Walser Settlement St. Martin, Calfeisental

Walser settlement St. Martin, Calfeisental
St. Martin - the former Walser settlement - the charm and romance of this village alone are worth a visit. There are small wooden houses to discover, a water mill, the church and a restaurant with fresh bread from the wood-fired oven
From around 1300 to 1652, the wild Calfeisental west of Vättis was inhabited by free Walsers all year round. The Walsers, who originally came from the Obergoms area in Valais, may have immigrated from their farms in Bargis, above Flims, via the Trinser Furgga. The Sutter family were the last year-round residents to leave the Calfeisental in the direction of Vättis. German field names that remind us of their settlement remain in the Calfeisental: Rathausboden, Ammansboden, Ebni, Egg, Friedhöfli and Chilchli. The main witness to the Free Walsers is their little church of St. Martin, which was built around 1312 according to dendrochronological research. St. Martin was the religious centre not only of the Walsers in the Calfeisental, but also of their fellow people in the Weisstannental and probably of other Walser farms in the wider area, for example on the Vättnerberg. The fact that the Walsers are emigrated Valaisans is clearly evident in old documents, but is also evident in the Walser language and culture. In the Walser church of St. Martin, the figure of the "Madonna and Child" and the cross of Christ date from the time of the Walser immigration. Opposite the church is the two-storey Walser house, the year 1588 of which is still legible. Scattered throughout the Calfeisental, especially on the sunny side, there are countless "hostetes": depressions in the ground that indicate earlier buildings. The only two Walser buildings still standing in the Calfeisental are in St. Martin. The little church is owned by the Catholic parish of Vättis. It is still used for church services. Access: from the dam only every hour for 20 minutes. A visit is worthwhile - time has stood still here and you feel like you are in an open-air museum.
Walser settlement St. Martin
Text / Source: Municipality of Pfäfers, Hintergasse 4, 7312 Pfäfers
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