St. Martin's catholic church with St. Anne's ossuary

St. Martin's Catholic Church with St. Anne's Ossuary is the parish church of Baar, a town in the canton of Zug in central Switzerland. Right beside it stands St. Anne's chapel, a former ossuary chapel. The pair sits at Asylstrasse 2 in the middle of town, so it fits easily into a walk through Baar.

What is there to see at St. Martin's?

Local accounts describe the present building as the fifth church on this spot. The first stood here before 876, and Roman remains turned up nearby. The earliest record of a settlement called Baar dates from 1045.

The tower is the odd one out. According to local studies, it was raised by the noble lords of Barro, and a sale contract from 1308 records it changing hands. Still, the 1952 Heimatbuch Baar questions whether the tower really predates the current nave. Its window arrangement, number of storeys and uneven storey heights are said to carry symbolic meaning.

Three clock faces look out from the tower. Clockmaker Liechti of Winterthur fitted the movement in 1526, and a quarter-hour strike followed in 1604. A second hand was added during the 1961 renovation. The clock now runs electromechanically, while the old movement remains inside the tower, out of use.

What is the interior like?

In the 15th century the nave counted among the largest of its time. It has no columns holding up the ceiling: the roof was renewed in 1645 as a carpentry showpiece, and the former columns were removed, leaving a suspended ceiling. The church is worth a look even on a rainy day.

What is St. Anne's chapel?

The neighbouring chapel of St. Anne is about 500 years old. It served as an ossuary: one wall once had a window-like niche where the bones of the dead were kept. Chapels like this existed because old graves had to be cleared to make room for new burials. Both buildings are covered in a Swiss art guide (GSK) by Josef Grünenfelder, published in 2008.

How to visit and when to come

Entry is free, and about an hour is enough. Mass is held on Saturday at 18:00 and on Sunday at 8:00 and 10:45; a Portuguese-language Mass at 9:15 runs outside the summer holidays. For a quiet look inside, pick a time away from services.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the church? At Asylstrasse 2 in Baar, canton Zug, at about 47.193 N, 8.523 E.

Is admission charged? No, visiting is free.

How long should I plan? About an hour covers the church, the tower from outside and St. Anne's chapel.

What is the ossuary next to the church? It is St. Anne's chapel, the former store for bones cleared from the churchyard. It is about 500 years old.