1/4 Engadine Traditions The valley's enchanting light, scenic mountain surroundings or incomparably varied offer of sports and leisure activities are not the only reasons that draw visitors to the Engadin. Indeed, many guests come because of the special valley culture they encounter in the Engadin. Vacationing while experiencing something new – the sound of the Romanic language as a local buys bread at the bakery; the look of Sgraffito designs on the Engadine house walls, the excitement of children parading through the villages in blue coats, singing and swinging cow- bells to send off the winter; the delicious taste of local specialties – all that makes the Engadin so truly unique! The language – La lingua On February 20, 1938, Switzerland made Rhaeto-Romanic its fourth official national language alongside German, French and Italian. Rhaeto-Romanic includes traces of several older idioms – the Celts, Rhaetians, Gauls, Etruscans and Romans are all mentioned in connection with the development of Rhaeto-Romanic. This mother tongue of many an Engadiner belongs, like French, Italian and Spanish, to the Neo-Latin group of languages and is spoken today by some 45,000 people. In the Canton Grisons, all of five Rhaeto-Romanic dialects are still spoken today – Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter and Vallader! In the 19th Century, the German language little by little replaced Rhaeto-Romanic, even making it extinct in areas. By creating a standardized written language, Rumantsch Grischun, Romanic speakers hoped to strengthen their idiom and its chances for survival. In 2001, Rumantsch Grischun was declared the official Rhaeto-Romanic language of the canton and has been used since then also in its written form for voting materials and the Grisons Code of Law. The Engadine house – La chesa engiadinaisa The Engadine house is characterized by a solid, stone construction with a wide gabled roof, small windows deeply embedded in the walls, and large arched door. Window enclosures, archways and angles are decorated with so-called "Sgraffiti". Sgraffiti are decorations composed of ornaments, geometrical designs or abstract figures. The Engadine farmer used to concentrate his belongings under one same roof. One same building will therefore house his living quarters, cattle shed and hay barn, cellar, storage shed and a covered courtyard. The "sulèr" at the end of the corridor is separated from the hay barn by a wide barn door. Embrasure-like windows are typical for the Engadine house – the smaller the windows, the lower the heat loss. To allow as much light into the rooms as possible, the window encasings open outwards like a funnel. The living room windows look onto the street or the forecourt – after all, one does need to know what goes on in the village! Skilled in arts and crafts, the Engadiner knows how to adorn his house. In the 16th Century, wandering craftsmen brought the Sgrafitto technique in from Italy. It is not only the individual houses that are special, but also their arrangement. Although basically impractical for the farmer, the houses are built close together to form a circle. Often one will find a rippling fountain in the courtyard. Engadin St. Moritz Via San Gian 30, CH-7500 St. Moritz T +41 81 830 08 12, F +41 81 830 08 18 [email protected], www.engadin.stmoritz.ch 2/4 The customs – Las tradiziuns: Chalandamarz and Schlitteda One of the Engadin's most familiar customs is "Chalandamarz". Luckily it was once connected to the Roman New Year and the reelection of the village authorities, allowing it to live on up to today. It dates back to the times when the Romans ruled over Rhaetia, and this pagan ritual served our forefathers to drive away the bad spirits. The custom is widely cultivated throughout Romanic Grisons, though its celebration will vary from village to village. In the Engadin, schoolboys march from house to house costumed as shepherds and herds with heavy cow bells, loudly singing songs to chase the winter from every nook and cranny. Afternoon and evening are given over to more singing and dancing. The "Schlitteda" is the village youth's expression of joy and the pleasure of life. Every young man will invite "his" girl on this winter procession of sleighs, and pick her up at her home. The cavalier is seated at the back of the horse sleigh, holding the reins to steer it, while his young lady is seated before him. The procession is led by a rider wearing a tricorn and a coat with golden ruffles – the uniform of the young bachelor. The sleigh's horses move along in a trot to the site where warming mulled wine and typical sweets of the region await their passengers. Thus warmed and fed, they again set out in their sleighs on their return journey. And as the sleighs drift further and further apart, their passengers come ever closer together… The specialties – Las spezialitads Thanks to many diverse influences and a rich past, the Engadin has numerous specialties to offer. The history of the Engadine nut tart For Sundays or guests, it was a custom at the Engadine farmhouses to bake a "fuatscha grassa" – a tart made of delicious, buttery shortcrust pastry. The Engadiner confectioners, who used to be famous throughout Europe for their craft, combined this specialty with another Engadine delicacy, caramel cream, and topped it off with walnuts. This is how the Engadine specialty "tuorta da nusch engiadi- naisa" came to be – and with it a traditional pastry that our visitors gladly to take back with them to all four corners of the earth. Grisons barley soup This hearty soup used to make an ideal meal for the long and cold winter nights. But it has lost none of its appeal even today. The main ingredients of the soup are pearl barley, lots of vegetables, kidney beans and diced dried beef of the Grisons. Engadin St. Moritz Via San Gian 30, CH-7500 St. Moritz T +41 81 830 08 12, F +41 81 830 08 18 [email protected], www.engadin.stmoritz.ch 3/4 Grisons dried beef – Bündnerfleisch The fat free, air-dried meat is a typical specialty of the Grisons canton. The dry, alpine air of the Engadin gives the meat a very special taste. In this connection, a visit to the "design boucherie" Hatecke in the pedestrian area of St. Moritz is well worth it. Apart from the classic Grisons dried beef, it also sells dried venison and pork meats, veal salsiz sausage, lamb and deer – on request also with garlic seasoning. Capuns Nowadays, the famous "cabbage rolls" are prepared in numerous varieties. As far back as 1742, Nicolin Sererhard from Zernez described a filling Engadine variety of Capuns in the following words – "Fuer starke Maegen und Arbeitsleuth sind diese Knollen auch eine gute veste Speiss und des ganzen Landvolks Sommer und Winter bey nachentaeglichen Nahrung". [For good stomachs and working people, these rolls are a good, solid dish, and a good evening meal for farm laborers in summer and winter.] The book "Capuns Geschichten" describes 130 varieties of the well-loved rolls complete with accompanying anecdotes. Maluns To make this simple farmers' dish, potatoes, flour and butter are fried in a pan to a golden brown under continuous stirring. Maluns is served with tasty Engadine mountain cheese and freshly made applesauce. Beverages that go well with the meal are milk coffee, Valtellina wine or fresh, unpasteurized apple juice. Pizzoccheri This filling pasta dish made of buckwheat noodles, chard leaves, cheese, onions and sage originates from the Veltlin region. Roast chestnuts… …are called "Marroni" in Switzerland. When visitors and locals come together in fall in the neighboring Val Bregaglia for the annual chestnut harvest, they reward themselves after their day's work with a dish of freshly roasted Marroni, vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream. Engadin St. Moritz Via San Gian 30, CH-7500 St. Moritz T +41 81 830 08 12, F +41 81 830 08 18 [email protected], www.engadin.stmoritz.ch 4/4 Take a culinary souvenir of the Engadin back home with you – Grisons barley soup Capuns Ingredients 60 g pearl barley 400 g flour 1/2 celery root 2 dl "milk water" (half water, half milk) 2 carrots 4 eggs 2 potatoes 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cabbage 1/2 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, chives, 1 leek rosemary, basil) 2 tbsp. oil 200 g Grisons dried beef or cured ham 1 broth cube 40 chard leaves for approx. 40 Capuns 300 g diced Grisons dried beef 50 g grated Parmesan cheese 2 tsp cream 1 onion Salt, freshly ground pepper 50 g butter Preparation Peel and dice the celery root, carrots and potatoes. Sift the flour into a bowl, add milk water, eggs and salt Cut away the cabbage spines and slice the leaves and beat to a smooth batter. into thin strips. Slice the leek to thin rounds. Leave to sit for 30 minutes, then add the herbs. Heat the oil in a large pan and steam the celery Slice the Grisons dried beef into thin strips and fold root, carrots and cabbage. into the batter. Add the barley and leek and around 2 1/2 liters of Blanch the chard leaves, carefully extract from the water. pan, drain of water and spread out on the board or Add the broth cube at leave to simmer for 2 1/2 working surface. Place small balls of batter onto the hours. leaves, turn in the corners of the leaves and roll up to Add the diced Grisons dried beef and continue to small packets. cook for another half hour.