Top 10 Natural Monuments around Matran

In autumn, when the leaves change color, one tree stands out from all the others. It stands slightly above the Abbaye de la Maigrauge and shines like a beacon in the night. It's a ginkgo tree. Ginkgo trees have lived on Earth since before the dinosaurs. The seeds of the ginkgo tree can be used in cosmetics and medicines. By the way, did you know? In Hiroshima, a ginkgo tree stood about 800 meters from where the atomic bomb exploded. The following spring, a fresh, shy shoot grew from the old rootstock. Incredible, isn't it?

A super highlight is the Düdinger Moos

In 1975, the public recognized the ecological value of the area and declared it a nature reserve. Six years later, the municipality of Düdingen bought a large part of the Möser. In order to preserve the typical plants of the Möser, the wet meadows are now mown and the forest is pushed back. At present, checks are being carried out to see whether the water level can be raised again.

The Düdingen Möser were subject to numerous disturbances in the 20th century. The peat of this Möser, which took several thousand years to form, was intensively mined during the Second World War to counteract the lack of coal. This resulted in several bodies of water and the habitat began to be colonized by trees and bushes. The use of part of the Möser as a waste pit and for fish farming, as well as the construction of the A12 motorway, had a major impact on this habitat in the 1970s.

A hermit's dwelling in the hamlet of Räsch was first mentioned in 1448. The hermit Johann Dupré and his assistant Johann Liecht expanded the rock dwelling to its current size between 1680 and 1708. In order to prevent the hermitage from collapsing and to preserve it for the general public, the parish of Düdingen carried out extensive renovation work in 2005/2006. Open and free of charge from April to September.

One of the Düdinger “Möser” protected areas. Beautiful!

A whole grotto system was created by hand between 1680 and 1708 and offered retreat to hermits. Coincidentally, petrified sand dunes of a sea that was here 20 million years ago (Tertiary) came to light.

Within sight of the Abbaye, in a hollow of the knee, is the Saane, this natural rock formation. Once upon a time, powerful underwater currents continuously eroded the rocks to the crag over eons of years. If you want to look up from the river bed to the edge of the cliff with its treetops, you have to tilt your head all the way back. The washed-out sandstone spirals into the sky in a breathtaking way and leaves the viewer standing there quite small and with their mouth open. The term "divine" takes on a new meaning here in the face of the abbey. A real natural highlight!!!