Engadiner Museumsnacht 2026 - museums open late in Sils Maria
On Friday 18 September 2026, the Engadiner Museumsnacht opens museums, archives, libraries and studios across the Upper Engadin free of charge, from 16:00 to 22:00. Two of the participating houses stand on the same village street as Hotel Schweizerhof in Sils Maria.
The event
The Museumsnacht is run by the Chesas da cultura Engiadina, the association of Upper Engadin cultural houses, and takes place every year on the Friday around 20 September. For one evening the houses between Maloja and Zuoz drop their admission charges and stay open into the night, which makes it possible to build an evening out of several of them: the painting of Giovanni Segantini, Turo and Giuliano Pedretti, Mili Weber, Andrea Robbi and Peter Robert Berry, the architecture and history of the Engadin house, the Romansh language, alpinism, and the bobsleigh tracks at St. Moritz and Celerina. Archives open rooms that normally stay shut, and several houses lay on an aperitif or coffee and cake.
The two houses in Sils Maria
The Nietzsche-Haus at Via da Marias 67 is the closest of them. Friedrich Nietzsche rented a room here for seven summers, in 1881 and from 1883 to 1888, and the house has been a museum since 1960. Its 2026/27 exhibition, "Wieder nach dem Engadin hindurchgerettet", looks at Nietzsche as a traveller and marks the entry of his literary estate into the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register.
A few doors along at Via da Marias 110, the Sils Museum shows "Anderen Himmeln entgegen!", on the journalist, photographer and writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach, whose estate joined the same UNESCO register. Both exhibitions belong to a joint Sils project on the two authors, carried with the Biblioteca Engiadinaisa and the zeit:fluss festival, so the walk between them covers two halves of one story. The autumn week keeps going after that: the Engadiner Bierwandertag follows on 26 September.
Good to know
When: Friday 18 September 2026, 16:00 to 22:00
Where: museums, archives and studios across the Upper Engadin, from Maloja and Sils to Pontresina, Samedan, Celerina and Zuoz
In Sils Maria: Nietzsche-Haus, Via da Marias 67, and Sils Museum, Via da Marias 110
Entry: free at every participating house
Getting there: on foot within Sils Maria, Engadin Bus to the other villages. In St. Moritz the organiser runs a free shuttle between the Segantini Museum, Schulhausplatz and the Mili Weber Museum, roughly every 30 minutes
Programme: cultura-engiadina.ch, house by house details published closer to the date
Plan your stay
Hotel Schweizerhof stands on Via da Fex, a couple of minutes from Via da Marias, so both Sils houses are a short walk away and the rest of the valley is a bus ride. Dinner in our restaurants and bar works before or after the evening, depending on how many houses you take on. Come and spend a museum night with us in Sils Maria.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Engadiner Museumsnacht?
The Engadiner Museumsnacht is an evening when museums, archives, libraries and studios across the Upper Engadin open free of charge and stay open into the night. It is run by the Chesas da cultura Engiadina, the association of Upper Engadin cultural houses. Archives open rooms that normally stay shut, and several houses lay on an aperitif or coffee and cake.
When is the Museumsnacht held?
The 2026 edition takes place on Friday 18 September, from 16:00 to 22:00. The event is held every year on the Friday around 20 September. Participating houses stretch from Maloja and Sils to Pontresina, Samedan, Celerina and Zuoz.
Does the Museumsnacht cost anything?
Entry is free at every participating house for the whole evening. The six hours make it possible to build an evening out of several museums. House-by-house details are published on cultura-engiadina.ch closer to the date.
Which museums can I visit in Sils Maria, and how do I get around?
Two houses stand in Sils Maria itself: the Nietzsche-Haus at Via da Marias 67 and the Sils Museum at Via da Marias 110, both showing exhibitions linked to the UNESCO Memory of the World register. Within Sils everything is on foot; the Engadin Bus connects the other villages. In St. Moritz a free shuttle runs roughly every 30 minutes between the Segantini Museum, Schulhausplatz and the Mili Weber Museum.
Why stay at Hotel Schweizerhof for the Museumsnacht?
Hotel Schweizerhof stands on Via da Fex, a couple of minutes from Via da Marias, so both Sils houses are a short walk away. The rest of the valley's museums are a bus ride from the stop 100 m from the hotel. Dinner at the Arvenstube or Restaurant Vuolp d'Or works before or after the evening, depending on how many houses you take on.