Romansh romance: Davos and Klosters get all the press, but nearby Savognin offers a peek into Switzerland's least-known language community along with historical and natural charm.
Tgau! I just greeted you in one of Swiss national languages. And it is not German, not French and not Italian! Tgau, pronounced "cha-o", stands for both hello and goodbye in Romansh. Switzerland's fourth official language, Romansh is spoken by around 34,000 people, mostly residing in small mountain towns in the north-eastern canton of Grisons (better known by its German name, Graubunden).
One of those communities is Savognin. This cozy, Romansh-speaking village in the heart of Grison Alps, located between Davos and St Moritz, can be reached from Zurich by car or train in two and a half hours. Savognin is also one of 19 villages inside Park Ela, the largest regional park in the country, intended to preserve nature, scenery and cultural heritage. Among Savognin's historical landmarks are an elegant stone bridge built in 1682, a regional museum housed in a rustic 12th- or 13th-century tower house and a beautiful Catholic church, Son Martegn, consecrated in 1677, Son Martegn's colossal ceiling painting "La Gloria des Paradiso", showing 485 creatures, is considered to of the most significant baroque ceiling paintings in the canton.
Local festivals
Romansh speakers make up less than 1% of Swiss population and their numbers continue to decline. "We strive to preserve our language and culture, but it's not easy as many young people move to big German-speaking cities or marry non-Romansh speakers," says Angela Brenn, one of the local residents. The primary school in Savognin teaches exclusively in Romansh, while several newspapers, radio and TV programmes also use the language.
Two of the village's annual festivities are also important in keeping Romansh folklore alive. On 1 March, the children's parade "Calondamas" welcomes in the spring, as children in colourful costumes, decorated with flowers, dance and sing to cast away the winter and snow.
And the "Savognin Schafschur", or sheep-shearing festival, takes place each October. Visitors get a first-hand experience of how sheep are shorn and what the woollen fleece feels like. Many artisans and farmers present their products, including cheeses, soaps and clothing. Among most unique products on display are those made from locally grown edelweiss, the queen of Alpine flora. "Wild edelweiss flowers are protected and prohibited to pick," explains Patrick Thurner, the owner of Savognin nature store Drogaria Surses, which produces edelweiss-based creams, oils, make-up, tea and spirits. "So we cultivate...
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