|
Saas Fee information
General overview
The Skiing overview
Culture / Tradition
Parking information
Saas Fee maps
How to get there
Summer map
Ski map
Back to
Saas Fee homepage
skiswitzerland.com |
Saas Fee
Culture and Tradition
As with others, the people of Saas handed
down customs and traditions from generation to
generation. Present day existence is tied both to our ancestral past and
to the future. The traditional dress worn by the Saas women is still
worn on special occasions today. It consists of two parts: the top part,
a kind of waistcoat known as “Schlutti” in dialect which is decorated
with splendid embroidery at the front and a half skirt, characterised by
its fullness and pleats. A traditional hat “Kreshut” or headscarf, the
colour of which is determined by the occasion, is worn with the outfit.
The Corpus Christi Procession
The Saas-Fee Corpus Christi procession is regarded as one of the
finest of its kind in the
valleys of Valais (the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday). After High
Mass the procession starts in front of the church, makes its way around
the village to the hamlet of “Lomatte” and returns via the church
square, ending with a visit to the cemetery. Young and old alike, even
the smallest children only just able to walk, take part in the
procession, which represents the glory of the holy sacraments. Alongside
brass band music, the old village band which
plays on this day has a special significance. It dates back to the year
1854 and could then only be heard on this great occasion.
The Saas Museum
Walking south, the Saas museum can be found near the church on
the right hand side of the road. The building, constructed in 1732 was
at one time the presbytery. In 1855 another storey was added. It is
typical of the style of residential houses built at this time: the front
section from above the basement is constructed from larch wood and the
back from stone.
The Saas museum was officially opened on 3. December 1983 and thanks to
its great variety is one of the most visited museums in Valais. On four
floors, exhibits on the following can be found: a turn-of-the-century
Saas appartment, folklore artifacts, costumes of the Saas people, the
early days of tourism in summer and winter, a collection of local rocks,
exhibits from our glaciers, religious art, Carl Zuckmayer’s original
study, pictures of old Saas, hay making/transport, the local butcher’s
trade and irrigation.
A visit to the Saas Museum is always worthwhile, not least because it is
described in the literature as one the finest of its kind in the whole
of Valais.
Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer originated from Nackenheim in the Rhine Valley, a
typical countryman from one of the most colourful regions in Germany. At
that time Saas-Fee was a another world altogether to him and he was very
attracted by it. Right from his very first visit in 1938 he was totally
smitten by the place and never left. In the tranquillity he found there
he wrote his last famous works, among them his enigmatic life’s work,
“Als wär’s ein Stuck von mir” (As if it were a piece of me).He died on
18. January 1977 and was buried in Saas-Fee. The grave of Carl Zuckmayer
together with that of his wife Alice can be found right in the middle of
the cemetery in respectful harmony with the other graves.
Saas-Fee: a ‘Walser’
community
The “Walser” make up an unmistakable and unique part of
the life in the Alps and are still driven today by their will to survive
which has enabled them to live off the mountain land for more than 700
years. The Walser people are not, however, a mere relic of the past.
They live in harmony both in and alongside the mountains and will
continue to do so for the foreseeable future. And thus it happens that a
mountain peasant has become a restaurateur or furniture maker and a
farmer’s wife can become a hotel secretary or a teacher in the local
school.
|
|