EXHIBITION. INSIDE LIFE. The Baroque Nunnery Cells

The monastery complex of St. Johann in Müstair has been one of the 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Switzerland since 1983. The museum was opened in 2003 and is one of the most visited museums in the canton of Graubünden. The museum is located in the former cloister of the monastery in the cloister and in the so-called Plantaturm, the oldest residential and defensive tower in the Alpine region.

The historical rooms, which date from the Carolingian foundation, through Gothic and Baroque to the most recent period, are a central part of the exhibition narrative. The museum, which is over 20 years old, will be successively modernized in several stages from 2024. The new concept will be implemented in collaboration with the design and scenography studio SchmauderUnd, Zurich, and the showcase construction specialists Barth, Brixen. The new focus will be on a gender-appropriate view of the convent and its history of art, culture and piety, as well as topics relating to migration and the networking of the monastery near the border.

The first stage will be implemented in June 2024 in the so-called nuns' cells. A nun's cell, derived from the Church Latin word cella, refers to a small room within the cloister that is assigned to the private area of a nun. In the baroque nuns' cells, which represent the personal space of each sister, the sisters talk about their journey and life in the convent and in seclusion in touching video sequences.

Objects and stories in the new exhibition focus on themes of intimacy, privacy and processes of safekeeping and closure. These include boxes and chests as personal possessions of the sisters, but also letters, such as the one Gertrud Werner wrote to her loved ones in 1913 during her first year in the convent. "Far from home, I celebrated my first Christmas in the quiet little convent. There you can really celebrate Christmas in your heart in the spirit of the church. Christmas mass is at midnight here. Think of the sacrifices the people of the Alps make. Walking for hours to get to church! We city dwellers have no idea. It's already pretty cold here..."