Deserted areas in the canton of Schwyz

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The alpine desolations in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland have been incorporated into an inventory of abandoned alpine settlements in the canton of Schwyz since the early 1980s .

More than 250 such temporary and permanent structures have been archaeologically recorded in the Muotatal alone . They include around 300 buildings and 60 pens . About half of the examined systems could be classified in the time before 1500 AD. Alpine desertions or abandoned Alpine settlements provide information about medieval transhumance . The deserts of Spilblätz and Balmis were examined more closely.

Spilblätz

Spilblätz was a temporary settlement excavated in 1981 at 1930  m above sea level. M. on the Charetalp, a long, northeast-southwest oriented sloping high valley in the rear of the Muotatal. This alpine settlement was used from the 11th to the 14th century. The remnants of their mortarless masonry are spread over an area of ​​300 × 120 m. Spilblätz consisted of a system of pen walls (for sheep and goats) with different sized compartments. Spilblätz was rather unsuitable for keeping cattle. Initially there were two and later three residential huts within the wall structure. These were one-room houses with an open multi-purpose fireplace. In addition, there was a tiny, fourth building, presumably the storage room for milk and milk products. In the 14th century the settlement was abandoned.

Balmis

In 1987 and 1994 the desolation of the permanent settlement of Balmis near Illgau in the Muotatal was examined. Today Balmis lies on a wooded rock spur at 980  m above sea level. M. On the occasion of the archaeological investigation, three buildings were uncovered. The oldest hut was built around 1100 and was inhabited all year round until the beginning of the 13th century. Then it served as a stable and towards the end of the 18th century as a workshop. In the 13th and 14th centuries a second building was built and used as a residential building. Only the stone base of the wooden house remained. An oven was found in the third building. Finds of cooking pot shards and pork bones indicate a year-round settlement. Based on bone finds, conclusions can be drawn about the keeping of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. The square was abandoned around 1400.

Finale

Presumably, the shift in rural farming from self -sufficiency to commercial large- scale livestock farming after 1350 is one of the reasons why many Alpine settlements were abandoned. The inclusion of the Central Switzerland region in the supply of the up-and-coming cities of the Swiss Central Plateau and the even more urbanized Northern Italian economic area is evident in Central Switzerland since the 14th century in the significant increase in livestock farming. The pens, which were designed for keeping small animals, were probably abandoned for this reason.

literature

  • Franz Auf der Maur: Alpine desertions in the canton of Schwyz . In: «Heidenhüttli». 25 years of archeological desert research in the Swiss Alpine region . Schweizerischer Burgenverein, Basel 1998, ISBN 3-908182-08-5 , pp. 315–327.
  • Werner Meyer : The «Spilblätz» desert on the Charetalp SZ 1981. In: «Heidenhüttli». 25 years of archeological desert research in the Swiss Alpine region . Schweizerischer Burgenverein, Basel 1998, ISBN 3-908182-08-5 , pp. 48–70.
  • Werner Meyer: Wüstung Illgau / Balmis SZ: preliminary report on the soundings 1987. In: Nachrichten des Schweizerischen Burgenverein , Vol. 61, 1988, pp. 66–71.