European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 01, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Graffiti-1 f. I i  r i i a France Ger Switzerland Monteux Cas Leof Chillon Italy Las Geneva Swiss National tourist office soaring Alps provide backdrop for the storied Castle of Chi i Ion at Lake Geneva. By Tom Rosa staff writer Byron thy prison is a holy place. Up chilian thy prison is a holy place and thy sad floor an altar for twos trod until his very Steps have left a Trace worn As if thy cold pavement were a Sod by Bonnivard May none those Marks efface for they Appeal from tyranny to god. Byron he column of Stone had been his Only companion for six years. Light tried to squeeze threw a Small Slit Cut in the thick Stone Wall and illuminate his weary face. Today tourists flock to the fifth pillar fro the Entrance of Bonnivard s cell at the Castle of Chillon two Miles from Monteux Switzerland and shiver at the coolness of the foreboding  was to this pillar that Francois Bonni Vard a Geneva Clergyman of the 16th Century was chained six years for his political and religious beliefs. So moved was lord Byron by the sentence of Bonni Vard and the starkness of the prison that the British poet immortalized Bonnivard in his poem the prisoner of Chillon. Bryon who visited Chillon in 1816, left one More Market Chillon his name Cut on the third pillar from the in  other would be poets have also left their Mark on the pillars. Scott Maxwell of Jacksonville  nothing like home1957." Chillon is one of the Best preserved castles i Europe and sits on a Rock jutting out into Lake Geneva with the Swiss Alps providing background. The Rock on which Chillon now stands was occupied Hymen of the Bronze age and later by the romans. The Date when the fortress was begun is unknown butt was considerably enlarged and partially rebuilt from the Lith to the 13th  landlords have included the Bishops of Sion the counts of Savoy Peter ii of Savoy the Canton of Vaud and a whole legion of less illustrious soldiers merchants and people who have used it As an armory prison Guesthouse or other functions depending on the political and social climate of the  of the rooms and Halls of the Castle have been pre thursday september 1, 1977 served in their original states with some containing exhibits of weaponry furniture and culinary utensils of different periods. Bruce Foxworth a 24-year-old car Salesman from Boston mass., came to Chillon just to see Byron s name Cut on the pillar. I once got stuck Reading some of Byron s work at col lege and ran across the prisoner of Chillon and told my professor this place must be a real hell Hole Foxwort said As he examined the signature now placed under a protective Glass Case. But it really Ain t that bad when you consider All the space Bonnivard had to move around in he added look ing Back from the Entrance. Others weren t As enthusiastic about the prison. Mariab Adontti from Chesterfield Ohio pulled her sweater around her and said she did t see How anyone Down her could have survived the cold Winters of Switzerland. But Bonnivard did survive the persecution of the Duke of Gex who imprisoned the prior of  s monastery in Geneva for attempting to bring the reformation to Switzerland. On March 29, 1536 Bonnivard was liberated by the protestant Bernese from his prison of  Sidwick from Carson City nev., just stared into the prison area and refused to come in. She said the prison area of the Castle reminded her of Dachau be cause of the deadly silence and gloom that permeate both of  but her husband Reggie a Florist in Carson City said the Castle Overall was not Only Beautiful but amazingly  one visitor to Chillon could partially empathize with the pain Bonnivard Felt while a prisoner there. Sylvia Black a self described liberated Secretary from Boulder Colo found the somewhat hazardous wooden stairways of the Castle a bit too Steep. While walking Down from the keep an old Tower of Refuge she missed one of the Steps and fell about 10 feet to the land ing below. As she pulled herself up and rubbed her hip she said Bonnivard s got this place rigged to punish people for All the pain he suffered. But hell i would have turned him Loose if i was around Back in those weird  the stars and stripes Page 13