![Altar dedicated to St Felix, Hergiswald, 1656 (detail).](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/felix-altar-hergiswald-1656-ausschnitt-300x225.jpg)
Baroque: love it or hate it?
Here is a simple test. The pilgrimage church of Hergiswald at the foot of Mount Pilatus contains a visually stunning depiction of biblical scenes from the baroque period, circa 1650. What response does this cultural-historical cosmos elicit from you?
Dramatic impact
![Pilgrimage church of Hergiswald near Kriens](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/wallfahrtskirche-hergiswald-300x200.jpg)
Stepping into a completely different world
![Hergiswald, revelling in imaginative design, wherever you look.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-schiff-altar-300x200.jpg)
Taken to the limits
![How far apart should ‒ must ‒ the figures be?](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-kreuzigung-300x200.jpg)
Pointing the finger
![Hergiswald, high altar, right-hand side.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-engel-zeigefinger-281x300.jpg)
![Hergiswald, high altar, right-hand side.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-der-heilige-josef-zertritt-der-verfuhrerin-den-kopf-200x300.jpg)
A glimpse of life four centuries ago
![Hergiswald, central section of the high altar.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-geburt-von-maria-300x169.jpg)
Illusions
![Angels carry the house in which the holy family lived to the pilgrimage church of Hergiswald.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/engel-tragen-das-wohnhaus-der-heiligen-familie-in-die-wallfahrtskirche-hergiswald-300x200.jpg)
![Painting by Johann Dieterlin (1652/54) on the right outer wall of the Loreto Chapel in Hergiswald.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/uberfuhrung-der-santa-casa-300x263.jpg)
![At Hergiswald, a chapel within the church](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hergiswald-santa-casa-loreto-innen-300x206.jpg)
![The triumphal arch, or arch of honour, in the chapel dedicated to St Felix at Hergiswald](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ehren-oder-triumph-portal-zur-felix-kapelle-in-hergiswald-225x300.jpg)
The ultimate in dramatic art
![Altar dedicated to St Felix, Hergiswald, left-hand side chapel.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/felix-altar-hergiswald-komplett-200x300.jpg)
![Altar dedicated to St Felix, Hergiswald (detail).](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/felix-altar-hergiswald-1656-holle-ausschnitt-192x300.jpg)
Baroque: love it or hate it?
All the photos in this blog were taken by Hermann Lichtsteiner, Lucerne: helifo.ch