Places of power

St. Niklausen

The little village of St. Niklausen lies above Kerns toward Stöckalp and Melchtal. From a distance, you can see its large stone bell-tower from the 14th century. This quiet place of meditation stands on a mountainside and offers wonderful views of Flüeli-Ranft and the Sarneraa valley.

Next to the tower there's an attractive white-washed chapel. What's special about the chapel is its vaulted wooden ceiling, which dates back to 1704. The paintings show saints as well as subjects from the Old and New Testaments. Under the choir space, there's a place of power measuring 18,000 Bovis units. Yet the altar has only 8,000 because of two waterlines that cross beneath it.

Throughout the whole chapel, the value is 15,500 Bovis units on average. But in the second and third pews, the energy has a somewhat aggressive note. The reason? There's a skull buried under the wooden pulpit of 1831. So the measurement here sinks to an energy-depleting 4,000 Bovis units.