The Upper Engadine Cultural Archives is collecting of historical records and documents from Upper

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...

e (

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) and the neighbouring region. The Archives are housed in the ''Chesa Planta'', a 16th century house in

Samedan Samedan (, ) is a town and municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. It is served by Samedan railway station on the Rhaetian Railway network and by the Samedan Airport. History Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Sa ...

. The building and its library are a Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

Activities

The goal of the Archives is to collect and conduct research on the cultural heritage of the Upper Engadine and the surrounding regions. The organization makes its materials accessible to the public and addresses the arts, architecture, language, music, nature study, development of hotels, tourism, traffic and sport in the Engadine. Since it was established in 1988, the Archives received or purchased more than 500 inheritances and gifts, consisting of posthumous productions, documentations and documents on art, architecture, language, music, natural history etc. Some of the most important available records are the family inheritance of the physicians Berry from St. Moritz, a collection of photographs by Gustav Sommer of Samedan, which includes over 40,000 negatives about the Engadine, 3,000 letters of the families Puonz, Curtin, Fonio from

Sils Sils or SILS may refer to: Places *Sils, Girona, a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Selva in Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils (Catalonia), an ancient lake near Sils, Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils, a lake in the Upper Engadine in the Grisons, Switzer ...

– confectioners and ale brewers in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, 420 Engadine photographs by Elizabeth Main (

Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed (26 June 1860 – 27 July 1934), usually known after her third marriage as Mrs Aubrey Le Blond and to her climbing friends as Lizzie Le Blond, was an Irish pioneer of mountaineering at a time when it was almost unheard ...

), the inheritance of the architect Max Alioth of St. Moritz, drawings and sketches of the ornamental painter Kaspar Donatsch of

Celerina Celerina/Schlarigna (German/Italian ''Celerina''; Romansh ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Celerina/Schlarigna was first mentioned in 1313 as ''Schellarin'' and in 1320 as ''Celarina''. In ...

, as well as the inheritance of Elvezia Michel, the artist from Borgonovo, Bregaglia.

Gallery

Examples from the picture collection: File:Elizabeth Main Skating on the lake of Sils.png, Skating on the lake of Sils. Photographed by Elizabeth Main File:Musikgruppe Fränzli bei Sils.jpg, The musicians ''Fränzli'' near Sils, ca. 1900 File:Kulm Wiese St Moritz um 1900 foto von Camill Hoffmann.jpg, Kulm-Wiese St. Moritz, ca. 1900 File:Wanderzoo mit Kamel inmitten von St. Moritz.jpg, Camel in the middle of St. Moritz, ca. 1890 File:St Moritz vom See.jpg, The lake of St. Moritz, ca. 1890 File:B Dorf Samedan Chesa Planta .jpg, Samedan ca. 1930, with the Chesa Planta

Bibliography

Publications about the Archives

* Dora Lardelli: ''Das Kulturarchiv Oberengadin – eine Pionierinstitution'', in: Bündner Jahrbuch, Chur 2016 * Karl Wüst: ''Kulturarchiv Oberengadin in Samedan GR. „Bei Anfragen sage ich nie nein“'', in: ''Da, wo etwas los ist. 15 Kulturorte in der Schweiz'', Limmat Verlag, Zürich 2016
Das Kulturarchiv Oberengadin feiert sein 25-Jahr-Jubiläum
in: Südostschweiz, 22. Juli 2013 * Gion Gaudenz und andere: ''10 Jahre Kulturarchiv Oberengadin 1989–1999''. Samedan 1999

Publications edited by the Archives

* ''Das Engadin auf Glasplatten. Gustav Sommer 1882–1956''. Hrsg. vom Kulturarchiv Oberengadin. Montabella Verlag, St. Moritz 2015 * Dora Lardelli: ''The Magic Carpet. Kunstreise zu den Oberengadiner Hotels, 1850–1914''. Hrsg. vom Kulturarchiv Oberengadin. Eine Publikation des Instituts für Kulturforschung Graubünden ikg, Chur. Verlag Skira, Mailand und Genf, 2010. Italienische und deutsche Ausgabe.
List of publications

References

External links

* (in German) {{Authority control Archives in Switzerland History of Graubünden Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Buildings and structures in Graubünden Samedan