A Tradition in Red – the Tracht of the Engadin

“Every true Engadin woman should wear nothing but the red traditional costume when led to the altar, and no true Oberland woman should wish to attend the great St. Placidus festival in Disentis in anything other than the dainty Schlappa and the beautiful silk cloth.”

Instructions like these, found in the 1928 Bündnerisches Haushaltungs- und Familienbuch (Graubünden’s Housekeeping and Family Book), would be unlikely to appear in any Swiss publication today. Traditional costumes—known as Tracht in German-speaking countries and regions—may no longer be essential to wedding ceremonies, but they remain an important part of Switzerland’s cultural heritage. There are hundreds of different traditional costumes across Switzerland, with the most significant distinction likely being between festive and everyday Tracht.

Naturally, the diversity of traditional costumes is also reflected in Graubünden, where they are closely associated with festivals. As early as 1899, traditional costumes were documented in photographs in a book presented during the Calvenfeier—the celebration commemorating the 1499 Battle of Calven, fought between troops from Graubünden and those of the Swabian League. And it goes without saying that the Engadin Tracht—a specimen of which is on display today at the Museum d’Engiadina Bassa in Scuol—was already depicted as red in that book.