Villa Cassel reopened as the Aletsch This is, of course, no longer possible.
The glamorous Villa Cassel appears curiously one of Cassel’s bridge opponents, his name Forest Conservation Centre, the Pro Natura
out of place, perched on a mountain ridge above written simply as «The King» on a scorecard Centre Aletsch. It was the first nature reserve If you look away from Villa Cassel, across
the biggest glacier in Europe. How did it end preserved at the Villa. in Switzerland, and is dedicated to protecting the huge canyon, you will see a village with
up on the Furka ridge at 2,080 metres altitude? the natural flora and fauna in the Aletsch a chapel and might even see the stone wall at
Churchill’s Swiss retreat Arena. The Villa still retains its unique features, the village edge. Travelling to this other side is
The story begins with a wealthy British One frequent guest was Winston Churchill, and the main dining room is dedicated to its difficult - a hike can take up to 7 hours (level
banker, Sir Ernest Cassel, who was advised whose father had been Cassel’s friend. He history, with many original artefacts including T3 difficulty), which is why it is better to get
to travel here by his doctor – the eminent Sir often came to the Villa between 1904 and the piano that was carried up here on villagers’ there from Brig. The area is called Belalp, the
William Broadbent, Physician-Extraordinary 1913, seeking escape from the stress of being backs 120 years earlier. wall is a viewpoint called Aletschboard, and
to Queen Victoria. Cassel loved the mountain an MP and minister, as well as peace to write – Some of my colleagues, who are fond of the they are among the most legendary places in
and glacier views so much that he continued he used a heavy typewriter, carried up for him place, remember travelling four hours uphill to Switzerland.
to return long after his lungs had recovered. on muleback. Local legend has it that early in this Villa, with their luggage carried by mules. Belalp and Aletschboard (viewpoint no. 4)

Finding the local hotel a little modest, he his first stay he was annoyed by the cowbells It was a special event to stay in Churchill’s The easiest way to Belalp starts in Brig, then
decided to build a more lavish residence, when cattle were driven past the house and room, and having a slice of Aletsch Glacier as goes up to Blatten, where a big gondola takes
setting up a charity to finance local school asked for them to be removed, saying they part of the evening ice-cream dessert gave a you the rest of the way to Belalp, a Unesco

w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h