Evangelical Church Tenna

History 

Tenna was originally an alpine pasture area that was settled by Safians around 1350. For many years, the faithful had to go to Valendas via the Tenner Kreuz for baptisms and funerals. But in 1440, the chapel was granted the right to baptize and bury. From then on, the people of Tenner were spared the arduous final journey for their dead.

The Romanesque foundation building from around 1408 underwent numerous changes, such as the late Gothic conversion from a chapel to an enlarged church in 1504, the rebuilding of the tower and the extension of the nave and enlargement of the choir. In 1733, the late Gothic wooden ceiling was renovated and the nave was further extended, as can be seen from the different transverse chords in the wooden ceiling (late Gothic tendril painting, followed by Baroque painting) and the three large windows in the southern nave wall.

The church of Tenna, with its Gothic paintings that were only uncovered in 1957, occupies a special place in the history of art. The fresco cycle, created around 1408, is considered to be of national importance. It is one of the main works of the “Soft Style” in Switzerland.

Characteristic of the “Soft Style” are the three-dimensional robes, whose fabric falls down in round, flowing hollows. Also typical are the delicate, dreamy expressions on the faces of the sitters and the dainty figures, paired with details. For just over a hundred years, worshippers were able to admire the frescoes as they went to church. During the Reformation (1523/24), they were whitewashed over, but fortunately not re-plastered, as otherwise the paintings would have been destroyed with pickaxe blows.