In the heart of the Rue du Bourg, in the old quarter of Sierre, the church of St Catherine is one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in the Valais. The church of St Catherine was built in the seventeenth century, when the people of Sierre had begun to find the church of Notre Dame des Marais rather cramped. The outstanding feature of its interior is the high altar, which was inspired by the high altar of St Peter’s in Rome. The vaulting above the choir is covered in stucco and includes a cartouche (sculpted ornamentation in the form of a partially-unrolled scroll) with St Catherine in the centre. The church was restored between 1991 and 1996.
