FiliTour Nr. 2: Haus Pol Andrea

The Banker of Filisur

The former owner Pol Andrea Lorenz (1846-1919) became one of the richest Filisurer thanks to an inheritance. Like other wealthy locals, he acted as a private lender. At the time, this was nothing unusual. Supposedly, rich Reformed people often lent money to poor Catholics because they had invested their belongings in the salvation of the soul and donated them to the Church.

The typical Engadine house

This house exemplifies the typical architecture of an Engadine house. The house and stable are united under one roof. The main façade faces the village street to observe what is happening there. The brick residential wing is provided with an imposing arched gate, deep funnel windows, often a bay window and sgraffiti or paintings. The ornaments or mythical creatures have a symbolic meaning and structure the façade. In summer, red Engadine cloves or geraniums decorate the windows. The stable wing consists of a brick base and pillars with air-permeable wooden walls and attached arbor.

Daily life took place mainly on the ground floor of the residential wing. Through the arched gate one crossed with the cart the hallway (sulèr) to the hay barn (talvo). From the Sulèr you can go to the panelled parlour (stüva), the kitchen (chadafö), and the pantry (chamineda).

On the upper floor are the sleeping chambers (chambra), often the state room (stüva sura) and the upper hallway (palantschin). The residential wing with the living room and the sleeping chamber above often consists of a wooden construction and was later pre-bricked.

In the basement you can access from the outside into the vestibule (cuort) with the dung stick and behind it into the cattle barn (stalla, uigl).

In the audio, the house owner Magdalena Tscharner leads through the house and explains some typical elements of the Engadine house. The audio file can be found at the back of the pictures.