Using plywood, a straw and a plastic steeple, Rolf Weinmann finished his replica of Colville Lake’s Our Lady of the Snows church nearly a year after it burnt down.
“It’s my hobby. I like making little buildings,” said Weinmann, who has positioned the church beside a miniature Canadian train in his garden model display. The broader context of the display, at Weinmann’s home in Switzerland, is a representation of the Yukon Gold Rush.
Weinmann used to be the representative for tourism in Canada’s North for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was during a 2004 conference in Norman Wells when he first travelled to Colville Lake and saw Our Lady of the Snows church, built by Bern Will Brown.
Weinmann’s first visit was short. He returned in 2006, when Brown gave him a tour of the church, his cabin and his art collection. Twenty years later, Weinmann has used photos of the church he took during that trip to build his model.
“I was very impressed about Bern Will, about his work. The versatility is incredible,” said Weinmann.
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Weinmann says Brown sent Christmas letters to him for a few years after the visit.
When Weinmann saw the church in 2006, he knew he wanted to build a model. He says he was inspired by the Lady of the Snow painting that hung in the church and Brown’s “specific handwriting” in his architecture style.
He started the model in the fall of 2025 and learned while doing his research that Our Lady of the Snows burnt down on his birthday.
“Of course I was more triggered on when I heard that it doesn’t exist any more. It made me sad, it made me really sad,” he said.
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In December 2025, the CBC reported the NWT’s fire marshal had closed an investigation into the fire without being able to identify a cause. RCMP closed their investigation on November 17 without laying charges, the broadcaster reported.
Jon Hansen, Bishop of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, said the diocese had no updates on efforts to rebuild the church.
“These plans take time,” said Hansen.
Weinmann’s model is built at a 1:20 scale using a plywood base frame that was lined with multiple small wooden beams, burned to add texture and colour.
It’s not a direct replica of the old church as Weinmann placed the Lady of the Snow painting on the outside of the church, painted the door blue to represent the heavens, sky and cold winters, and added a chimney to the back built from a restaurant straw.
Weinmann hopes someone from the NWT will be interested in having the model after he passes away.
“That would be my wish, so that it’s not lost,” said Weinmann.
