Sion is the capital of the Valais Canton in Switzerland. The medieval town was mainly situated between two hills, Valère and Tourbillon, but ha now spread out beyond that area. It has now around 35,000 inhabitants..
The Valère hill is crowned by the Basilique de Valère, a fortified castle and church built in the 11th C. The other hill is capped by the Tourbillon castle, a former seat of the Bishops of Sion, the same bishops that had their summer palace at Leuk Stadt, further up the Rhône valley, which I have shown some photos from in my earlier post. Those bishops from former time certainly wielded powers extending far beyond ecclesiastical issues. They were also worldly rulers of vast importance. They had several times real conflicts with the citizens of Sion that turned into skirmishes and battles
The two hills are both around 200 metres above the main body of the little city. Jennifer and I walked from the historical centre of Sion up the route to the two castles, Rue des Châteaux, passing on the way another historical building, Châteaux Majorie, now housing the art museum of Sion.
