The small Valaisan mountain village of Hérémence lies in the Val d’Hérens, at the end of which the Grande Dixence dam wall (1951^C–1965) was built. The construction of the gigantic wall brought the engineers’ art of using concrete into the valley, and with it, belief in progress. Life in the small mountain village changed fundamentally, economically, socially, and culturally. This was to be taken up in the new construction of a church. In spring 1961, a design competition was announced, as the old church had become too small and had been badly damaged in an earthquake in 1946. Poured from concrete in situ, the Saint Nicholas Church is striking and provocative, created from Cubist elements in a vibrant game. It stands out clearly from the surrounding construction of timber-clad chalets typical of the region. The interior volume, reaching up to twenty-two meters high, develops dramatically upwards with steps and roof folds, turning the space into a mystical experience. The walls of Saint Nicholas are forty to fifty centimeters thick, something otherwise common only in industrial buildings—or in a dam wall. Excerpt from Zara Tiefert-Reckermann’s article in: SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey. Catalog DAM + Wüstenrot Foundation, Zurich (Park Books) 2017

Especially craggy example of Förderer’s approach to designing buildings as large sculptures. His work straddles 1960–1978. Mostly he created churches and schools before abandoning the profession. He went on record saying that this kind of architecture was easier to realize in Switzerland than in Germany.

In the 1960s, Walter Maria Förderer designed eight churches in Switzerland and Germany. Among them were St. Klemenz, Bettlach (Switzerland); St. John’s Church, Lucerne (Switzerland); Church of the Holy Cross, Chur (Switzerland); Church of the Holy Cross, Bern-Tiefenau (Switzerland); and the Peace Church, Monheim (Germany).

Heritage protected. Listed by Schweizer Heimatschutz as one of “Die schönsten Bauten 1960-75”. In use (last updated on January 27, 2026).