Bishop's Jass Basel diocese beats Solothurn government at Jass

A new round of an old game: the delegation from the diocese of Basel won the traditional Bishop's Jass between church and state in the city of Solothurn. Bishop Felix Gmür's team had the better cards.

For a long time, it looked like a draw at the Jass tournament on Thursday evening in the basement of the town hall between representatives of the government council and a delegation from the diocese, as reported by the Solothurn state chancellery on Friday. However, after twelve rounds, some of which were very close, the diocese delegation came out on top.

Before the Jass round, an informal discussion and dinner took place between the government council and the diocese. The episcopal seat of the diocese of Basel, which includes ten cantons, is located in Solothurn.

A Jass tournament once a year

The Bishop's Jass has been played in the ambassadorial city of Solothurn since the 1960s. Willi Ritschard (SP), who was a member of the cantonal government at the time and later became a federal councillor, initiated this special round of Jass together with the then Bishop Anton Hänggi and State Secretary Alfred Rötheli.

Ritschard and Hänggi knew each other from serving together in the Swiss army. Since then, the government and clergy have met once a year for an exchange of ideas, which ends with a game of Jass.

Due to disagreements between the government and former Bishop Kurt Koch, there had been no Bishop's Jass for six years until 2012.

SDA