Discover Wiler: Church, Garden and Poetry Trail

If you are looking for a hotel in Wiler, the local attractions can help you tailor your trip to your interests: the Sacred Heart Church and archaeological finds offer insight into the village’s history, the garden brings together a variety of plants, and the poetry trail combines walking with literature. The paths to the Rigge add specific landscape and route descriptions to these cultural highlights.

Sacred Heart Church and its history

The large neo-Gothic Sacred Heart parish church was built in 1901–02 and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Eighteen landowners sold or donated land for its construction. On 10 August 1902, the vicar general blessed the church; Bishop Julius Mauritius Abbet held the solemn consecration on 4 November 1902. The TriPLUS Foundation owns the Sacred Heart parish church in Wiler.

Garden of native plants

The garden of native plants brings together trees, shrubs, plants and flowers in a diverse collection. The selection of plants may change over time. Parking for the garden is available at the church square; from there, it is about a five-minute walk. You can also reach the garden by public transport: the bus stop is directly in front of Haus Amarona. Check local parking and access regulations, as well as the current timetable, before travelling.

Poetry trail: walk, listen and read

The Guttet-Feschel Poetry Trail is a cultural route with several stations, created in collaboration with artists and the village associations of Guttet-Feschel. It leads from Restaurant Sonnenberg and Wiler Church along a hiking and biking trail to the Rigge. The trail is said to be the first of its kind in the canton of Valais. Each of its eight stations has a place to sit and offers an audio experience. Poems and reflections by Rainer Maria Rilke are presented in German, French and Valais German. At the starting point by Wiler Church, you can use a QR code to start the audio experience on your mobile phone.

In 2026, the KUNST AUF DEM LYRIKWEG programme brings together nature, literature and contemporary art in an open-air exhibition along the trail in Guttet-Feschel. Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Quatrains Valaisans” are presented alongside an audio production and an experience combining walking, listening and seeing. If you wish, you can begin or end your walk along the poetry trail with a picnic in Wiler’s garden of native plants.

Paths and landscape around the Rigge

On the route from Wiler to the Rigge, the trail first passes birch and pine trees before reaching a steppe-like landscape. The Guggerhubel Bike offers a different route: after a singletrack through Hewald, it continues to Guttet-Feschel. A fire destroyed Hewald in 2003. The routes described therefore highlight different aspects: the changing vegetation on the way towards the Rigge, and the biking route through a forest shaped by fire.

Archaeological traces from several periods

In 1944, two Early Medieval stone-slab graves were discovered by chance in Wiler. One of the graves contained a leather sheath decorated with rows of bronze nails. This find led to a proposal to date the grave in question to the 7th century AD. This remains a proposed dating.

A rescue excavation documented remains from the Early Neolithic, Iron Age and Roman periods in 2021. The findings include Iron Age and Roman terraces, as well as two Roman buildings with mortared masonry. Together with the Early Medieval graves, these finds offer insight into several periods without requiring them to be combined into a single historical context.

For the broader travel overview: Guttet-Feschel.