Spassegio cultural tras vischnanca - Savognin

Nr. 9: The agriculture
Nr. 10: The Gabriel residence
The agriculture
For hundreds of years the agriculture determined the life of our
ancestors. Around 1920 existed about 90 farms in the village,
2012 only a dozen remain. Up until the middle of the last century
most work in the fields was performed without machines.
The local farmers practiced the transhumance: during winter the
animals were in the village stables, in spring and autumn they
were on different mountain pastures and in summer, during harvest
time, the animals were herded to the highest pastures above
the forest line. Oxen, cows or, in the best case, horses were used
as draught animals. Our local museum conveys a informative
insight into the conditions of those past times.
The Gabriel residence
This house in Sur Curt (meaning upper part of the village) was
originally in the possession of the bishop of Chur. Remarkable
is the picture on the wall towards east with a dove and the ibex,
symbol of the emblem of the Lord‘s House Alliance. The beautiful
gothic living room was sold around 1900 and can now be
found in the «Engadiner Museum» in St. Moritz.
After the middle of the 20th century the mechanisation of
the agriculture started in our valley as well. Most farms have
abandoned their old stables in the village and have moved to
the borders of the village, where they have more room and the
animals enjoy more space to roam around.
During World War II, Savognin did a comprehensive land improvement
with help from the polish internees. 350 new, larger
lots of land, all made accessible by dirt roads, were created
from about 1200 partly very small lots of land.
The famous painter of the alps Giovanni Segantini painted only
few pictures with the mountain Piz d‘Err. The picture «alp in
may» (1891) could have been painted from that location.
The living room
Hay harvest before the land improvement and the mechanisation
– 64 – – 65 –