Stiftung Felsentor Meditation Center

The History of Felsentor

During the 1860-70's the town of Weggis built the Felsentor (Rock Gate) Hotel & Restaurant as a stopover point for hikers climbing to the top of Mount Rigi. The hotel was located approximately halfway between Weggis on Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) and Rigi-Kulm on the top of the mountain. Shortly after the completion of the hotel, the cogwheel railway from Vitznau to Rigi-Kulm was completed, which, as a side effect, diminished the number of hikers climbing to the top of Mount Rigi by foot, and subsequently the number of guests using the hotel and restaurant.

Felsentor 1900

In the early years several famous people passed by or stayed at Felsentor. It is reported that Queen Victoria of England was carried past in her sedan chair and that Hermann Hesse stayed in the hotel. (We still have the "Hermann Hesse chair").

Felsentor 1906

Felsentor 1936

In the 1870's Mark Twain walked past and in his book about his travels to Europe, A Tramp Abroad, wrote: "About the middle of the afternoon we passed through a prodigious natural gateway called the Felsentor, formed by two enormous upright rocks, with a third lying across the top. There was a very attractive little hotel close by, but our energies were not conquered yet, so we went on."

In the ensuing years, the hotel has passed through many hands and was even at one point a sanatorium for children with lung diseases. By the time the Felsentor Foundation purchased the property in 1999, the hotel was in severe disrepair and a complete remodeling and re-landscaping was necessary.

Mark Twain's "Prodigious Natural Gateway" with the petrified face of Brother Onuphrius (a postcard from circa 1980)

THE STONE IMAGE OF ONUPHRIUS

In the tallest of the giant blocks of stone known as the Felsentor (Rock Gate), one can even today recognize the petrified face of Brother Onuphrius who, according to legend, was the caretaker of the bells of the Heiligkreuz Chapel.
He was known for his wise advice for both men and animals and was very respected by the inhabitants of Weggis.

He was the collector of healing herbs and berries and could speak with animals, warning them away from the guns of the hunters.Even today it is almost impossible to kill an animal in the vicinity of Felsentor.

Whenever someone fell ill or was plagued with worries, Brother Onuphrius was called upon to give advice and his herbs cured all pains. It is said that he lived for over 100 years.

One golden October day he was seen for the last time. At midnight of that day the bells of the Heiligkreuz Chapel, as if by the hand of a ghost, began to ring. The next day an unearthly quiet lay over the Rigi-Forest and even the roaring of the waterfall above Felsentor was stilled. Those living on the heights of Mount Rigi knew that this was a sign that Onuphrius was dead.

During the following 7 days, a fog hung over the Rigi, the likes of which had never before been seen in human memory. Each night at midnight the bells of the chapel were heard. Finally after 7 days and nights a wonderous bright morning sun flooded the Rigi.

And then it was there, the petrified face of Onuphrius in the stone overhanging Felsentor.

The hood of his robe pulled down over his forehead and the long flowing beard.

No doctor could testify to the death of this strange Capucin Brother and no mortal man ever saw his bones.

Yet, even today, the petrified face of Onuphrius greets wanderers as they approach the rocks of Felsentor.

Translated from the tale as told by Josef Doppmann
in the Weggis story book „Cheschtene und Fiige“ (Chestnuts and Figs)