Читать книгу Walking in the Valais. 120 Walks and Treks онлайн

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The Valais region has its own distinctive character, be that of its mountains, its valleys, the native population or the architecture of its villages, some of which came late into the 20th century. Even today a number of these villages retain an air of welcome simplicity that has long been lost in some of the area’s bustling resorts, which bear a closer kinship with European capital cities than they do with the pastoral communities gathered nearby. The vernacular architecture of the Valais, best represented by the beautiful old villages and alp hamlets, is heavily dependent upon wood, and practically every valley is characterised by chalets of dark brown (almost black) timbers on a stone foundation standing side by side with traditional mazots (haybarns or granaries). These mazots are also constructed of dark brown timbers, usually lengths of horizontally laid pine logs fitted one upon another, and stand on staddle stones (Mäusesteine – ‘mouse stones’) to resist the attention of rodents.