Blessed Nicholas of Flüe

This stained-glass window was created at the worst possible moment: during the First World War, when the unity of Switzerland—a state fused from languages, cantons, and traditions—began to be put to the test. Mehoffer therefore does something bold: instead of “yet more saints in a window,” he proposes a stained-glass work about the cohesion of the homeland. And he makes it in such a way that one cannot pass by indifferently.

These are not four separate pictures. It is one monumental scene, stretched across four narrow bands of glass—as if someone had drawn a great, colourful ribbon of narrative through the window.

At the bottom: an oath that tastes of responsibility

In the foreground you see people—representatives of the Confederation’s cantons—gathered in a crowd. They raise their hands to swear an oath. It is a gesture known from history, but Mehoffer shows it as something intensely current: not theatrically, but as a decision.

Along the lower edge runs a motto—remarkably forceful for stained glass:

“La paix est toujours en Dieu parce que Dieu est la paix” i.e.: “Peace is always in God, because God is peace.”

And one more detail for the attentive: above the inscription appear coats of arms—like the signature of a community that says: “this is us”.

Above: Libertas and Patria – two guardians of meaning

Above the crowd rise two female figures on tall columns:

• LIBERTAS (Freedom)
• PATRIA (Homeland)

This is very astute: those taking the oath do not look at one another, but upward—as if Mehoffer were saying that a community does not hold together by contract alone, but by something it recognises as greater than momentary disputes.

In the scholarly tradition, it is assumed that the model for the personification of Freedom was Jadwiga Mehoffer, the artist’s wife. Thanks to this, “Libertas” carries something of portraiture: it is more real, less paper-like.

The sky parts: Alpha and Omega

In the background, high above, the letters Alpha and Omega appear—a symbolic bracket. Combined with the mottos about peace in God, this creates a simple, legible axis: peace is not merely a political compromise, but a spiritual value.
Nicholas of Flüe: a saint who does not shout
And where is Blessed Nicholas himself? Mehoffer introduces him as if he were a source of silence in the middle of a storm. In the landscape, behind the oath-taking scene, episodes from his life appear—and in one of them you see him as a solitary figure at prayer, with a rosary, in greenery and calm.

This functions as a counterpoint: on the one hand the collectivity—coats of arms, words, gestures of the oath; on the other, a man who chose the path of spiritual discipline and reconciliation. This stained-glass window says: the unity of the state begins with inner order. It sounds lofty, but here it is delivered in a beautiful, lucid form.

Style: why “historicism + secession” makes sense here

• Historicism: the theme of the community of cantons, coats of arms, the oath, a “national” narrative.
• Secession/Jugendstil: the undulating line, ornamental “clouds” and ribbons along the edges, mosaic-like fields of colour, the lead contour as drawing.
• Symbolism: Libertas/Patria, Alpha/Omega, the motto about peace—the image works as a system of signs, not as an illustration.

How to view the gigapixel photograph (a 60-second plan)

1. Start with the inscription at the bottom—it provides the key to the whole scene.
2. Then look at the hands of those swearing and their faces (this is the “psychology of community”).
3. Move upward to LIBERTAS and PATRIA—note the detail of jewellery, drapery, and the lead contour.
4. Finally, click into the background: scenes from the life of Nicholas of Flüe and Alpha/Omega in the sky.

Frames for enlargements in the gigapixel (10 suggested “clicks”)

1. Motto “La paix est toujours en Dieu…” – lettering and lead-line routing.
2. Cantonal coats of arms above the inscription – micro-details of colour and contour.
3. Hands raised for the oath – rhythm of gestures, differences in faces.
4. LIBERTAS – face and crown/halo; the figure’s “portrait-like” character.
5. PATRIA – symmetry vis-à-vis Libertas and differences in colour.
6. Alpha and Omega in the parting sky – the symbolic “seal” of the composition.
7. The figure of Nicholas praying in the landscape – a quiet counterpoint to the crowd.
8. Ornamental ribbons/clouds along the edges – pure secession (the line “lives”).
9. Passages of “night” blue with stars – sapphire depth and point-like lights.
10. The crowning elements (tracery/rosettes) – a play of geometry with colour; an excellent “test” of glass quality.

Monographs (core literature)

• Tadeusz Adamowicz, Witraże fryburskie Józefa Mehoffera: monografia zespołu, Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1982.
  The most comprehensive classic study in Polish: iconography, the genesis of the program, analysis of style and context (from the perspective of Polish art history).
• Hortensia von Roda, Die Glasmalereien von Józef Mehoffer in der Kathedrale St. Nikolaus in Freiburg i. Üe., Bern: Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte (GSK), 1995 (series Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte der Schweiz, no. 7; ISBN 3-7165-0969-8).
  A “window-by-window” monograph: documentation, attributions, description of the program and workshop practice; a foundation for research on the Swiss/German side.