Chapel Sogn Carlo Borromeo (Sogn Carli), Uors

The chapel is open in summer from 09:00 - 17:00. It is closed in winter.

In 1616, the choir of the old chapel was taken down and replaced by the current building. Hans Jakob Greutter from Brixen in South Tyrol was commissioned to paint it completely. It was not until 1926 that the original paintings, which had been whitewashed over at an unknown date, were discovered (1).

In the fan vault of the choir (2), the church fathers and evangelists (3) can be seen in the individual spandrels. They are mostly inscribed with ribbons. On the left-hand side is a depiction of the Last Supper. Opposite, Greutter has signed the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (4) and the 12 ancestors of Christ are on the inside of the chancel arch. They are probably relatively unknown to most viewers except for David, Solomon and Jesse (5). Greutter signed this painting in the crown of the arch with his full name (6).

The predella of the altar in the choir shows St. Veronica's shawl (7) and Mary appears on a cloud in the altarpiece (8). Below her kneel the patron saint of the chapel, St. Borromeo, as well as St. John the Baptist and St. Nicholas of Myra.

From the nave, an Annunciation can be seen to the left and right of the chancel arch, similar to the one painted by Hans Ardüser in the chapel of St. Roch in Vella a few years earlier. The angel Gabriel appears on the left and Mary kneels before her lectern on the right (9).

The windowless north wall is covered by a cycle of 21 individual paintings depicting the life of St. Borromeo (10), who lived from 1538 to 1584 and supported the Counter-Reformation in the canton of Graubünden.

Text and photos: Walter Müller (wmueller@hispeed.ch) in collaboration with Surselva Tourism