In 1975, Swiss restoration workers started rehabbing the Barfüsserkirche, a Medieval church built in 1256 by Franciscans. The building had been in use for more than 700 years. It was initially a church before it was converted into a salt warehouse in 1795. Eventually, it became a museum.
The years of salt storage damaged the floors, and as workers began demolition, they hit a surprise. There were two coffins near where the choir once stood. One of the coffin’s occupants was a pile of bones. The other had been mummified.
For decades, people wondered who the mysterious mummy was. In recent years, new technologies have allowed scientists to identify the mystery mummy and even determine how she died.
The Lady from Barfüsserkirche
For more than 40 years, scientists didn’t know the identity of the mysterious mummy, and they referred to her simply as the Lady from Barfüsserkirche. The Lady was naturally mummified, and although her lower limbs weren’t intact, her organs, including her skin, were well preserved.
