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

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;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 ''Gidegna'' ...

e (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) and the neighbouring region. The Archives are housed in the ''Chesa Planta Suot'' in

Zuoz Zuoz () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. History Zuoz is first mentioned about 840 as ''Zuzes''. Historically, Zuoz was the political ce ...

. 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 St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, a collection of photographs by Gustav Sommer of Samedan, which includes over 50,000 negatives about the Engadine, 3,000 letters of the families Puonz, Curtin, Fonio from Sils – confectioners and ale brewers in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 420 Engadine photographs by Elizabeth Main (

Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed (26 June 1860 – 27 July 1934), (known after her third marriage as Mrs Aubrey Le Blond and Lizzie Le Blond), was an Irish mountaineering pioneer, author, and photographer celebrated for documenting alpine landscapes. ...

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

Celerina Celerina/Schlarigna (German language, German/Italian language, Italian ''Celerina''; Romansh language, Romansh ) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grau ...

, as well as the inheritance of Elvezia Michel, the artist from Borgonovo, Bregaglia. Dora Lardelli was the founder and director of the archives from 1988 to 2023. Many volunteers support the archives. In 2024, the archive moved from Samedan to its new location in the Chesa Planta in Zuoz.

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