Schilana 80

Lasting Byre Beauty Updated

Over 300 years old and attentively renovated by architect Duri Vital in 2011, this classic Swiss Engadine house covers four floors in the traditional byre-dwelling layout that once housed herders and their stabled animals. Its massive stone walls, vast arching entry, dozens of shuttered windows and Sgraffito carved plaster façade are all odes to the old ways of life in this breathtaking Alpine community. Meanwhile, an attic-cum-living room, panoramic dining terrace, and the stables-turned-sauna redefine the space for modern living. 

A centuries-old mountain lodge, this classic Swiss mountain retreat stacks up four levels of modern creature comforts, yet still preserves its ancient architectural styling. One of only two homes and a church to escape a devastating village fire in the 19^th century, the home is a lasting example of local styling. As in earlier times, the massive structure’s ornamental arched entry leads to a larch-paneled sulèr, or spacious reception hall, transformed today to include an open dining room/kitchen concept with a panoramic terrace. There’s a dedicated piano-room upstairs, and further up, an attic redesigned in 2021 into a cushy lounge complete with a contemporary wood burning stove, billiard table and convenient kitchenette.   

AROUND

The stuff of fairy tales, this village with its soaring church belfry dwarfed by the surrounding Alpine peaks occupies a verdant clearing at more than 1,200 meters altitude. Ramosch was founded in the 6^th century by the Christian community centered around the Florinus church where, legend has it, the 7^th-century pastor worked miracles. A site of pilgrimages for centuries, the church was spared during the village’s devasting fires of 1881 and 1883. Ramosch is also home to a medieval castle ruin that dominates a hilltop very close to the home. One of the area’s best known trekking routes begins at the ruins and winds into the Sinestra Valley, a tight, shaded valley that feels distinctly remote and rugged. Villagers in Ramosch and surrounding communities speak Switzerland’s fourth language, Romansch, and live in secluded hamlets surrounded by evergreen forests and glinting mountain lakes and streams. Huts and refuges offer shelters to hikers in the area and many of the trails are great for mountain bike enthusiasts as well. Winter turns the area into a snow-packed wonderland. 

Three local ski stations straddle the mountains between Switzerland and Austria, the closest, Scuol, with its 14 lifts/gondolas a quick 10-minute drive away. Cross-country skiing trails depart the village, and ice skating is possible on the Inn River in Sur En, a village about four kilometers up the valley. Snowshoeing and sledding round out the winter sports options, and summertime sporting opportunities include rock climbing, kayaking and swimming. There is an attractive open swimming pool in Scuol-Tarasp, as well as an indoor pool and a famous thermal spa in Scuol. 

Architecture lovers will appreciate touring the Upper Engadine region’s villages to observe the Sgraffiti, an ancient craft of carving buildings’ plaster facades to engrave proverbs, symbolic patterns and personal drawings as exterior ornamentation. The village of Guarda (approximately 30 minutes’ drive) has been rewarded for the Sgraffiti carvings on its buildings.

LOCATION​

Graubünden, Switzerland. Nearest airports: Samedan (1 hour); Innsbruck (1½ hours)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year round