The Verena Gorge is a narrow limestone canyon carved by a small stream in the Jura hills northwest of Solothurn. A well-maintained footpath follows the stream through the gorge, passing a medieval hermitage, a series of chapels cut into the cliff face, and a 12th-century fortified tower before arriving at a larger pilgrimage chapel at the upper end.
The walk takes about 30 to 45 minutes one way and is shaded throughout — a welcome attribute in summer. The hermitage built into the cliff is still occupied by hermits in the traditional sense: individuals who apply to the local diocese for permission to live there in solitude. The position is not always filled, but when it is, the occupant is a visible presence in the gorge. The whole walk has a quality of accumulated human presence and sanctity that is unusual even by Swiss standards.