Open Doors Engadin - Church of San Gian

Visible evidence of the church's Romanesque origins is the small tower, to which the entrance façade of the sacred building now adjoins and which projects approximately 60 cm into the nave.

These buildings, modest in their architectural appearance, like the Graubünden country churches of the High Middle Ages, gained monumental impact through their prominent, dominant position in the landscape. A recent dendrochronological study revealed that the building must have been built shortly after 1300. The late Gothic spire of the mighty bell tower was destroyed by lightning in 1682; the roof was never rebuilt because a new bell tower had existed in the village of Celerina since 1665.

The murals of San Gian are charming, interplaying with the painted wooden ceiling, which, with its pointed arches and tracery, is entirely indebted to the distinctive formal language of the region's Late Gothic period.

The church of San Gian can be visited independently during opening hours.