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The Walser houses - Gressoney
The shapes of an attractive rural architecture on the backdrop of Monte Rosa
Location
229 km from Annecy, 133 km from Chamonix, 210 km from Geneva, 78 km from Aosta.
Architectural topics
The Valley of Lys, like other Alpine valleys that surround Monte Rosa, was populated at the end of the Middle Ages by people of Germanic origin, coming from Alto Vallese: the Walser. Closely linked to their own traditions and “titsch" language, families, specialised in fabric trade, emigrated to Europe for centuries, especially in the Breisgau (in the Freiburg area) and northern Switzerland, again preserving the strong links with their native land: Gressoney. The stadel - rural buildings that stand on mushroom shaped columns -
229 km from Annecy, 133 km from Chamonix, 210 km from Geneva, 78 km from Aosta.
Architectural topics
The Valley of Lys, like other Alpine valleys that surround Monte Rosa, was populated at the end of the Middle Ages by people of Germanic origin, coming from Alto Vallese: the Walser. Closely linked to their own traditions and “titsch" language, families, specialised in fabric trade, emigrated to Europe for centuries, especially in the Breisgau (in the Freiburg area) and northern Switzerland, again preserving the strong links with their native land: Gressoney. The stadel - rural buildings that stand on mushroom shaped columns -
are located on the banks of the River Lys, sheltered from avalanches and make up small villages of family origin; here and there, the constructions stand alongside villages of houses or villas built by merchants who made a fortune in the XVIII and XIX centuries. In
Noversch, different stadel, built by the Zumstein family, are structurally exemplary; as are those of Ecko, built in the XVII century in Lischtgi.
Large structures of squared and stacked larch trunks, connected on the corners with cross-joints (mis-bois), they are built on a brick base that houses the stable, formerly inhabited during the winter, the cellars and above all a corridor with stairway leading up to the comfortable living quarters
and rooms, completely done out in wood. South of Gressoney-La-Trinité village, a path takes you to the Alpenzu villages. Positioned on a terrace of glacial origin, on the large Walser path that leads to Val d’Ayas, beyond the Pinter Hills, the 2 villages are equally as good examples of well preserved traditional architecture. It is a panoramic itinerary: it dominates the entire Lys Valley and rests on the magical bed of the Rosa glaciers.
