Bell Ursli
Schellen-Ursli (rarely also Schellenursli ), in the Rhaeto-Romanic original Uorsin , is a children's story by the author Selina Chönz and the artist Alois Carigiet . It is one of the most famous picture books in Switzerland .
The history
"High up in the mountains, far from here, a boy like you lives there," the story begins. It takes place in Guarda , an Engadine village in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is about the custom of Chalandamarz , which is performed every year on March 1st. According to tradition, the Engadine children should be driven out in spring with loud bells ringing.
The protagonist Ursli only received a small bell for the Chalandamarz . He is teased by the other village boys about it and does not want to accept that he should go with them at the end of the move the following day. He remembers the big cowbell that hangs in the early summer alpine hut in Maiensäss . He sets out on the dangerous path through the deep snow up to the hut. Meanwhile the parents worry, when it gets dark the whole village is looking for little Ursli; but it arrived happily in the snow-covered Maiensäss. When Ursli shows up at home the next day with the big bell, the relief is great. Since Ursli is now bringing the largest bell, he is allowed to lead the move.
the authors
Selina Chönz wrote the text, the illustrations are by Alois Carigiet . The book was published in 1945. The book caused a sensation far beyond the Engadine with its pictures and history. Although the Schellenursli is not as famous as Heidi , it is one of the great Swiss children's books. Other books by Alois Carigiet and Selina Chönz are Flurina und das Wildvöglein, Schellenursli's sister and The big snow .
background
The origin of the story lies in Guarda , a village in the Lower Engadine. House no. 51 on the west side of Plazzetta zuos-cha (Romansh 'Dirty Place') served the artist Alois Carigiet from Graubünden as a model for little Ursli's parents' house. The stately Lower Engadine houses are known for their thick walls, which are painted with pictures and sgraffiti . The small windows and the large ornate wooden gates are still typical features of Engadine houses today. Guarda is now a village with a townscape of national importance.
Anyone who travels through the Engadine today will repeatedly come across the traces of the Schellenursli. Be it the Schellenursli Museum, the exhibition of Alois Carigiet's pictures or the custom of Chalandamarz, which is still practiced today .
The Swiss Post devoted Schellenursli in 2007 a stamp: The stamp worth 85 centimes shows Ursli as he runs on the way to the mountain pasture over a wooden bridge.
Film adaptations and opera
- The first film adaptation of Schellenursli was made in 1953; it was realized by the Thurgau photographer and filmmaker Ernst A. Heiniger . The film by this Oscar winner, considered lost , was produced in the Disney studios and ran successfully as a supporting program in American cinemas. The two main roles were cast by Not and Tilli Schlegel from Bos-cha bei Guarda, who later married.
- In 1964 the story was filmed in an 18-minute short film by Condor-Films AG . This commissioned work by the Graubünden Tourist Office was intended to promote the beauty of the Engadine.
- The feature film Schellen-Ursli was produced in 2014/2015 under the direction of Xavier Koller . Since the actual plot of the book is too short for the length of a feature film, the story of Stefan Jäger and Xavier Koller has been expanded to include essential parts; the bell story told in the book only takes place in the last 20 minutes of the film.
- The Berlin composer Marius Felix Lange created an operatic version of the story. The premiere of this “family opera” took place in November 2019 at the Basel Theater .
literature
- Selina Chönz (story), Alois Carigiet (illustration): Schellen-Ursli . An Engadine picture book. 32nd edition. Orell Füssli, Zurich 2015, ISBN 978-3-280-01644-2 .
- Roland Ganninger: Schellen-Ursli. The Engadin answer to Heidi and the houses of his homeland . In: Pforzheimer Zeitung [magazine no. 11] January 15, 2000.
Individual evidence
- ^ "Schellen-Ursli" adorns the B Mail stamp . NZZ Online . September 6, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ From Engwang to Hollywood , Tagblatt Online: October 2, 2015
- ↑ Die Südostschweiz from September 19, 2015, p. 23
- ↑ Schellen-Ursli has already been made into a film , article in the Engadiner Post from July 11, 2013
- ↑ Schellen-Ursli in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Schellen-Ursli is also convincing as a film , Tagesanzeiger 8 September 2015
- ↑ The opera Schellen-Ursli on the program of the Basel Theater, accessed on November 18, 2019