Ortsmuseum Obermutten

About the museum

Until the village fire of April 25, 1946, the Walser settlement of Obermutten consisted of partly very old wooden houses with sun-darkened facades. The part of the village south of the fountain was spared. The village museum is set up in its oldest longhouse, a private house from the 17th century. The typical Walser longhouse is two stories high and divided into three sections in depth: the living room toward the valley, the entrance hall and kitchen in the middle, and the pantry toward the mountain. Parts of the living room furnishings date from the 17th century, and the cooking range from 1863. Around 2000 the house was carefully electrified and provided with running water.

The museum is not arranged as a collection of old everyday objects but designed around themes, and the house is still lived in. The main focus is the exhibition “Weil noch das Lämpchen glüht” on the history of lighting. Spread across four rooms are Roman oil lamps, tallow lights common in the Alpine region, and petroleum, carbide and gas lamps; display panels explain fire-making, the shoemaker's ball, the history of the match and stereoscopy. Another exhibition commemorates the 1946 village fire and the reconstruction.

The museum also conveys peculiarities of Walser culture and the history of Mutten, which holds a special position as the only Reformed, German-speaking village in the lower Albula area. It is run by the Museumsverein Mutten, the successor organization of the Walser association of Mutten.

Highlights

• Exhibition “Weil noch das Lämpchen glüht” on the history of lighting
• Roman oil lamps, tallow lights, and petroleum, carbide and gas lamps
• Oldest Walser longhouse in Obermutten, dating from the 17th century
• Documentation on the 1946 village fire and the reconstruction
• In summer, village and church tours, including the wooden church of Obermutten

Permanent exhibitions

• Weil noch das Lämpchen glüht – Exhibition on the history of lighting, with lamps and light fixtures from Roman times to the light bulb, spread across four rooms of the old Walser house and supplemented by display panels.
• Dorfbrand von 1946 – Display panels on the fire that destroyed seventeen wooden houses and barns in Obermutten in 1946, and on the reconstruction funded by donations.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Museumsverein Mutten

Admission & discounts

Admission with guided tour CHF 6 per adult.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

By car on the A13, exit 22 (Thusis-Süd), toward the Albula until the junction Solas/Solis; on the Schynstrasse by the Soliserbrücke, turn onto the access road to Mutten. From Mutten, an unpaved road leads via Stafel to Obermutten.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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