Vineyard of the Dalai Lama

The municipality of Saillon in the Swiss canton of Valais is home to the smallest vineyard in the world, which is also officially registered in the vineyard cadastre. On the 1,618 square metre "vineyard", which is registered in the land register, there are only three vines of the Red Muscat variety (a colour mutation of the Muscat). Located outside the community on a tree-covered hill, it is owned by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetans. The creation of this extraordinary vineyard also has an equally extraordinary origin.

Weinberg des Dalai Lama - Dalai Lama im Weinberg

A man named Joseph-Samuel Farinet (1845-1880) lived in Valais. This man was a smuggler and counterfeiter and is considered the Robin Hood of Switzerland. He was a rogue with a big heart and made millions of counterfeit coins, which he then gave away. Allegedly, every third 20-centime coin in the region came from Farinet's workshop. For years he was able to evade arrest with the support of the population. In 1880 Farinet was surrounded by gendarmes near Saillon and a few days later his body was found in the gorge of the Salentze. In 1939, his life was made into a film starring Jean-Louis Barrault (1910-1994) and Farinet, like William Tell, was portrayed as a Swiss national hero.

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Vineyard of the Dalai Lama

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