Davos City Tour

STATIONS IN DAVOS (Author Klaus Bergamin)

Heimatmuseum / Grosses Jenatschhaus
This house from the 16th century recalls the living culture and standard of living of wealthy Davos families, who no longer built their houses in the style of simple Walser houses but in the manner of prosperous Engadine houses. The house was built for the Beeli family, then passed to the Sprecher family and was extended in 1650 by a son of Jörg Jenatsch. In 1740, the house was acquired by the municipality and used as a parsonage (benefice house), later also as a schoolhouse; from 1878 it served as a rental house. Restored in 1937 and since 1942 a local history museum.
Besides the magnificent bed with the Jenatsch coat of arms from the Lower Jenatsch House, you can also find the panelled room from the Upper Jenatsch House here.

Château Bruxelles
Like tens of thousands of Swiss, many Davos residents sought their fortune abroad towards the end of the 19th century. Popular emigration destinations were Europe, Russia, and America. One of these emigrants was Hans Buol, who had prospered as a confectioner in Brussels and had this small castle made of Belgian sandstone and Flüela granite built in 1905. After his death in 1922, his nephew Christian Künzli, a chocolate manufacturer who had emigrated to Birmingham, acquired it. From 1932 to 1950, convalescent children from England stayed at Château Bruxelles. Then a Dutch family ran a small hotel here, later turned into Café Romantica, before the castle was modernized and converted into condominiums in 1975.

Hotel Seehof
Traces point to the Walser settlement period in the 13th century. As early as 1410, this was the residence of the then Landammann. Around 1600, the wooden parts received a front wall, corresponding to the standard of leading Davos families. In 1770, the building was expanded into a patrician house. Later, the house was rebuilt, and in 1869, the hotel and spa house opened. After the 1876 expansion, the house had 62 rooms and was henceforth called Hotel and Spa House Davos Dörfli, and since 1900, Hotel Seehof. During the 1991 renovation, the original building forms were preserved as far as possible.

Church St. Theodul
St. Theodul / St. Joder was the patron saint of the Walser. The church was built in his honor around 1350. Almost at the same time as St. Johann in Davos Platz (1514), a largely new church was built with today's choir and the Gothic vault. The church was fundamentally rebuilt in 1913. On the ground floor of today's tower is the choir of the first building with valuable medieval paintings, restored in 1986.
Until 1881, the dead were buried in the meadow behind the church. Since then, the cemetery has been located above the village.

Upper Jenatsch House
The house was built in 1634 by military leader Georg (Jörg) Jenatsch. The facade bears the Jenatsch-Buol coat of arms from 1634. The house was mainly inhabited by a son of Jörg Jenatsch. In 1642, it passed to his descendants and now serves as a community house for the faction community. After the renovations in 1886 and 1954, only the vaults in the cellar and ground floor remain. The magnificent panelled room with coffered ceiling can be seen today in the local history museum.
Lower Jenatsch House
In 1525 this house was built by governor Andreas Sprecher in the style of old Engadine houses. Georg Jenatsch, who was a military leader in Graubünden and Veltlin during the Thirty Years' War, bought the house in 1628 and lived here until 1636. The family then moved to Chur. Jenatsch was murdered in 1639. His wife and children returned to Davos. The descendants influenced Davos and the three leagues politically for years. In 1783, Paul Jenatsch, an officer in Dutch service, sold the house to Anton Herkules Sprecher von Bernegg. Since 1884, the building has been owned by the Branger family and their descendants.

Herz Jesu Church
After the development of the Flüelapass road, the alpine owner of Tschuggen had the chapel Maria zum Schnee built below the Flüelapass in 1870 as the first Catholic church in the Davos region. In 1892, the Catholic Marienkirche was built in Davos Platz. In 1870, 68 Catholics lived in Davos; by 1900, there were already 2700. In 1915, the Herz Jesu Church was built as the third Catholic church. Due to the outbreak of World War I and the associated unemployment, the construction of the new church was completed within one year. G. Berther, who had renovated the Marienkirche in 1979, was commissioned in 1984 to also fundamentally restore the Herz Jesu Church in the village.

Villa Silvana
Built in 1890 by Joos Wolf. From 1922 to 1951, the upper floors of this villa were rented and converted into a research laboratory by the Swiss Foundation for High-altitude Physiology and Tuberculosis Research with the help of public funds. The financing of the scientific work was through the tourist tax, introduced by the community in the same year. From 1922 to 1934, High-altitude Physiology Institute under Professor A. Loewy; from 1934 to 1950, pathological-anatomical research institute focused on tuberculosis and its pathogens. From 1934 to 1937, the institute was led by Professor Roulet, from 1938 to 1950 by Professor Berblinger, who previously held the chair for pathological anatomy at the University of Jena. In 1951 the foundation succeeded in buying Villa Fontana on Obere Str. 22B and establishing a pathological institute. The house Silvana was comprehensively renovated by the architects Krähenbühl in 1996.

English Church
St. Luke was built between 1882 and 1883 by the English colony in the style of a neo-Romanesque mountain church. The church was sold to the Free Evangelical Congregation in 1980. From time to time, services in English are still held in the church.
The strong presence of the English is reflected by the construction of Hotel Belvédère, which was built at the insistence of an Englishman to the latest standards for British requirements. To stay among themselves, the now demolished hotels Carlton, Angleterre, and Viktoria were built. English athletes in Davos were the first to competitively practice various winter sports.

The English Quarter
In 1869, the first English guest came to Davos and after a longer cure period built a villa in Davos Dorf. In 1878, the first book about Davos appeared in England, and shortly afterward more and more English people traveled here to be cured of tuberculosis. Many English built houses in the surrounding area, leading to the creation of the English Quarter. From 1891 to 1939, the English had a consulate here. With 6000 volumes, they possessed the largest library on the continent (near today's Kirchner Museum) and operated the Queen Alexandra Sanatorium from 1909 to 1914. From 1922 to 2005, it was the Thurgau-Shaffhausen sanatorium.

The Russian Colony
Around the turn of the century, besides particularly many Germans and English, there were also over 3000 Russians living in Davos. Like the English, they had their own library, concerts, a Russian theater, and the magazine "Dawosskij Westnik" (Davos Herald). Wealthy Russians mainly lived in the now-demolished Hotel Bernina, while others were at the spa house "Villa Anna Maria" on Obere Strasse 14. Due to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the construction of a Russian church at Scalettastr. 8 was halted.

Wilhelm Schwerzmann
The sculptor Wilhelm Schwerzmann, born 1877 in Zug, died 1966 in Orselina, created the fountain installation at the entrance of the Kurpark for the National Exhibition in Bern in 1914. In 1916, this artwork was acquired by the Kurverein Davos. The animal figures only emerged in 1940/41. Schwerzmann created many enduring works in Davos, such as the relief at the southern entrance gate on Kurgartenstrasse, the sculpture "wild man" made in 1913 for the new building of the Cantonal Bank (today the building of the Cantonal Police), and the wooden sculptures in the town hall hall. Schwerzmann also created the "Bubenbrunnen" at Postplatz (1928) and the "Skisturzbrunnen" near the St. Theodul church in Davos Dorf, commissioned in 1936 in memory of the 500th anniversary of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions by the Dorf faction community. The cemetery in Davos Dorf bears the tomb of "Baumeister Mai" (1931), and the forest cemetery has the "resting place of the lonely" (1926) and various other gravestones commemorating the artist Wilhelm Schwerzmann.

Kurpark
At the suggestion of the then spa director, Hans Valär (author of the dialect book "Dr. Türligiiger"), the Kurverein bought the Kurpark grounds in 1913 with an area of 52,000 square meters. As a result of a competition announced in 1914 among Swiss gardeners, a pioneering park in the French style was created. Due to the construction of the garden and indoor baths, the park had to be redesigned in 1963. On Jules-Ferdmann-Weg, which runs through the park, you find today, beside the Schwerzmann fountain, the monument "Der Atmer" dedicated to the spa founder Alexander Spengler, created in 1924 by Philipp Modrow. The memorial stone to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of "Sherlock Holmes," has stood here since 1968. The plaque commemorates Doyle’s first ski tour to Maienfelder Furka in 1894. On the grounds expanded by 30,000 square meters in 1948 stand today, among others, the congress center (built in 1969, expanded in 1979 and 1988-1990), the indoor water park "eau-là-là" (renovated and expanded in 2004), a children's playground, and more.

Ice Rink
Annette Gigon and Mike Gyer were the architects of the Kirchner Museum opened in 1992. They were also the winners of an architectural competition for the construction of a new ice rink building, which was handed over to operations in 1996. This new building replaced the shingle-clad wooden building from 1934 by Rudolf Gaberel, which was destroyed by fire in August 1991. At the same location, there had been a distinctive ice rink building since 1892 with two towers, a large terrace, a fine restaurant, and changing rooms. This building became necessary because ice sports were the favorite sport of the English guests and patients living here and the ice surface created in 1870 and enlarged in 1880 was no longer sufficient for them. They also urged the Kurverein to enlarge the ice surface from 16,000 to later 21,000 square meters. The international skating club was founded in 1894, and the first international competitions took place on Davos ice the same year.

Ice Stadium
In 1960, a synthetic ice rink was created here with financial participation from the Kurverein, the municipality, and the hockey club. Due to cost reasons, roofing was initially postponed. In 1968, the general assembly of KVD approved a project by architect Gisel, which provided a steel structure for the roof supported by four double columns. Due to large cost overruns, construction was stopped again shortly after starting. After the HCD’s re-promotion to National League A at the end of the 1978/79 season, the Swiss Ice Hockey Association requested a covered synthetic ice rink to play in the top league. In March 1979, the project designed by architects Krähenbühl for roofing the synthetic ice rink with a wooden structure and conversion to an ice hall was approved by the Kurverein’s general assembly and work began in April 1979. Since the synthetic ice rink was covered by October, the first championship game could be held here on October 13, 1979.

Hotel Schatzalp
Co-builder of this monumental and architecturally historically valuable reinforced concrete building and the Schatzalp cable car as feeder was Willem Jan Holsboer, on whose initiative the first section of the Rhaetian Railway led to Davos in 1890. Today’s Art Nouveau hotel Schatzalp was built visionary and pioneering by the young Zurich architects Otto Pfleghard & Max Haefeli between 1898-1900 and was opened on December 21, 1900. Schatzalp was designed as a luxury sanatorium and was the most progressive treatment center for tuberculosis patients in Europe. The first practicing chief physician was Dr. Luzius Spengler, son of spa founder Alexander Spengler and son-in-law of Willem Jan Holsboer. With the invention of streptomycin in 1946, tuberculosis was initially defeated. Thus, Schatzalp ceased to serve as a sanatorium and was converted into a hotel in 1953. The soul of the house, the architecture, has been largely preserved. Today, the dining room, the conversation room, and some guest rooms still show as they did 100 years ago. The magic mountain romance that inspired Thomas Mann’s novel is still palpable and visible at Schatzalp.

Kurhaus Hotel Europe
Alexander Spengler came from Germany in 1853 as a spa doctor to Davos. Due to his writings about the healing effect of the Davos climate, Spengler is considered the founder of the Davos spa. Willem Jan Holsboer came from the Netherlands. Together with Spengler, Holsboer had this house built as a "spa institution." After the fire of 1872, the house was rebuilt as "spa institution W.J. Holsboer" with several halls. Along with the spa garden in front of the hotel—the present Arkadenplatz—and several adjacent villas (Villa Wohlgelegen, Villa Helvetia, Villa Britannia), this became the cultural center of Davos. Until 1959, it was the Hotel Palace; since, Hotel Europe. The hotel was fully renovated in 1988.

Town Hall / Large Chamber
After the fire of 1559, the then Landschreiber Hans Ardüser was commissioned to build today's town hall with council chamber, courtroom, rest room, prison, and donation wine cellar. The paintings on the south façade date from 1833. After several renovations, the town hall was enlarged in 1930 by architect Rudolf Gaberel and given today’s flat roof. The highlight of the town hall is the Large Chamber on the 2nd floor.
Since 1436, Davos was the meeting place for the authorities of the Three Leagues (until 1794) and the League of Ten Jurisdictions (until 1807). Town halls and council chambers were especially in the 16th century the showpieces of a place. For this reason, the Large Chamber was built in 1564 in the Renaissance style with Ionic columns by Hans Ardüser. Of particular importance are the Swiss pine paneling with inlays, the tiled stove (1564) with the coats of arms of the 10 jurisdictions and the old confederation, reliefs by sculptor Wilhelm Schwerzmann (1923), stained glass windows with historical dates and coats of arms.

Church St. Johann
St. Johann is the oldest church in the Davos region. It was built by the Walser shortly after their settlement in the 13th century. As a symbol of Davos' suburban position, the 72 m high tower was built in 1481. The turning of the tower was caused by extreme weather conditions and probably stopped after 1640 when the framework was newly fastened. Around 1500, the Romanesque church was replaced by a Gothic church. Since the Reformation of 1528, it has been the Protestant church of Davos. The shingle covering from 1769 was replaced in 2003 after 235 years. In 1909, the church was expanded from 200 to 800 seats by adding side aisles and galleries. The four stained glass windows in the choir with the theme "Paradise" were painted by Augusto Giacometti in 1928.

Villa Letta
This palazzo-style villa was built in 1888 according to plans by Davos architect and master builder Gaudenz Issler for Anton Letta as a family summer residence. The builder was mainly active as a businessman in Italy. The villa remained in the possession of the Letta families and their descendants until 1961. In 1889, the Dutch—later the Italian—consulate was located here. For years, the house served various well-known Davos doctors as a practice. In 1961, the former ironmongers' family Scheurer bought Villa Letta, and since 1984 it has been owned by their descendants, the ironmongers' families Karlen and Nyfeler. Comprehensive renovations took place in 1991 and 1995. In Davos, this villa is a striking, almost intact witness to the classical period of the last turn of the century.

Villa Dora
Around 1900, 15% of the Swiss population died of tuberculosis. Davos had become an internationally known spa. In 1904, Dr. Carl Dorno came here with his tuberculosis-stricken daughter and began to research the healing power of the climate. In 1907, at his own expense—but with support from the later Landammann Joos Wolf (1854-1927)—he opened the Physical-Meteorological Observatory Davos in Wolf’s 1890-built villa Dora, still owned by the family today. Thanks to his research, Davos became the best-studied climatic spa in Europe. In 1929, Dr. Walter Mörikofer succeeded him. He advocated for worldwide uniform radiation measurement and made the Davos Observatory the official calibration center for radiation measuring instruments. In 1966, Dr. Flach became head of the institute. He was also mainly occupied with bioclimatic questions. In 1971, the previously private research station was also recognized by the federal government and became the World Radiation Center. Dr. Claus Fröhlich led it until 1999. Since 1977, the WRC has been housed in the old schoolhouse of Davos Dorf and is currently headed by Prof. Werner Schmutz.

Schlössli
Below the coat of arms is the inscription: "Banner bearer Paul v. Buol built this house." The daughter of this Paul Buol (1562-1634) married pastor and military leader Georg Jenatsch. When Jenatsch moved to Davos in 1627, he lived here in the house of his father-in-law. From 1628, he lived in the Lower Jenatsch House in Davos Dorf. In 1636, Jenatsch moved his residence to Chur, where he was murdered in 1639, and his family returned to Davos. The "Schlössli" remained in the possession of Jenatsch's influential descendants until 1815. It was then converted into a guesthouse and later into a multi-family house. Today, it is owned by the Furter families.

Marienkirche
In 1870, there were slightly more than 1900 Reformed and slightly fewer than 100 Catholics in Davos, mainly cared for church-wise from Schmitten. Initially, Catholic services were held in the Reformed St. Johann church. In 1879, by means of alms from France and Tyrol, a chapel was built opposite today’s parish center. The Marienkirche was built in 1892 as the Roman Catholic parish church of Davos Platz and fully renovated in 1978 by architect Georg Berther. Of particular importance are the stained glass windows from 1912 by Atelier Schnell in Ravensburg and the reliefs on the altar table by Sr. Caritas Müller from the Cazis Monastery.

Hotel Strela
Tobias Branger, a Davos resident who had become wealthy as a confectioner in Petersburg, built a house here as a retreat, which was converted into an inn in 1861. On February 8, 1865, Dr. Friedrich Unger and Hugo Richter, both severely ill with tuberculosis, came as the first winter spa guests to Davos. Because this was the only guesthouse in Davos that could provide patients with heated guest rooms, they lived here in the former "Guest and Spa House to Strela." After recovering, Richter took over management of the Strela, opened a bookstore, and founded the Davos newspaper. Dr. Unger became spa doctor of Davos in 1866. Later, the spa house was turned into a corporation, and in 1924, Pfr. Paul Dosch, together with friends, bought it to continue operation as a Catholic association house and people's pension. It has since been operated by the Chamer Sisters.

Villa Fontana
Built in 1899 as a residential house for Dr. Lucius Spengler-Holzboer, chief physician of the Schatzalp Sanatorium. Lucius Spengler was the eldest son of Alexander Spengler, founder of the Davos spa. In 1950, the Swiss Foundation for High Mountain Climate and Tuberculosis Research acquired the villa from the community of heirs with help from the municipality, canton, federal government, and numerous donors. After extensive remodeling, it was used from 1951 as a research institute with different objectives. From 1951 to 1954, pathological-anatomical institute (Prosektorate of the canton of Graubünden) under the leadership of Professor W. Berblinger; 1954 to 1957 under Professor W.A. Vischer bacteriological research laboratory; temporarily closed in 1958; 1959 to 1992 laboratory for experimental surgery (the germ cell of the later AO center; AO = working group for osteosynthesis questions); 1961 to 1986 immunological research institute under Professor E. Sorkin; 1988 to 1995 (until the new research site was occupied) Swiss Institute for Asthma and Allergy Research (SIAF) under Professor K. Blaser. From 1995, extensive renovation and partial restoration. Reopened as a multi-story residential building at the beginning of 1997 after completion of conversion.

Sanatorium Dr. Turban (Sunstar)
For 2000 years, tuberculosis was considered an incurable disease. The Alexander Spengler from Mannheim was appointed spa doctor to Davos in 1853. Here he discovered the healing effect of the high-altitude climate for lung diseases and publicized this in various specialist journals. Since 1865, Davos became an internationally known lung spa. Until 1889, it remained a place where healthy and sick lived together in spa hotels and guesthouses. To protect themselves from further infection, the German Dr. Karl Turban, himself tuberculosis sick, built the first closed sanatorium on this site. Each room had its own balcony, and each patient was provided with the special "Davos deckchair." The sick had to lie quietly wrapped in blankets on balconies for 5 hours daily and were not allowed to read or write. Dr. Turban achieved astonishing healing successes, and in the following years, many spa hotels were converted into sanatoriums. His strict rules prevailed everywhere. After Dr. Turban's death, the "Sanatorium Dr. Turban" was renamed the "Park Sanatorium" and was demolished in 1973. The same year, the Sunstar Parkhotel**** was built on the same site and expanded in 1976.

Old Cemetery - Crematorium
With the development into a rapidly growing spa and the associated above-average number of deaths, the cemetery at St. Johann Church soon became too small. In 1876, the cemetery was moved here, and the new cemetery chapel was consecrated in 1885. When a crematorium was built in 1913, it was hoped to avoid enlarging or relocating the cemetery. However, there were always more burials, and the area again needed more room. So the forest cemetery became the final resting place in 1921. Inside the crematorium is an oil painting painted by Augusto Giacometti (1877-1947) in 1917.

Because the cemetery at St. Johann Church had become too small, it had to be moved to the Alberti meadow above the hospital. When this space was also insufficient, the architect Rudolf Gaberel was commissioned to plan a cemetery in the larch forest on the Wildboden. In 1921, the first child was buried here.
In the immediate vicinity, to the right of the road, there has been a Jewish cemetery since 1931 with its 176 graves oriented towards Jerusalem and a grave with ashes and remains of burned victims from the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Another cemetery is in Davos Dorf, and another—the German soldiers' cemetery from World War I—is on the grounds of the Wolfgang clinic.

See also
Destination Davos Klosters
Davos Destinations Organization (Cooperative)
Talstrasse 41
CH-7270 Davos Platz
Tel: +41(0)81 415 21 21
E-mail:
Internet: www.davos.ch

Cultural history educational trail: Heimatmuseum / Grosses Jenatschhaus - Château Bruxelles - Hotel Seehof - Church St. Theodul - Upper Jenatsch House - Herz Jesu Church - Villa Silvana - English Church - The English Quarter - The Russian Colony - Wilhelm Schwerzmann - Kurpark - Ice Rink - Ice Stadium - Hotel Schatzalp - Kurhaus Hotel Europe - Town Hall / Large Chamber - Church St. Johann - Villa Letta - Villa Dora - Schlössli - Marienkirche - Hotel Strela - Villa Fontana - Sanatorium Dr. Turban (Sunstar) - Old Cemetery - Crematorium