Tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans, Sepulchral monument in Hindelbank church, Switzerland.
The tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans is a sandstone monument inside the village church of Hindelbank, in the canton of Bern. It features a carved gravestone that appears to break apart, with a female figure and a child emerging from the stone.
Johann August Nahl was staying in Hindelbank in 1751 to make a tomb for Hieronymus von Erlach and lodged with pastor Georg Langhans. When the pastor's wife Maria Magdalena Wäber died in Holy Week 1751, aged 28, in childbirth and her son also died, Nahl created the monument on his own initiative, not as a commission. It was set into the choir floor until 1911, when a fire destroyed much of the church but the work survived under its wooden cover.
The central inscription on the cracked lid quotes Isaiah 8:18: "Herr, hier bin ich und das Kind, so du mir gegeben hast!" Below it, Albrecht von Haller's four-line poem calls the dead child to rise and meet its Saviour. The lid also bears death symbols and the Langhans family coat of arms, with a crown at the top.
The monument now stands in the Von Erlach family chapel inside the church of Hindelbank, kept permanently visible behind a wrought-iron grille. It was moved there in the 20th century from its earlier place sunk into the choir floor. Visitors should check the church's current opening times before travelling, as this is a village church.
Shortly after it was finished, copies of the monument were made in wax, clay, and porcelain and circulated as far as England. This early spread shows how a single work from a small Swiss village could travel across Europe.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,734 contributors worldwide.
