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| Dorfstrasse in Baar |
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Have I mentioned that I am living in Baar? It is not prominent in guidebooks to Switzerland (though there are some rather famous caves nearby) and was not tops on my initial list of places to live. It lacks the caché and the lakefront views (and the prices) of Zug, the main town of the eponymous Canton of Zug. Baar won out for several reasons, most prominent being proximity to The Spouse's office. Nevertheless, as soon as we moved in the place began to win our hearts. Now we can't imagine living anywhere else.
And so I will begin a little tour of my neighborhood. I have intended to do this for some time but was hindered by the fact that gray, foggy weather doesn't make for good photography. When the sun came out late in the afternoon one day recently, I rushed out with my camera.
Baar has a population of around 22,000 living within a square mile or so. It is encircled on three sides by low hills and looks south past Zug to the Zuggersee and the beginnings of the Alps. The Lortze River rises from the hills to the east and passes to the west on its way to the Zuggersee.
Though a small town by any definition, Baar is densely settled; streets are narrow and buildings are set closely together. As in most European towns, buildings in the city center have shops on the ground floor, offices on the next few floors and apartments on the highest floors; in outlying residential neighborhoods most housing is in small apartment blocks. At least to an American mind it feels fairly urban -- until town abruptly ends and country begins. I don't mean, country as in large suburban lots, I mean rural, as in cows, sheep and goats. Hence, one is never far from an open country lane.
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| The beginning of our favorite country walk |
Baar has four main nodes: the Bahnhof, or train station; the Catholic Church, St. Martin's to the south; the Rathaus, or city hall, in the center; and the Protestant Church to the northeast.
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| St. Martin's Church |
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Dating from the 1400s, the Rathaus and St. Martin's stand at opposite ends of Dorfstrasse (literally, Village Street). It is easy to image a time when they were about the only buildings in the village and were surrounded by farms.
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| Baar's Rathaus |
It is easy to imagine this because quite a few of those farm buildings still stand, albeit surrounded by more modern constructions. Some, like the barn on the right, are still part of working operations that just happen to run into the middle of town.
Modern Baar is represented by the SSB railroad station. By means of trains that run several times an hour, we are three minutes from Zug and half an hour from Luzern to the south, and precisely 24 minutes from Zurich to the north. I say that because 99 times out of a 100 that is exactly how long it will take. (Yesterday, TS's train was TEN MINUTES late and there was great consternation among Swiss passengers. Where I come from ten minutes late would be considered spot on time!)
Opposite the train station is the heart of Baar's shopping district, with a Coop supermarket, a bakery, a hotel and assorted other shops.
Nearby is another complex anchored by a Migros supermarket -- Coop and Migros are the dominant Swiss-based chains. In a variety of sizes they pop up in practically every town and neighborhood in the country. Our apartment is located in the taller building to the right.
Between the two modern complexes is an older blue-painted building containing a restaurant, offices and apartments. But its name, the Neumühle, reveals its original manufacturing function and suggests another facet to Baar's history that TS and I find particularly interesting.
In the mid-nineteenth century Baar became a textile center, with mills powered by water from the Lortze River. Here and there around town you can see vestiges of the industrial past, especially on the north nearest the river where several factory buildings now serve as retail outlets
Nearby is the Protestand Church which was built in the mid-19th century for the factory's workers. (I'll get into the religious stuff another time, but suffice it to say that Baar, like many rural areas in Switzerland, remained Catholic during the Reformation.) Also nearby is the Baar Brewery, also presumably built to service the local workers -- which proves that Protestant churches here were quite different from their North American counterparts when it came to temperance!
In between these nodes are low-rise apartments, buffered by cozy parks, generally with a little fountain and inevitably a bench or two.
And everywhere there are networks of paths for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists that make getting from place to place a pleasure.
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| Looking south toward Rigi |
Baar has a population of around 22,000 living within a square mile or so. It is encircled on three sides by low hills and looks south past Zug to the Zuggersee and the beginnings of the Alps. The Lortze River rises from the hills to the east and passes to the west on its way to the Zuggersee.
Modern Baar is represented by the SSB railroad station. By means of trains that run several times an hour, we are three minutes from Zug and half an hour from Luzern to the south, and precisely 24 minutes from Zurich to the north. I say that because 99 times out of a 100 that is exactly how long it will take. (Yesterday, TS's train was TEN MINUTES late and there was great consternation among Swiss passengers. Where I come from ten minutes late would be considered spot on time!)
Opposite the train station is the heart of Baar's shopping district, with a Coop supermarket, a bakery, a hotel and assorted other shops. 
Nearby is another complex anchored by a Migros supermarket -- Coop and Migros are the dominant Swiss-based chains. In a variety of sizes they pop up in practically every town and neighborhood in the country. Our apartment is located in the taller building to the right.
Between the two modern complexes is an older blue-painted building containing a restaurant, offices and apartments. But its name, the Neumühle, reveals its original manufacturing function and suggests another facet to Baar's history that TS and I find particularly interesting. 
In the mid-nineteenth century Baar became a textile center, with mills powered by water from the Lortze River. Here and there around town you can see vestiges of the industrial past, especially on the north nearest the river where several factory buildings now serve as retail outlets 
Nearby is the Protestand Church which was built in the mid-19th century for the factory's workers. (I'll get into the religious stuff another time, but suffice it to say that Baar, like many rural areas in Switzerland, remained Catholic during the Reformation.) Also nearby is the Baar Brewery, also presumably built to service the local workers -- which proves that Protestant churches here were quite different from their North American counterparts when it came to temperance!
In between these nodes are low-rise apartments, buffered by cozy parks, generally with a little fountain and inevitably a bench or two.
Thanks for introducing Baar. It looks charming and very livable. I was especially struck by your description of buildings with stores on the ground floor, offices in the middle, and apartments above. What a sensible solution to urban living! We have areas here that are reserved for business only, no apartments allowed, for fear the apartments will take over and squeeze out the businesses. How silly.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Noe! European land use patterns make a lot of sense. Denser development makes for more walkable neighborhoods and easy access to shopping and public transportation. Instead of having to tend a big backyard, every apartment dweller has a balcony and fills it with flowers and even small trees. And because farmland has been zealously protected towns are surrounded by the equivalent of open parkland, criss-crossed by paths, paved and unpaved. I plan another blog soon about our evening walks.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying, very much, your European diary!
ReplyDelete