Guarda

Schellen-Ursli (A Bell for Ursli), published in 1945, was written by Selina Chönz and illustrated by Alois Carigiet, who used Guarda as the setting. The story tells of young Ursli, given the smallest cowbell for the Chalandamarz procession, who treks alone to his family's mountain hut to retrieve a large bell. The book has sold an estimated 1.7 million copies in ten languages. Carigiet received the inaugural Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 1966.

Sgraffito (from Italian "sgraffiare," to scratch) is a decorative technique brought to Graubünden by Renaissance master builders from Italy in the 16th century. A dark lime mortar layer is covered with a light coat; while still damp (about two hours), artisans scratch ornamental designs through it. Popular motifs include dragons, mermaids, rosettes, and heraldic symbols. Guarda is considered one of the finest concentrations of sgraffito in the Engadin, with over 60 historic houses preserved.

Chalandamarz ("first day of March") is celebrated on March 1st across the Romansh-speaking Engadin. Children dress in traditional blue shirts and red scarves and parade through the village ringing cowbells of different sizes, cracking whips, and singing Romansh songs to drive away the evil spirits of winter. The oldest child leads with the largest bell. Afterward, children collect donations of food and money for school trips. The tradition has roots reaching back to Roman times.

The traditional Engadin house (chesa) features thick walls built from wooden beams clad in stone, with small deep-set windows and stables beneath the living quarters for warmth. The defining feature is the Suler — a large arched entrance portal wide enough for a hay cart. Many houses bear carved inscriptions in Romansh with blessings and dates. Guarda has never suffered a catastrophic fire, so its 16th- and 17th-century houses survive intact — a living time capsule.

From Guarda, a path leads into the Val Tuoi, a dramatic side valley reaching into the Silvretta range. At its head, at 2,250 m, stands the Chamonna Tuoi (Tuoi Hut), a Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut reachable in about 2.5 hours on foot. From there, experienced mountaineers can summit Piz Buin (3,312 m). Guarda itself sits at 1,653 meters, over 300 meters above the Inn river, with a population of just 190 residents.

Between 1939 and 1945, architect Iachen Ulrich Könz (1899–1980), trained at ETH Zurich and Stuttgart, conducted a major restoration of Guarda's historic houses, preserving their authentic Engadin character. In 1939, Könz married Selina Chönz, who would write Schellen-Ursli. His meticulous work laid the foundation for Guarda's 1975 Wakker Prize from the Swiss Heritage Society, confirming it as one of the best-preserved villages in the Engadin.

Guarda is a Romansh-speaking village where the dialect Vallader is spoken. Romansh descends from the Latin vernacular of the Roman conquest of Rhaetia in 15 BC. It became a national language in 1938 and an official language in 1996, but has only about 60,000 speakers (0.5% of the Swiss population, down from 1.1% in 1910). Each of the five Romansh idioms has a 400-year literary tradition. Common greetings include "Allegra!" (hello) and "Bun di" (good day).

The Swiss National Park, founded on August 1, 1914, is the oldest national park in the Alps and Central Europe. Located near Zernez, a short distance from Guarda, it covers approximately 170 square kilometers of strictly protected wilderness (IUCN Category Ia) and is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It was created in response to environmental degradation: the last lynx was spotted in 1876. Today it hosts ibex, chamois, marmots, golden eagles, and reintroduced bearded vultures.