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EUSTORY Academies in 2008
24 September – 01 October 2008 in Scuol (Lower Engadine), Switzerland
The Engadine – Life in a remote but internationally connected mountain valley
Tschlin
Research group:
Kristina, Anca, Evija, Ján
© Beno Baumberger
General about the village
The little village of Tschlin is located in the Alps in the Eastern part of Switzerland in Engadine. The village is surrounded by beautiful and fascinating meadows and the landscape is just tremendous - perfectly shaped mountains above and the fast-flowing Inn below. It is a village where everyone knows everyone. The main reason is the low population - only 170 inhabitants.
The structure of Tschlin is very simple. The main street goes straight through the village and leads us till the church. The church was built in 1515 and renovated in 1955. First it was Catholic but now it is Protestant. The cemetery is usually next to the church but this is not the case. The cemetery is located almost in the centre of the village where the first church was built. It burned down in 1856. Nowadays there is only a tower from the church left. Unfortunately, nobody can say precisely when Tschlin was built, because all documents and historical evidences burnt down with the church.
The church is not the only historical monument in this farmer village. The architecture on the whole is very authentic and interesting. Only these days a few modern houses are built, whereas the rest of them have survived several strong fires.
Not only the farmers but also the brewery and the dairy product manufacture are very important for Tschlin. You can always be sure that you will get freshly made cheese and beer there.
Although Tschlin is very small village, it has its own shops, hairdresser, restaurant and summer cottages. Once there was a school but now it has been closed down, because there are not enough children - 25 in the total. Despite everything they have their own sport hall where they can not only play basketball but also show some nice plays and organize musical concert as well.
To sum up, Tschlin is small village but it has their own sense of identity hidden deep inside in the hardworking and very lovely people.
Migration
© Beno Baumberger
During our research in the village, we have made three interviews with people who immigrated to Tschlin.One of them was Ute Börner. She emigrated from Germany 16 years ago. She is 63 now; she is retired but used to work in the export departments. Ute's husband could not find a job in Germany, so they decided to move to Switzerland. She decided to leave Germany with him in 1992. That was the main reason for emigration. He worked in Tschlin as a reverend and she as a bilingual secretary. They lived together in Reference house, which was built in 1916, for 8 years. During their living in that house, they also bought another one in 1999. After their divorce, Ute moved in the new house in 2002.
We asked Ute about her feelings when she came there. She told us that inhabitants of Tschlin accepted her and her husband immediately, because of her husband's profession. They didn't have any problems. Actually, she was a secretary, so she was used to change places and jobs. But Ute wanted to feel like one of them, so she started to learn Romansh. She had learned French at school, so she learned Romansh very fast. Ute uses this language in her everyday life.
© Beno Baumberger
The second interview- partner was Mirta Andrigeti who is a 36 years old shopkeeper. She comes from another valley where people speak German. Her husband comes from Tschlin, so that is the reason why she immigrated there. She has been living there for 14 years and she has already learned how to speak Romansh. She has two boys named Nico and Fabio. She is satisfied with her job. She earns enough money, but the working hours are not countable. Her mother- in- law helps her a lot.
The last one is the brewer Florian. He emigrated from Germany. He studied in Switzerland and there he met his future wife, who came from Engadine. That is the main reason for his immigration. He has been living and working in Tschlin for two years now and he thinks that he has been integrated faster than others, because the inhabitants of Tschlin really needed him.
To conclude, we can say that Ute, Mirta and Florian are accepted by (and as) the indigenous. But sometimes they feel differences between them and inhabitants of Tschlin. They have found the reason in another mentality.
Industry
© Beno Baumberger
Tschlin's industry is particularly based on producing beer and
cheese. Also the housewives make cookies, jam, liquor etc. at home and
sell it. They have all created a quality label BUN TSCHLIN, which is
used for the products made there.
The cheese is made by a woman in a
small dairy- factory. She gets the main ingredients from the local
farmers: sheep- , goat- and cow- milk as well as spices. Another
important part of the industry is the organic-eggs produced in Strada.
They have the Bun Tschlin label as well and they are exported to USA.
The fields are mainly used for making hay and growing potatoes.
Mirta Andrigeti belongs one of the two shops, which exist in Tschlin. The shop has a big variety of products: beers, cheese, cookies, jam made in Tschlin; then the bread comes from Ramosch. The other products are delivered to Mirta by Lanquart and Wintertour which are not far from Zurich.
Also we should mention something about the people's work places. All inhabitants of Tschlin are employed. There are 11 farmers, one electrician, who works in Scuol, also some of them are working in woods, some for factories, and some are cleaning the village from snow. We have to add the woman who employs men for building houses and for street works.
Personal impressions
Just now we really understand that the week is almost over. It will be very hard to say goodbye - not only to the freshly made friends but also to this nice and quiet village. The marvelous landscape and the weather spoiled us; and so did our tutors- kind, lovely and helpful, always smiling and understanding. The research we made was fun- visiting local villages and getting some new knowledge about them, meeting new and friendly people and learning some Romansh. Grazcha fich everybody who helped and supported us. This was an experience of the lifetime!
