Turra exhibition stables - Safier Stables

The Safien stables are a landmark of the cultural landscape, contemporary witnesses of traditional agriculture and the product of various old crafts. The Turra exhibition stables present the Safien cultural landscape and the various types of stables. With this exhibition, the Safien Stables Association aims to present the Safien Stables project and promote a conscious approach to the cultural landscape. Narrow light strips show different types of stables in photographs. Short texts explain the essentials. These light strips allow visitors to experience the low, sparsely lit barn space in its original state. Where animals once lived and their feed was stored, models of a stone and shingle roof can be seen, as well as the lowest beams of the simple rope construction. A staircase leads up to the hayloft, which is sloped on both sides. If you like, you can lay shingles or stack beams with your own hands.

In the 14th century, the Safiental valley was colonised by Walsers from the Rhine forest. They cleared the forest, built houses and laid the foundations for an agriculture that survived until the middle of the 20th century. The settlement pattern and the individual buildings still tell of this sustainable but energy-sapping agriculture today.

Characteristic of traditional farming was the decentralised location of the hay. This led to the annual migrations of the farmers with their animals. They travelled from barn to barn and in summer to the alp. With the help of agricultural machinery, it is now possible to transport hay over long distances and store it in a central barn. This eliminates the need for travelling with the animals. At the same time, the numerous outdoor barns are losing their function. The modernisation of agriculture is making decentralised stables and barns superfluous. In Safien alone, this affects several hundred buildings. Is there a future for the stables?

Various scenarios are conceivable. We can take the view that the stables are no longer used today and are therefore superfluous. Let's dismantle the stables and use the wood in a new context. However, many people in Safier would like to keep their stables. The Safier Stables project would like to support them. Because if we regard the settlement landscape as cultural heritage, it is important to us that the stables and barns are preserved where there is a will to preserve them. Now that the buildings have lost their original function, we need to give them a new purpose. Are there alternative uses for the Safier stables? It seems that we are struggling to find new ideas. Perhaps we are still too fixated on the traditional use, perhaps the current times leave us too little room for new ideas. This is where the Safier Stables project comes in. The Safier Stables are to be secured with new roofs. At the same time, the aim is to create thinking time for the search for new uses.