Valère Basilica



The Valère basilica (Basilique de Valère), also called Valère castle (Château de Valère), is a fortified church situated in Sion in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is situated on a hill and faces the Château de Tourbillon, located on the opposite hill.

The church (Notre-Dame de Valère) was built during the 12th and 13th centuries and obtained the rank of minor basilica at the time of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1984.

The organ on the west side of the Valère basilica, believed to have been built in 1435, is one of the oldest in the world. Its pipes are arranged to form a rough outline of a church; the larger pipes form two towers, and the smaller ones create a triangular church roof. It was renovated in 1954, around the time that another famous early model – the Rysum organ – was repaired.