This mask, which survived many carnival festivities over the years, was damaged in the landslide. This wedding dress, dating back to 2003, was retrieved from the water. Its owner had it cleaned before bringing it to the museum. Retrieved from Blatten: uniforms and a damaged tuba belonging to Fafleralp, the local village band. Fafleralp resumed rehearsals not long after the disaster. The Hotel Nest- und Bietschhorn, the oldest hotel in the valley, opened in 1868 but was destroyed in the Blatten landslide. Its earliest guest books have been preserved. A Blatten resident received this custom-made cowbell from his godmother and godfather on his 20th birthday. It was retrieved from the rubble. “We chose not to rehash the disaster.” Museum co-directors Rita Kalbermatten and Thomas Antonietti. Blatten – a photo essay Valais photographer Alain Amherd, who produced the photos for this double-page article, recently published a photo book on the Blatten landslide. Amherd followed events in Blatten closely. The book, entitled “Und dann war alles still” (And then everything was still), presents a stunning pictorial synopsis of the disaster and its physical and human impact. www.revue.link/blatten Swiss Review / October 2026 / No. 4 17
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