Art of Remembering – a Memorial Cross in the Ortsmuseum Schmitten

"What we are, is what you will become / What you are, is what we were"

Thus reads a board in the ossuary of the Church of St Peter, picturesquely situated just outside of Mistail. Bones and skulls are neatly stacked on top of each other. The aphorism placed in front of them appears as a "memento mori"; as a reminder that earthly life does not last forever. The reminder is all the more striking because the location is special: the Carolingian church of St Peter is, if you will, a little sister to the church of St John in Müstair. And, after all, the Abbey of Saint John is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Deeper into the Albula Valley, in the local museum Ortsmuseum Schmitten, a hand-forged cross can be found which served not as a reminder of the mortality of people in general, but to commemorate a specific, long-deceased person. However, we do not know anything about this dead man. The name has been removed, but the beauty of the skilfully forged cross remains.

Crosses such as this one have a long tradition in the region. Near the village of Lantsch/Lenz, situated high above the church of Mistail, lies St Mary's Church. And in the cemetery of this church, only crosses similar to the one displayed in the Ortsmuseum Schmitten are found. None are made of cast iron or stone; all are hand-forged, ranging from Gothic to Renaissance or Baroque styles.