Switzerland as a construction site

This plain wooden house with a stone cellar stands on a steep slope in the open-air museum, just as it once stood in the Blenio valley in Ticino. Over the two floors of the dwelling from Malvaglia (821), visitors can learn about everyday life in the region, while also gaining insights into the history of its construction and how the house fits into the village’s past thanks to an exhibition. Three parlours with furniture, beds and religious symbols bear witness to the everyday life of the inhabitants from the 16th to the early 20th century.

The exhibition on the history of its construction and the village is located on the first floor. For instance, the original roof was probably not made of stone: that would have been too heavy for the wooden structure. Archaeological and dendrochronological investigations provide information about the age of the house. Many religious inscriptions and carvings suggest that the house originally served as a vicarage.

People have been farming on the Champatsch alpine meadow since the 15th century, but the structure at Ballenberg (1311–1314) dates from the early 19th century. The alpine meadow was farmed by a cooperative, with farmers from Valchava and Lü (now part of the municipality of Val Müstair) coming together to provide workers to farm the alpine meadow in the summer. A large room in alpine building 1312, previously used to store cheese, gives visitors the chance to learn more about the history of agriculture in Val Müstair and on the Champatsch alpine meadow. For example, from 1970 onwards, it was no longer possible to make cheese on the alpine meadow because the facility no longer complied with the applicable hygiene regulations.

The alpine building was left empty from 1985 onwards and was documented in comprehensive detail in 1987/88, before its planned dismantling. Thanks to archaeological investigations, this enabled new findings to be gleaned about how people worked and lived on the alpine meadow.