Lassalle house, Educational center in Menzingen, Switzerland.
Lassalle House is a retreat and conference center run by Jesuits in the village of Menzingen, in the canton of Zug. The grounds include a main building with guest rooms, meeting rooms, a chapel, and a meditation hall, set at the edge of a forest on a hillside.
The Jesuits established the center in the 1950s, shortly after Switzerland lifted a nearly century-long ban on the order. The site grew gradually over the following decades as demand for retreat and educational programs increased.
The house takes its name from Enomiya Lassalle, a Jesuit priest who pioneered dialogue between Christian spirituality and Zen Buddhism, and who lived and taught here. That legacy shapes what visitors find today: a place where people from very different backgrounds sit together in meditation or discussion.
The center sits in a rural area outside the village, so arriving by car is the easiest option, though a bus connection from Zug is available. Rooms and program spots are limited, so booking in advance is strongly recommended.
Architect André Studer designed the building using harmonic architecture, a method where the proportions of rooms correspond to musical intervals. Visitors who know this can walk through the spaces and hear them differently, as if the walls themselves encode a kind of silent music.
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