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Weitere Ausführungen zum Herrenhaus sind im Schweizerischen Kunstführer «Das Herrenhaus Grafen- ort» zu lesen. Auf Anfrage werden Führungen durchs Haus gemacht. Ausserdem finden regelmässig öffent- liche Veranstaltungen statt: www.grafenort.ch

More information on the manor house can be found in the “Das Herrenhaus Grafenor t ” ar t guide (in German) and tours of the house are available on request. For details on regu lar public events at the manor house v isit www.grafenor t.ch

Das Herrenhaus diente nicht nur als Warenlager, sondern auch als Talresidenz des Ab- tes und des Konventes. The manorhouse wasn’ t only a storehouse; it was also the valley residence for the Abbot and the monks.

Wand- und Deckenmalereien zieren das Herrenhaus Grafenort. Grafenort manor is decorated with wall and ceiling paintings.

The manor house in Grafenort used to be a trading post, an inn where travellers would take a final rest before tackling the ascent to Engel- berg, and a place where monks could meet and talk – but then the bustling manor fell quiet. Situated by the railway station, a longside two farms, a chapel and a tavern, Grafenor t manor is a rather majestic building in a fascinating location – and yet it gets over- looked. Travellers rush by in cars and trains, f u ll of anticipation for the sunny mountains soaring into the skies ahead. It doesn’ t occur

and the car v ings on the eight hanging beams. Severa l storeys lower, entering the ground f loor is like stepping into another world. The wa lls and ceilings are decorated with the coat of arms of Engelberg Abbey and my thologica l scenes. This was where daily life took place. Tiled stoves suggest bygone inhabitants used to enjoy cosy evenings here. The manor was, af ter a ll, much more than a storehouse; it was a lso the va lley residence of the Abbot and monks – and during the civ il and religious wars of the early 18th centur y, asylum seekers canton of Nidwa lden were negotiated here, and monks came here in the summer months to take a break f rom Abbey routine. These days, the rooms that were once f illed with life are a lmost eerily silent. The on ly sounds are f loorboards creaking under foot, and perhaps a bat f lut tering in the at tic. Grafenor t lost its f unc tion as a trading post in the late 19th centur y, when the road was improved and the railway line built, making Engelberg much more easily accessible. The Abbey abandoned the house to its fate. Thank- f u lly, in 1995 it was rescued and restored by Obwa lden’s senior forestr y of f icia l Leo L iener t and the Lebensraum Gebirge founda- tion. Gradua lly, life was breathed back into the building, which now occasiona lly hosts seminars, matinée per formances or even wedding par ties. The house that long ago was a bustling hub at the gates of Engelberg has awoken gently f rom its long slumber. found shelter here. Squabbles over the border between the independent state of Engel- berg and the neighbouring

to them to stop here in the shady va lley and complete the trip to Engelberg on foot. Once upon a time, things were ver y dif ferent here. Caravans of cat tle and mu le drivers f rom Engelberg

The manor house has awoken to new life since its renovation.

Abbey wou ld leave Grafenor t loaded with cheese, pass over the Got thard Pass to Milan, and then return with barrels of wine and oil, and sacks of grain, rice and sa lt. Grafenor t was the terminus; this was where the broad road that the car ts had traversed gave way to a nar- row, twisting brid lepath. Car ters wou ld drive straight through the large gates to the ware- house building and un load their wares. Sacks were heaved through the hatch in the roof, and pack anima ls were resadd led here to take goods on to Engelberg. The wa lls v ibrated to the sound of busy ac tiv ity and cheer f u l voices. As the Abbey’s trade in cheese and livestock advanced, the old stone building in Grafenor t was no longer adequate as a ware- house, and in 1690 Abbot Ignaz Burnot t com- missioned the building of a new manor house. For prac tica l reasons, the at tic became the centra l feature – it makes up ha lf of the build- ing’s entire height. One can spend a long time here, admiring the beautif u l carpentr y work

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