Witness mastery in action – intensely and up close

For once, you'll not be sitting in a large concert hall, or attending a reading amplified by a microphone along with several hundred other people. Instead, you'll be up close. Enjoy the proximity and often intimate atmosphere far away from the city spectacle, in a place art remains accessible, touching and exciting.

International events

Two of our most famous cultural events are both dedicated to those Sils summer guests who discovered their love for this place early on and renewed this love with their regular visits: the annual Nietzsche Colloquium and the Sils Hesse Days. The Sils Art and Literature Days and Tours have been added to these international events, connecting the enjoyment for art and culture with intensive nature experiences through a combination of readings, lectures, concerts and cultural walks. The Resonanzen international cultural festival is one of the highlights on the Sils cultural calendar. Famous artists and upcoming talent captivate audiences.

All events in Sils

Concerts with long-lasting resonance

In Sils, you get the chance to watch great artists in an intimate setting: for example, at our international concerts with chamber music and recitals or at the many musical events that are held in the Waldhaus and Edelweiss hotels. At the summer Sunday afternoon open-air concerts in Fex Valley, nature becomes the stage, just like in the “Wasserzeichen” concerts, which are performed every year on a floating stage in a picturesque and romantic bay on the Chasté peninsula, captivating nature and music lovers alike.

Culture in Sils has many places

You can enjoy culture in Sils in a wide range of different places: in the public church in Sils Maria, the Chesa Fonio KUBUS, the Waldhaus Hotel, the Edelweiss Hotel, the Biblioteca Engiadinaisa library, the Nietzsche House and in the open air. Some of these places are also museums: in the Nietzsche House, you can visit the rooms the philosopher rented for seven summers preserved in their original state. The house also showcases temporary exhibitions of modern art alongside the permanent exhibition. Alternatively, visit the Chesa Fonio, which houses the SILS MUSEUM and integrates the works by the talented Sils artist into a constantly new dialogue with contemporary artists, thanks to the collaboration with the Witschi Gallery in Zürich. Also worth a visit are the Gallaria Chesina, which exhibits contemporary and ancient paintings as well as wooden sculptures and jewellery, and the Fex Gallery in Fex Curtins.

The Nietzsche House in Sils: the birthplace of a philosophy

The unassuming house on Via da Marias is as much a memorial site as a museum, library and place of scholarly exchange. Here, you can immerse yourself deeply into the life of the brilliant thinker and poet: the exhibition includes handwritten letters, photographic documents, first editions of his works, the original furniture from his time in Basel, the two death masks, and much more. Artists and writers regularly stay at the house, where they grapple with Nietzsche's thoughts and ideas. Legendary exhibitions emerged as a result of these exchanges: in 1992, for example, Gerhard Richter exhibited a series of over-painted photographs of the Engadin countryside. Find out more about Nietzsche

Andrea Robbi: a painter's view of the Engadin

You will already be familiar with the Giacometti family and have surely heard of Giovanni Segantini. But what about Andrea Robbi? The Engadin painter, who died in 1945, was not discovered until the mid-1980s. Robbi was born in the Italian town of Carrara in 1864 into a family of confectioners from Sils who had emigrated to Italy. He studied abroad at several academies of arts and was acquainted with Giovanni Giacometti. However, while Giacometti began to experiment around the turn of the century, Robbi put his paintbrush aside and spent the remaining 47 years of his life in total isolation in Sils. The Sils Museum exhibits oil paintings as well as drawings and watercolours by the Sils artist. This is a discovery for art lovers. More information about Andrea Robbi and the SILS MUSEUM.

Biblioteca Engiadinaisa: a book paradise for all

You will be astonished. This is the kind of reading room you have always wanted: with an undisturbed view of Lake Sils and free access to around 20,000 media. From fiction and classics to Engadin rarities, from books and magazines to DVDs and audio books. What appears to be a residential house from the outside, turns out to be a true paradise for book addicts and bookworms, or film buffs and audio book fans on the inside. Louise Silverberg donated the library in memory of her father, Dr. Paul Silverberg. Fancy a bit of holiday reading? You can borrow books from the Biblioteca Engiadinaisa library free of charge. Contact Biblioteca Engiadinaisa

KUBUS: commitment and wealth of ideas

The Sils office for cultural affairs, or KUBUS for short, is as much a source of ideas as organiser of many of our cultural events. The careful involvement of the heads of KUBUS, Dr. Mirella Carbone and Joachim Jung, ensures that Sils is a special meeting place – internationally, inspirationally and personally – and a place that welcomes visitors. Some of the events are held in the Chesa Fonio building. This is also the headquarters of KUBUS. Contact KUBUS

Culture tips

• Visits to Samuele Giovanoli (1877-1941)
  Born in Bregaglia, mountain farmer and butcher Samuele Giovanoli moved at the age of 18 to the idyllic Fex Valley, where he spent the remainder of his life. It wasn't until his latter years that he taught himself to paint. His profoundly naive paintings are also recognised today beyond the region's borders. Some of them can be admired in the Seraina Hotel.
• A glimpse into Gerhard Richter's artist's book “Sils”
  To mark his exhibition in the Nietzsche House in 1992, Germany's most famous painter created a unique artist's book about Sils. Revisit Engadin through the eyes of Gerhard Richter. You can borrow the book from the Biblioteca Engiadinaisa library.
• Introduction to the “Waldhaus”
  For anyone who would like to find out more about the Waldhaus Hotel and the writers who have stayed there, we recommend the book entitled: ‟Wie gross ist die Welt und wie still ist es hier. Geschichten ums Waldhaus in Sils Maria.” (German only) You can borrow the book from the Biblioteca Engiadinaisa library.