Zalotay's Magic Castle (Swiss Press Text 2012, by Walter Däpp) - Swiss Press Award

"Der Bund"

Walter Däpp

The Waldegg, the once popular Ziegelried village pub, no longer exists. The village shop has also disappeared. And so has the schoolhouse. But the quirky recycling house by the eccentric Hungarian architect Elemér Zalotay (79), which has been hotly contested for decades, still stands. Two worlds collide here. For many, the house is an eyesore. But for ten years now, it has even been a listed building. Zalotay has proven that you can build something from waste, says monument conservationist Michael Gerber. Schüpfen's mayor Ueli Hunziker (SVP) has now developed a certain sympathy for the maverick Zalotay, but would be happy if he at least had a bit more flair when it comes to order. He himself, however, would not want to live in this shack, he says: "No, for heaven's sake not. I live in a stately Bernese farmhouse that is over 200 years old. Zalotay's hut won't last that long.