Triple-aspect 'balcun tort' or oriel window with wooden shutters and bright decoration. On a house in Guarda, a village in the Lower Engadin Valley in Graubünden or Grisons canton, Switzerland. 'Balcun tort' is a Romansh term and these windows are typical of the Romansch-speaking area of Switzerland. Twin and triple aspect oriels are common on older houses in the Graubünden canton.
Guarda, Graubünden or Grisons canton, Switzerland: triple-aspect oriel window or ‘balcun tort’ on front of traditional house. Guarda is a picturesque mainly Romansh-speaking village in the Lower Engadin Valley where houses date from the early 17th century and many paintings and sgraffito inscriptions are preserved on their façades. The designs are part of a rich cultural and architectural tradition recognised in 1975 when Guarda won the Wakker Prize, awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to the municipality most successful at preserving and enhancing its architectural heritage. The Society described Guarda as one of the best preserved villages of the Lower Engadin, despite struggling with a harsh landscape, the demands of tourism and the migration of young villagers to Switzerland’s cities. Guarda is also the home of Schellen-Ursli (A Bell for Ursli), a popular children’s story written in Romansh by Selina Chönz in 1945. In 2015, the book was turned into the German-language feature film Little Mountain Boy, directed by Xavier Koller and starring Jonas Hartmann as Ursli.
Size: 2809px × 2809px
Location: Guarda, Graubünden or Grisons canton, Switzerland
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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