Engadine Houses and Sgraffito Art

Engadin houses - A culture for eternity
A culture for eternity / Engadin houses & sgraffiti
"Sgraffito" is the name given to the handicrafts that adorn the Engadin houses and contribute to the unmistakable charm of the village. The art of sgraffito originated in the middle of the 17th century and can still be found in the Engadin villages today. Find out more about the technology and what else lies behind the decorations here.
The Engadin house
Typical of the Engadin house are the massive stone walls, often decorated with sgraffito, the deep windows, the bay window and the two entrance gates in the Sulèr and the stable at the front. The Engadin house is rarely perceived as a single building, but is usually connected to the surrounding houses. When the Engadin villages were razed to the ground in various wars and then rebuilt, the houses moved ever closer together. In order to be able to defend themselves better and to have more security, the villages were built as close together as possible. Since then, the individual houses have been facing each other around small squares with a fountain in the middle. They face the village square or the street and not the sun.
The structure
The house consists of a living area and a utility area (stable, barn), which are located one behind the other. The utility area with the hayloft is usually facing south so that the hay can dry well and haystack fires are avoided. The typical vertical wooden walls are provided with ventilation slots that ensure good ventilation of the hay. The solid-looking stone houses are mostly wooden houses at their core. The walls built from wooden beams were only given a shell wall after the wood had dried. Their thickness can be seen from the deep, funnel-shaped window niches.
Text / Source: Guest Information Scuol, Stradun 403a, CH-7550 Scuol
engadin.com/de/das-unterengadin/menschen-kultur/engadinerhaeuser-sgraffito

Engadine houses
The Engadin houses with their mighty stone walls and funnel-shaped windows impress at first glance because of their proud architecture. But its soul lies in the artistic decorations, the sgraffiti.
Text / Source: myswitzerland.com
myswitzerland.com/de-ch/erlebnisse/engadiner-haeuser