Swiss National Park Foundation
The Swiss National Park is a foundation under public law; its legal headquarters is in Bern (Federal office for the Environment, Department for Biodiversity and Landscape). It is governed by the Federal National Park Commission (FNPC). The National Park administration is located in the Planta-Wildenberg castle in Zernez, the workplace of about 50 National Park Employees.
The federal National Park Commission FNPC is the board of the public law foundation Swiss National Park. It consists of nine members and administers all rights and duties written down in the contracts with the Park municipalities The FNPC elects the Park’s director and administrative body.
Members of the Federal National Park Commission are elected by the federal council. There are nine members representing the following organisations:
Pro Natura: 3 members
Swiss Confederation: 2 members
Swiss Academy of Science (SAS): 2 members
Canton of Grisons: 1 member
Park municipalities: 1 member
Funding
Around 70 per cent of the Swiss National Park is funded by the public sector. Around 7 per cent is contributed by Pro Natura and a further 7 per cent by donations and legacies. Around 20 per cent are self-generated funds. The annual budget is around CHF 6 million.
Detailed information can be found in the annual reports (German or French)
Park municipalities
A particularity of the Swiss National Park (SNP) is that the municipalities lease the Park area of 170 km2 to the federal government on the basis of 99-year contracts and are compensated for this. The following 4 municipalities provide the SNP with a portion of their land:
Zernez 68,6% (Val dal Fuorn, Val dal Spöl, Val Cluozza, Val Tantermozza, Macun)
S-chanf 13,5% (Val Trupchun, Val Müschauns)
Scuol 13,2% (Val Mingèr, Val Foraz)
Val Müstair 4,7% (Val Nüglia)
The municipalities receive a yearly rent from the confederation and have one representative on the board of the FNPC.
The Planta-Wildenberg Castle
Since the end of November 2007 the entire administration of the Swiss National Park is located in the premises of the Planta-Wildenberg castle in Zernez. Part of the castle are the Auditorium, which can be used and rented for lectures, as well as the Schlosshof (castle court), scene of the open air cinema of the National Park. The Auditorium – formerly a farm building – offers 150 seats, a foyer, a small kitchen and state of the art presentation equipment. These premises can also be rented.
During guided tours around the village, the castle is open to visitors on Monday at 17:00. More information: Phone +41 81 856 13 00 / zernez@engadin.com.
- 1280: The estate most likely dates back to the 13th century, when it belonged to the Wildenberg family, whose seat was close to Falera in the Vorderrhein valley.
- 1298: the bishop of Chur bought the estate.
- In 1302 it was attributed to Conrad Planta of Zuoz and thence – presumably initially as surety for a loan to the bishop, and later in outright ownership – to the branch of the family that had called itself “Planta-Wildenberg” since the 16th century.
- 1618: during the Bündner Wirren (Grisons Riots) of 1618 the castle was largely demolished. After the return of the Knight Rudolf von Planta under the protection of the Austrian occupying powers in 1622 the people of the Lower Engadine were forced to rebuild the castle.
- 18th century: the building as we see it today is largely the result of the conversions and extensions carried out during the second half of the 18th century; work was commissioned by Johann Heinrich von Planta (1707-1779) and the Rhaetian aristocrat Peter von Planta (1734-1805). Around 1850 Peter Conradin von Planta sold the estate to the Bezzola family.
- 1872: the great village fire spared the castle as well as the ecclesiastical buildings. The castle stands where the old part of the village, Runatsch, meets the reconstructed area.
- 1956: the castle was acquired by the municipality of Zernez, which established its administrative centre there.
- 1956-1957 saw a conversion,
- 1990-1994 a restoration of the façade and interior.
(extract from Schweizerischer Kunstführer, Luzi Dosch, Zernez)