Christoph Blocher wants more space on the island of Rheinau

Rheinau Abbey is one of the most magnificent baroque complexes in Switzerland. It is also one of the largest properties in the canton. From 1867 to 2000, the monastery, located on an island, served as a psychiatric clinic. The most valuable part is the abbot’s wing, where the directors lived. Twelve years after they finally moved out, the once magnificent rooms are dying away. They urgently need to be restored. Nobody doubts it.

But there is no progress, although there has been a concrete project for the use of the rooms for a long time: A museum is to be set up in the downstairs tract, which, among other things, will deal with the history of psychiatry. The canton commissioned a local association with the concept. The project, which has been revised several times, has long been with the responsible authorities. It is to be financed from the lottery fund.

Christoph Blocher: “It wasn’t a threat”

In October 2020, the museum association submitted an application to the non-profit fund of the Canton of Zurich for an investment grant. A corresponding application to the cantonal council was in the offing. It has been clear since Thursday that the parliamentary debate on the Rheinau Museum will be further delayed.

As the government council has announced, it has not yet decided on the museum association’s application for a contribution from the charitable fund. The reason for this is a request from the Rheinau Music Island Foundation, which needs more space for its hotel operations. “The construction department is therefore opening up the variant fan in order to find a good solution for the foundation,” says a press release.

Christoph Blocher founded the Musikinsel Rheinau Foundation with 20 million francs. “That was a risk,” says the SVP doyen. But the concept works. The music island is already fully booked on the weekends next year. She needs more space.

At a joint press conference with his daughter Rahel, Christoph Blocher recently made it clear that his foundation would be forced to give up the Rheinau site if he were unable to expand there. That was not a threat, Blocher said on Thursday when asked. If you speak of a threat, use the language of your opponents. “We only said what we have to do if our space needs cannot be satisfied.”

The government council considers both the museum and the continued successful operation of the music island to be important, as it continued to state on Thursday. He wanted a solution that would meet both requirements. “The building management will continue to open up the subject for possible solutions for the music island and will carry out in-depth clarifications in cooperation with all those involved.” That will happen in the coming months.

Blocher was satisfied with the government council’s decision: “We, too, have always wished that interested parties would finally be brought together and tried to find a common solution for the space requirements.” And he states: “We don’t want to smash the museum plans for the Rheinau monastery. We cooperate so that there is a good solution for everyone.” But it is also clear to him that both sides “have to make compromises here and there”. The museum insists on the entire abbot wing, lacking the space for two institutions.

Daniel Grob, former medical director of the Waid City Hospital in Zurich and President of the Rheinau Monastery Museum Association, says: “We are sticking to the existing concept. We have already reduced the museum area by 25 percent.” The board of directors is open to talks.

Exploring the limits of accommodation

In the new usage concept for the Rheinau monastery island, the government council envisaged a music centre, a home economics school, a restaurant and a museum. In his announcement on Thursday, he also adheres to the decision made in 2009 to make parts of the buildings on the monastery island accessible to the public. This includes not only the museum, but also the restaurant. This is now in operation. Life has also returned to the non-public areas of the monastery complex.

The canton has been using the former clinic wing for the seriously ill as a home economics school for four years. Partially barred windows made of armored glass are reminiscent of the era of the insane asylum. In 2014, the first musicians with drums and trumpets moved into the adjoining part of the building, the “Music Island”. Blocher’s foundation pays the canton CHF 330,000 in rent plus CHF 12,000 in additional costs. The contract expires at the end of 2029, but can be extended for a maximum of ten years.

Choirs, amateur orchestras and folk music formations apparently like to come to the idyllic retreat to practice. However, amplifiers are not allowed. The guests stay in former monk cells, the hotel has 63 rooms with 133 beds. There are 16 rehearsal rooms of different sizes available, the flagship is the music hall with space for 120 performers.

“The experiment was a success,” announced Rahel Blocher, Vice President of the Board of Trustees, and her father to the press in mid-June. The music island is now internationally rated as a model facility. With the beginning of the pandemic, however, the rehearsal center experienced an emergency stop. Thanks to generous support from the Canton of Zurich and short-time work for staff, the financial damage was limited. A black zero is already emerging this year. However, without further expansion in terms of space, the project will not be viable in the future.

Blocher does not rule out the possibility of expanding the rooms of the home economics school. Because the school uses its rooms during the week and the music island is busiest at the weekend, cooperation was an issue right from the start. But she broke up because the school found it difficult to vacate her rooms on Thursday evenings. He understood that.

When asked whether the opening of the subject announced by the government council includes the involvement of the education department, the media office writes: “In this process, all options are checked for their feasibility.” The limits of concessions would now be explored.