I had no clue how many barrel organ enthusiasts roam through Europe in the hope to exhibit their musical treasure boxes, until my uncle dragged me to a small town in the Toggenburg valley in northeastern Switzerland. Lichtensteig, the location of the annual Barrel Organ Market, would not qualify as a town these days. But back in the medieval age all the way to the mid-20th century, the town served as an important regional market place. Besides, it is entirely surrounded by a wall, making it a small fortress. The wall and the weekly market were the reasons that Lichtensteig still calls itself a town (versus a village).

I posted some pictures I took at the barrel organ market in June of 2006. Exhibitors drove from Germany and Holland just to show their instruments for one day.

Since I'm already talking about barrel organs, the International Barrel Organ Market is held every two years in Thun - a medieval city of about 45,000 in the canton Berne. Thun is a treasure, often overlooked by tourists on their way to Interlaken. Even if the market is not going on when you're in the area, I urge you to stop and visit the castle and the Rathaus. Looking across Lake Thun on a clear day, you will enjoy the view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau - the three most famous peaks in the Bernese Oberland (mountain region).