Switzerland loves its chalets. And foreign travelers also associate temporary living during skiing and hiking vacations with the charm of the wooden chalet. But what actually is a "chalet"? And what is not one? Are there characteristics that make the cozy wooden house clearly a chalet? Is it the knitted construction, the wide overhanging roof? Is it the geraniums in front of the windows, the carved roof beams? Or is the "chalet" simply a symbol and emblem of our longing for alpine nature and thus an invention, a myth?
Because the more precisely one tries to grasp the chalet, the more blurred its contours become. It is high time to take a closer look at it, to go back to its beginnings and to trace its history up to the present day. The exhibition "Myth of the Chalet. Sehnsucht, Kitsch und Baukultur" (The Chalet Myth: Longing, Kitsch and Building Culture) attempts to provide an overview: tongue-in-cheek, informative and entertaining. In three focal points - longing, kitsch and building culture - we approach this Swiss phenomenon: how the chalet became a romantic image of longing; how the "Laubsägeli-Chalet" became an export hit and a souvenir in small format. And last but not least, the exhibition shows current projects in dealing with this building culture; with a focus on Graubünden.