

The museum
The former administration building of the S-charl lead and silver mines now houses the Schmelzra Museum with a Mining and Bear Exhibition.
An extensive Mining Exhibition is situated in the cellar and on the ground floor. The upper floor, beneath the roof, has been let to the Swiss National Park. Here, on this very authentic site, you will find our fascinating Bear Exhibition. This was supplemented in 2010 by the bear adventure trail (Senda da l’uors).
The last indigenous bear in Switzerland lived in the woodlands that surround the building and was shot close by in 1904.
Guided tours of the exhibition and visits to the mines are possible.
From 16 June to 20 October 2024,
every day from 2pm to 5pm.
Closed on Saturdays and Mondays
Adults CHF 8.–
Children CHF 5.–
Families CHF 20.–
Groups of 10 people or more CHF 6.– per person.
Museum pass valid
The PostBus from Scuol stops outside the museum (Bus stop Scuol, Schmelzra, www.sbb.ch).
Car parking spaces (fees apply) are available in S-charl.
Information and booking
Museum Schmelzra S-charl, phone +41 81 864 86 77, www.schmelzra.ch
Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair Tourism, tel +41 81 861 88 00
www.engadin.com
info@engadin.com
The bear exhibition
For just over one hundred years there were no bears in Switzerland, until JJ2, popularly called Lumpaz, appeared in 2005. Since then, more bears have followed him.
In order to prepare the population for a potential return of bears, the Swiss National Park inaugurated the Bear Exhibition at the Schmelzra Museum in 1997. This exciting exhibition offers close looks at the past and allows visitors to discover how bears live, to learn about their biology and the likelihood of their return to the area. The exhibition is ideal for children.
The last bear in Switzerland, shot by Jon Sarott Bischoff and Padruot Fried in 1904, is on show in the historical section of the exhibition. A bear trap, to original scale, shows the horrible way in which bears were persecuted.
In the section of the exhibition devoted to the present, visitors are shown the type of habitat a bear demands, and the distribution of bear populations in Europe today. The latest information concerning developments in Switzerland and neighbouring countries is periodically updated.
Immediately next to the Museum Schmelzra you can find the Bear Adventure Trail Senda da l’uors. 9 interactive stations present more facts about bears. The whole experience takes about two hours to complete and aims at enhancing knowledge of and enthusiasm for the extraordinary skills of our version of Baloo.
The exhibition in the Schmelzra museum was awarded the Prix Media. The jury praised the concept of the exhibition for its realistic approach and educational quality.
The Schmelzra museum also serves as an outpost National Park information point with a digital information system for visitors, a video station and a shop.
An open-air exhibit featuring our great Bear Game offers visitors the opportunity to put their knowledge about bears to the test and learn more.
More information:



Mining museum
For over 300 years miners extracted ore by hand from the slopes of Mot Madlain.
The men advanced just a few centimetres a day. The mining galleries extend to over 13 kilometres, with shafts descending to 20 metres. If you would like to get a small impression of this, you can put on a helmet and headlamp and dive into a replica tunnel yourself.
The museum displays numerous original artefacts from the period and explains the mining work of the time in an capturing way. The exhibition is dedicated to the formation of the area’s rocks, minerals and geology. For example, you can also see casts of dinosaur footprints found in the Swiss National Park. The exhibition also shows the depletion of our forests, mining and smelting, and the harsh living conditions in S-charl.