Le Guet de Lausanne(The Night Watchman of Lausanne)

“C’est le guet…
Il a sonné dix!
Il a sonné dix!”
This booming, resonating call is heard every night between 10 and 2 for the last six hundred years by the residents of Lausanne, Switzerland. This is the call of the night watchman. Emanating from the ramparts of the local Cathedral, if this call were not to come, the whole town would likely turn up to investigate why the life and soul of the town has fallen silent.
The 600-year old tradition of a watchman being a man was broken last week when a 28- year old woman Cassandre Burdoz was selected as the first woman night watchman of Lausanne. That 80 odd women had applied for this position speaks eloquently about two aspects, firstly the prestige attached to this position in the life of people of Lausanne, and the other, the changing perception of traditional gender roles in a highly conservative and traditional cultural milieu of Lausanne. It’s a remarkable transition.
Lausanne, originally a Roman military base, is one of the most beautiful towns in the world. Nestled in the Swiss Alps, the lakes, forests, hills, and far-away mountains covered with snow offer an idyllic beauty likely unsurpassed by any other place on earth.
Among the numerous buildings and houses hallowed by tradition and uncommon beauty, the Lausanne Cathedral stands out. Construction on it began in 1170 and it was finally consecrated on October 20, 1275. At night, moonlight illuminates the Cathedral from above, while artificial amber lights at its base make it feel both eerie and austere, like a Hollywood movie set. At this time all year round, the night watchman wearing a big black hat and carrying a lantern, steps on to the bell tower railing to serve as a living clock for the people of the picturesque city on the shores of Lake Geneva. This tradition that dates back to 1405 continues despite the advances of time and technology-– the last vestige of medieval practice
The story of Renalto Häusler, the man who has been carrying out this tradition for the last over a quarter century, presents as fascinating and touching an account as the story of Cathedral itself or even the time hallowed rich traditions of Lausanne. It’s a story of extra ordinary commitment to a conviction and of a resolute mind who found peace and fulfilment in passionately discharging the chore of the night watchman every night since decades.
In his childhood what he appreciated most was the des hirondelles (swallows) who would descend on Lausanne every spring, filling the sky and flying over Lake Geneva before skirting the snowy Alpine peaks and settling on the three hills of the city. The sight will bring him untold rejoice and an unsurpassed tranquillity. So, the rapid development of Lausanne causing the loss of natural vegetation as ungainly modern buildings rose in abundance all around troubled him no end. He was a simple lad, uneasy about the relentless push of expansion. He longed for a slower, simpler time.
His sensitivities were to take a decisive turn when at the age of 18, he was confronted with a choice to mandatorily serve in Swiss Army for four years or face incarceration as the law of the land stipulated. He became a conscientious objector, defied the regulation, and was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment by a military tribunal.
He was put in the old prison building, at the foot of Lausanne’s cathedral, on a hill called la colline de la Cité. It was here, on the first night of his prison cell, lying on his cot that he found the calling of his life. As he lay on his cot, and as the clock struck ten, the Cathedral bell began to chime, slow and deep. Then silence! And then, a voice reverberated through Les Barreaux-
the prison bars.
C’est le guet…
Il a sonné dix!
Il a sonné dix!
Intrigued but captivated, Renalto learnt that the call came from Le guet, the night watchman, whose job it was to call the time on the hour from 10 to 2 in the night. It began in 1405 and has continued uninterrupted since then. When the practice began it was to keep out a watch on any incidents of fire as the city slept. That purpose is redundant but the tradition continues, a relic but what a fascinating one, thought Renalto.
For each night for those four months Renalto waited for this call, heard and imbibed it, successively firming his resolve to one day himself give this call from the cathedral’s surrounding balcony.
Once released from the prison, Renalto struggled with his life, trying to find an avocation. He became a teaching assistant in a private school. And one day, Renato volunteered to take a group of schoolchildren to the Cathedral. As he was going round, he chanced to enter the chamber of the night watchman- the loge.
And it appeared to him as if the time has stopped. The loge was nestled underneath the cathedral’s rafters. Centuries-old oak beams framed a small chamber with a twin bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair. Nothing but the bare essentials. There wasn’t even running water. The simplicity was stunning. It was a perfect, peaceful hideaway: timeless, hors du temps. His mind and body in that very instant were trapped in that tiny ancient room.
Over five years later, the full time guet needed a night off. Renalto volunteered and was accepted.
He remembered with absolute clarity his first night of duty. He was handed over the keys of the service door of Cathedral and left on his own. When he opened the locks, all was so quiet, so eerie, yet so serene. Renato flipped the switch and turned on the light. He stared at the winding stone staircase and the solid wood beams, les poutres, framing each floor. He climbed 153 steps, and stepped into the loge. Inside, it was absolutely still. The only sounds came from the ancient wood creaking under Renato’s feet. The wooden stairs were constructed about 600 years ago and the Oak used then must be already 300-400 years old. Renalto felt as if walking there over 1000 years ago.
The intimate loge opened onto a grand stone balcony… The balcony wrapped along each side of the cathedral’s tower — north, south, east, west. Renato gazed at the city sleeping below.
And there it was- Le leman. Le Léman, known in English as Lake Geneva, is the largest lake in Western Europe. Its crescent-shaped shore spreads to the south of Lausanne, with clear, placid waters reflecting the snowy peaks beyond. From his tower, Renato captured through the shutters of his eyes, an image of Lausanne that was to become an enduring delight for him to last his life time.
After that first night, Renato volunteered to fill in for the watchman as often as he could, which was at best only once a month. Every night that Renato spent in the tower, he fell more deeply in love with Lausanne. He loved the private little nook where he watched over the city. The chamber of the night watchman was the place he felt most at peace- a space where time seemed to have been arrested. He could read, think or simply be in the moment. Renato longed to be there every night.
By 2001, Renato had been a replacement night watchman for 14 long years. But he still longed to be there each night. And one day, Renato finally got the news he’d been waiting for: The full-time watchman was retiring. The city put out an open call to find his replacement, and Renato jumped at the chance to apply. But, so did 52 other candidates.
Finally, after two weeks that felt like forever, Renato got the call. The city had picked him! He would be the next full-time guet de Lausanne.
Being guet full-time meant that Renato was at the tower five nights a week. Every evening, he had dinner with his family, then got his daughters ready for bed. After kissing his wife goodnight, he’d take off to be at the tower in time for his 10 p.m. call.
C’est le guet… Il a sonné dix! Il a sonné dix!
After a bit of historical research, he came up with his own special guet uniform: a large, broad-rimmed black felt hat, and an antique gas lantern. And he put a new ritual in place. Right before making his rounds – as ronde – Renato would put on his hat and heads out to the balcony. Then he would light the flame in his lantern and holds it up above the ledge stopping at each of the cardinal points on the tower in each direction-east, west, north and south, to repeat his hourly call. He would save his favourite view, towards the south and the lake, for last.
Pursuit of happiness is a universal human trait. But the approach to this pursuit is as unique as it is diverse. Renalto’s quest for contentment and delight in his life emerged from his intimate and deep rooted assimilation of Lausanne’s traditions and culture in his very being.
Renato Häusler has become as sacred and as timeless a tradition as le guet of Lausanne.