In the local dialect (Swiss German), “Chilch” means “church”.  “Zimmer” (usually “room”) denotes here a place where timber was obtained for building a monastery in the valley above what is now the village of Langenbruck.  The monastery, consecrated on March 6, 1145, was founded by Count Adelbert and his wife, Sophia.  It was named “Schöntal”, which means “lovely valley”.  As the monastery of Schönthal was donated more and more land, it established a number of farms.  One of these was named “Kilchzimmer”, being situated on the spot where the timber for building the monastery had been felled.
The first mention of “Kilchzimmer” is in a document of 1491, when the farm was let to a tenant named Uli Moser.  According to a date which can be read on one of the beams, the main building at Kilchzimmer dates from 1571.
The monastery, down at Schönthal, was first inhabited by Benedictine monks, but like other medieval monasteries, it underwent many vicissitudes, at one time being a nunnery.  In 1525, during the peasants’ Revolt in Germany, the tenants stormed the place and burnt its records.  The monks fled.  It was at this time that the city of Basel sent bailiffs to take charge of the farms.  A few years later, after the Reformation, some of the farms, including Kilchzimmer, were sold to the “Bürgerspital” (the Citizen’s Hospital) in Basel.  for the next 250 years, there is no record of this area.

At the time of the French Revolutionary Wars, the inhabitants witnessed the hurried flight of the last bailiff, (the local representatives of their rulers, the aristocratic City fathers of Basel).  As French troops later marched along the valley, they were cheered by the country folk.  Napoleon, much to their disappointment, was taking a nap at the time and did not witness their applause.
Even before these events, however, Kilchzimmer had been undergoing a remarkable change.  the fashionable slogan all over Europe at this time was “Back to Nature”, and as a result of this, the Langenbruck valley had begun to swarm with all kinds of tourists seeking unspoiled beauty.  The once solitary and peaceful farm of Kilchzimmer became a lively wayside-inn.  One proprietress, an energetic spinster named Renggli, was as famous for her good fare as for her strict suppression of all drunkenness.
During the 19th Century, Kilchzimmer had several owners.  At one point, when the house was up for sale, the Pastor of Langenbruck, Karl Stüchelberger, tried to raise money to purchase it and turn it into a Christian recreational home.  Though he failed and the estate was bought by a speculator, Kilchzimmer did finally become the property of one Herr Sarasin.  he offered it to the Deaconesses’ Establishment (“Diakonissenhaus”) at Riehen.  The offer was accepted with enthusiasm.  With the gifts of other well-wishers, the house was restored, and on April 26, 1896, the first team of sisters moved in to convert the former wayside inn into a comfortable home for weary nurses and paying guests.  Their leader was Sister Wilhemine, a splendid matron.  After five years, the home boasted 50 beds.

Some eight years later, the leadership was taken over by two sisters who were to work together for nearly a quarter of a century.  They provided shady benches, a little hut, and reading matter.  One of them was not only renowned for her genuine Swalran cookery, but also kept hens and pigs, and cemented a duck pond with her own hands.
The First World War brought much extra work and additional difficulties, but also led to an improvement.  Since soldiers were quartered in Kilchzimmer during the winter months, it occurred to the sisters that the house could accommodate guests in winter as well as in summer.
It proved an excellent winter resort, especially as a hall had been built for the “patients” above the enlarged dining-hall.  During the preceding decades, one of the resident pastors (son of the Langenbruck pastor mentioned above) had seized every opportunity of improving the home.  An old barn had been replaced by a number of pleasant rooms for sisters, central heating and a drainage system had been installed, together with a pump for the water supply in laundry and kitchen.

During the Second World War, up to 130 men were billeted in Kilchzimmer. The matron organised parties for Christmas and for General Guisan’s birthday.  In addition, political refugees, including an exiled German burgomaster (mayor) and his wife, and other homeless people, lodged at Kilchzimmer.  All the time, the matron did her best for the spiritual as well as the material welfare of her guests.
She organised prayer meetings and Bible studies and provided individual pastoral care.  She was assisted in this by the pastors who spent their holidays at the home.  Many a guest remembers thankfully how his faith was invigorated and renewed in this Christian house. Finally the Deaconesses’ Establishment was forced, for various reasons, to abandon this branch of its work.  Those who grieve at the loss are consoled by the thought that the Gospel of God’s love continues to be spread far and wide through the work of Kilchzimmer.
For three years, Child Evangelism of Europe had been looking in different parts of Europe for a headquarters.  a place was needed for the yearly training institute, as well as for the European offices and printing department.  In 1971, we heard about Kilchzimmer and went to see it.  It was ideal for our purposes, and an approach was made to the Deaconesses’ Establishment to ask them if they would sell it.  By this time, it had lain empty for three years and was in a state of some disrepair.
A price was agreed on with a twelve-month period to pay.  God, in a wonderful way, supplied all the money five weeks before the year was finished.  Much money has also been spent on repairs and renovations, and the work has been done by a team of over 90 volunteer workers from different parts of the world.  There have been many changes in the structure, but the doctrinal foundation remains the same.  We are pleased that the Gospel witness, which has been there for almost a century, will be continued; and that through Kilchzimmer, many boys and girls in Europe will be evangelised in the days that lie ahead.