D Häärdställi vo dä Walser

"Many years ago, my grandfather bought this meadow with the Häärdställi from the Safians. Some parcels of land here on the Glaspass used to belong to the Walser farmers from the Safiental. In summer, they have stored the hay in the Häärdställi. In winter, when the hay was needed, it was transported dangerously with a horn sledge from Innerglas to Safien Platz down to the cattle barn. Today, the yields can be transported over long distances and thus stored centrally. That's why our Häärdställi hasn't been in use for 40 years."

The typical scattered settlements of the Walser are still recognizable in the landscape today. In the village stage, the farm, which was inhabited all year round at the time, still stands today with a residential house, stable barn, small livestock barn, bakehouse, granary and other outdoor stables, also called "Häärdställi", which today often stand empty unused.

The alpine buildings used in summer are between 1800 and 2000 meters. These included the alpine dairy, the bedroom and the stable barn. In the Walser family, each family maintained its own dairy. In the front part of the dairy the cheese was produced, in the rear part the milk was stored. The sleeping room served as a sleeping and recreation room and in the stable barn the cows were accommodated during the night. Characteristic was the decentralized storage of hay in the outdoor stables. The hay could not be transported over long distances in steep terrain, so barns were built near the hay harvest.

In winter, the hay was then transported to the cattle

on sledges or the cattle were driven from barn to barn until the hay was used up. Today, the hay can be transported over longer distances by machines and stored centrally. The outdoor stables thus lose their function and are no longer maintained.

Association Safier Ställe und Schindelwerkstatt
The Safier Ställe association is committed to the preservation of this traditional cultural landscape. In order to protect the buildings from decay, roofs in need of renovation are recovered with the traditional wooden shingles. For the production of shingles, a shingle workshop was founded in Safien. The old craft is preserved and the new roofs can be covered with locally produced shingles made of local wood. In a further step, new uses for the stables will be developed so that they continue to exist.

www.safierstaelle.ch