Not all pilgrims are necessarily comfortable using GPS or navigating routes on a mobile device, and there are still many areas without an internet connection. For this reason, you can find several books on Amazon dedicated to the major Via Jacobi 4 route, which runs through the heart of Switzerland and over the Brünig Pass. The first guide leads pilgrims through the German-speaking part of Switzerland up to Fribourg, while the second continues through French-speaking Switzerland to Geneva. We have also combined these two books into a compact, lighter, and highly practical version. While the descriptions have been slightly condensed, they remain detailed enough to guide you step by step along the way. Recognizing the importance of traveling light, this latest edition has been designed to provide only the essentials: clear and useful information, stage by stage, kilometer by kilometer. The stages have been carefully adjusted to ensure accessibility and alignment with available lodging options. These books go beyond simple practical advice. They guide you kilometer by kilometer, covering all the crucial aspects for seamless planning, ensuring that no unexpected surprises disrupt your journey. But these books are more than just practical guides. They offer a complete immersion into the enchanting atmosphere of the Camino. Prepare to experience the Camino de Santiago as a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Put on a good pair of walking shoes, and the path awaits you.

We are in September, a month that stretches with enchanting softness, caressing the spirits of schoolchildren on a field trip somewhere towards the majestic Stanserhorn, rising above the picturesque town of Stans. It seems that in this exquisite part of Switzerland, schools love to merge with nature, offering their students lessons in the heart of enchanting landscapes. 

The Via Jacobi begins its journey behind the imposing silhouette of the church, rushing forward like an impetuous stream along a steep alleyway paved with spirituality.  

Until now, it had become customary to immerse yourself in landscapes often imbued with magic along the Swiss paths. However, here we might be faced with disappointment. This reality is not exclusive to the Via Jacobi, for the pilgrim cannot expect the extraordinary at every moment; their passage is ephemeral. Thus, further down, the poor and modest trail winding through the undergrowth gives way to a wide dirt road stretching at length beneath the canopy. In this setting, the beauty of the forest and the light are absents. 

Further ahead, a vast plain unfolds, and the dirt road extends in length, like a forest road, running alongside the edge of the woods.  

Shortly after, the path once again enters an undergrowth to cross the Mehlbach. This river likely only carries water during floods, evoking remnants of glacial moraines, typical of central Switzerland. You will see many such examples above Lake Brienz in two days.

Doesn’t a canyon seem like a natural and ideal border to separate two cantons? One could almost have built an anti-tank barrier here to mark the separation between the two half-cantons. For it was only at the beginning of this century that the disputes settled here. In reality, Unterwalden, one of the three founding cantons of the Swiss Confederation, was never a unified legal entity. From its origins, it was divided into two regions: Unterwalden ob dem Wald (above the forest) and Unterwalden nid dem Wald (below the forest). But which forest? It is, in fact, the Kernwald, a vast expanse of beech trees near Kerns, the birthplace of Nicholas of Flüe. All of this stems from an old story of land distribution between farmers and powerful clergy. As you travel through this place, it is difficult to determine whether you are walking above or below the forest.

Since always, the voices of the two cantons were aggregated as half-votes in the Federal Diet. It was only with the Federal Constitution of 1999 that the notion of a half-canton was abandoned, granting Obwalden and Nidwalden the status of full-fledged cantons. However, during consultations submitted to cantonal voting, each still counts as half a vote. Why? You will be told that it is a historical matter. Ah, beautiful Switzerland! Today, it is said that the disputes have now been settled and cooperation has been established. We can only rejoice in this. 

Further ahead, a narrow road winds gracefully among the green meadows and dense woods. The haystacks take on pear-like shapes, sheltered by canopies of branches against the whims of the rain. This ingenuity, we have not observed elsewhere in our travels. 

The Via Jacobi then joins the road to St Antoni, near a charming picnic spot nestled among beeches and maples.  

The Via Jacobi extends gracefully through the rare farms of Unterregg, offering a living canvas of rural life. The peaceful atmosphere it emanates evokes a deep sense of grounding in tradition and the work of the land. . 

The chapel of St Ulrich, like a forgotten jewel of time, stands proudly in the heart of the valley, guarding the secrets of history. According to legend, the 12th-century Romanesque chapel was erected where St Ulrich is said to have caused a spring to gush forth to quench his thirst. The frescoes depicting the Old Testament and the Last Judgment are faded, but remarkable.  

Nicolas de Flüe was born in the year of our Lord 1417, in Kerns, and later rose to the status of a farmer. He built his home in Flüeli, where, uniting his destiny with that of a spouse, he fathered five sons and an equal number of daughters. His responsibilities grew as he distinguished himself as an eminent member of the municipal council and judge, animated by a remarkable ability to reconcile disputes. Despite strong familial ties, a fervent desire to renounce all earthly possessions took root within him, a desire long fed by uncertainties. Ultimately, with his wife’s consent to his departure, he left. Clothed in the garb of a pilgrim, in the year 1467, Nicolas took leave of his home, his lands, and his kin. His initial intention to travel overseas was replaced by a new resolution: to settle on his own lands, on the edge of a deep ravine, not far from his home. In total destitution, facing the harshness of winter without food or drink, he rooted himself there. The following year, the locals built him a humble dwelling and chapel, transforming the farmer Nicolas de Flüe into Brother Klaus, a distinguished hermit. He then embraced the life of Brother Nicolas, dedicating himself according to tradition to the deprivation of food and drink, a testimony corroborated by the guardians of the Vatican, who investigated the facts. In 1481, a conflict erupted between the urban and rural cantons regarding the integration of Fribourg and Solothurn into the nascent Confederation. Nicolas’s sage advice then proved salutary in preserving peace within the Swiss Confederation at the Diet of Stans. For once, Nicolas’s saga is anchored in historical annals, in contrast to the legends surrounding perhaps the genesis of Switzerland, such as that of the Rütli. Beatified in the year 1649, Nicolas de Flüe remains an exemplar of virtue and wisdom.

As soon as the turbulent course of the Grosse Melchaa is crossed, the trail leads to the lower chapel, called Untere Ranftkapelle, a Gothic building constructed in 1501. The interior walls, adorned with 16th-century frescoes, give this place an almost divine aura, imbued with profound religiosity. 

The slope increases as the path weaves through beeches, chestnut trees, and maples, leading to the discovery of Sachseln, peacefully nestled at the edge of Lake Sarnen. 

The canonization of the saint in the mid-17th century led to a continuous influx of pilgrims to Sachseln. Faced with this growing demand, the modest church proved too small, prompting the construction of a new sacred edifice. The local inhabitants actively involved themselves, both through their labor and fiscal contributions, in the realization of this new church. The foundation stone was laid in 1672, while both churches were simultaneously used, arranged at right angles. This arrangement allowed for the continuation of religious celebrations in the old church during the construction of the new sanctuary. In 1679, the nave was completed, and the oak coffin containing Brother Klaus’s remains was transferred to the new structure. Meanwhile, the demolition of the old church began, with the exception of the Marienkapelle, thus preserving the original setting of the saint’s tomb. Around 1703, an ossuary was erected on this site, while in 1878, the two buildings merged to form the current mortuary chapel. The construction of the church as a whole spanned a period of 12 years, from 1672 to 1684. Subsequent modifications were minor, except for the relocation of Brother Klaus’s tomb to the high altar in 1976, now visible through a window, surmounted by a statue crafted by a local goldsmith in 1934. The saint’s relics rest in a chrome steel receptacle. Thus, the tower dating from the 13th century, surmounted by a baroque dome added in the 17th century, remains the centerpiece of the mortuary chapel. Despite the vicissitudes that marked the journey of the saint’s remains, their presence, albeit in a dilapidated state, remains perceptible in the mortuary chapel (Grabkapelle).