Muzot
Origin of the name Muzot
The name Muzot, borne by the hamlet and its château, has not been explained.
Founding of Muzot
Muzot is a hamlet of the former municipality of Veyras, now in the municipality of Noble-Contrée, above Sierre. It grew up on the site of a deserted medieval settlement. Its 13th-century château, a fortified residence, has changed little. Muzot owes its fame to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who lived there from 1921 until the end of his life, thanks to the Winterthur patron Werner Reinhart.[1][4]
History of Muzot
Middle Ages. A settlement is abandoned. The hamlet of Muzot later forms on its site.[1]
13th century. The château of Muzot is built.[1][4]
1663. Bishop Adrien IV de Riedmatten moves the seat of the parish church from Muzot to Venthône.[3]
1781. The chapel of Sainte-Agnès takes its present form.[1]
1918. At the Hôtel Bellevue in Sierre, the industrialist and patron Werner Reinhart comes across a postcard of the tower of Muzot, then owned by the Raunier family.[4]
1921. Rainer Maria Rilke moves into the château, which has neither water nor electricity at the time. Through his cousin Nanny Wunderly-Volkart, Werner Reinhart has agreed to rent or buy it for him without having visited it.[2][4]
1923. The « Sonnets to Orpheus », written at Muzot, are published. Rilke also completes the « Duino Elegies » there.[2]
1924. Rilke begins writing poems in French, some of them published in « Les vergers » in 1926.[2]
1926. Rilke dies on 29 December at the Valmont sanatorium in Glion. He is buried at Raron on 2 January 1927.[2]
2020. The château still belongs to the Reinhart family, who keep it as it was. A ginkgo planted by Rilke still grows in the garden.[4]
Historic sites in Muzot
Château of Muzot. A 13th-century château among vineyards and orchards, where Rilke lived from 1921 until the end of his life. Privately owned by the Reinhart family, it is not open to visitors.[1][4][5]
Chapel of Sainte-Agnès. The hamlet's chapel took its present form in 1781.[1]
Remains in Muzot
Deserted settlement. The present hamlet occupies the site of an abandoned medieval settlement.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (version allemande), « Veyras » (Catherine Raemy-Berthod, version du 09.08.2021)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Rilke, Rainer Maria » (Rätus Luck, version du 04.01.2012)
- Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS, « Venthône » (commune de Venthône, 2e version, 05.1996)
- Isabelle Bagnoud, « Rilke s'installe à Muzot grâce à une photo », Le Nouvelliste, 09.09.2020 (copie de la Fondation Rilke)
- Sierre-Anniviers Tourisme, « Castle Muzot » (adresse, accès)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Other villages near Muzot
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