Naters - St. Mauritius

Not much is known about the parish church dedicated to St. Mauritius (= Moritz, Maurice). It is located in the old village center of Naters, where a church is mentioned the first time in 1018.

The Romanesque tower dates to the 12th century, the steeple was added in 1514. The nave got erected in early Baroque style 1569-1564.

In 1514 the ossuary was built next to the church. Inside are the skulls and bones of about 30.000 pious men and women, waiting for the Day of Final Judgment.

A glimpse inside the ossuary - and into our future. The sentence above the skulls can often be found in such ossuaries.

"Was Ihr seid / das waren wir - Was wir sind / das werdet ihr."

Translates to

"What you are now, we once were / what we are now, you shall be"

and can be seen on Roman tombs

"Quod sumus, hoc eritis. Fuimos quandoque, quod estis".