The association Walserhaus

The association Walserhaus was founded in 1936 in Bosco Gurin, a village built at the very back of the Maggia valley at the beginning of the 13th century at 1506 m a.s.l. by Walser settlers coming from the nearby valley of Pomatt. The village is characterized by the fact that it has retained its old features and its old German dialect, thus forming a German-speaking island within the Italian-speaking Ticino.
At a time when the protection and preservation of the linguistic and cultural islands was not yet very popular, the founders of the association gave themselves the task of preserving the historical, cultural and linguistic heritage of the Walsers of Gurin, promoting and supporting projects through which the understanding of their origins, history and customs is also deepened outside the Gurin Walser Community, and representing the history and culture of the Walser community, especially of Gurin, but also of the other Walser colonies, in the ethnographic museum “Walserhaus”.
The management of the association with its over 300 members is the responsibility of the board of directors, in which the municipality, the villagers and the traditional costume group of Bosco Gurin are also represented. The management and coordination of the museum activities are entrusted to village-based supervisors and a curator, who are supported by many volunteers.