emblemata.ch

Grafenort (OW), Herrenhaus

Manor house (Herrenhaus) of the Engelberg monastery

Location, Object

Hamlet of Grafenort, district of Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden. Three-storey manor house (Herrenhaus) of the Benedictine monastery of Engelberg, built 1689–1692 as a summer residence for the Engelberg abbot and monks. Several rooms with decorated ceilings and walls showing mythological scenes, allegories, flowers, ornaments and emblems, painted between 1777 and 1786 by the local artist Johann Martin Obersteg the Elder and his workshop; restored 1993–1996.

Plan of the 1st floor. Click to enlarge.

Emblems (29)

Context
Former room of the abbey’s administrator (Grosskellnerei) on the 1st floor, whose boarded ceiling originally consisted of 24 panels, each framing an emblem in tempera grisaille colours with a Latin motto. During the restoration of 1993–1996, nine of them (nos. 16–24) were inserted in the ceiling of the identical room above, the ‚Emblemzimmer‘ on the 2nd floor. Nos. 25 and 26 are painted on the inside of the wooden door of the administrator’s room; nos. 27–29 are on the doors of the built-in cupboards that were removed during the latest renovation.

Authorship, Date
Painted by Johann Martin Obersteg the Elder (1724–1798) of Stans and his workshop, 1777. See also Engelberg (OW), St Mary, and Stans (NW), Rosenburg.

Significance
Christian virtues and general moral guidance.

Source
All from La Feuille/Offelen 1691 or later edition.

Literature
KdS UW: 334–335; KF 2: 369; von Matt 1981: 24; Graf 1974: 160 and 164; Kegel et al. 1996: 43–48 and 53–54; Hermann 1998: 19–20.

Grafenort, Herrenhaus, exterior from south-west.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, exterior from west.
Floor plans of the 1st and 2nd floor.
Click to enlarge.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor,
former Grosskellnerei,
emblems on ceiling and door.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 2nd floor, ‚Emblemzimmer‘,
emblems on ceiling.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor,
former Grosskellnerei, view from the entrance.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor,
former Grosskellnerei, view from north-west to the entrance.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 2nd floor, ‚Emblemzimmer‘, view from north-west to the entrance.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor, Grosskellnerei, emblems nos. 1–6.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor, Grosskellnerei, emblems nos. 7–12.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor, Grosskellnerei, emblems nos. 10–15
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 2nd floor, ‚Emblemzimmer‘, emblems nos. 16–21.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 2nd floor, ‚Emblemzimmer‘, emblems nos. 19–24.
Grafenort 1
A tulip.
PRAETER COLORES NIHIL.
Grafenort 2
The eclipse of the sun.
CENSURA PATET.
Grafenort 3
A star.
MONSTRAT VIAM.
Grafenort 4
Scales.
VACUA CEDIT.
Grafenort 5
The sun amidst clouds.
NON SIBI SED MUNDO.
Grafenort 6
A bell.
SIBI NON SAPIT UNI.
Grafenort 7
A stork on a church tower.
VIDIT ET EXULTAVIT.
Grafenort 8
A harp.
MAIORA MINORIBUS CONSONANT.
Grafenort 9
A laurel wreath.
HINC LABOR HINC MERCES.
Grafenort 10
A spear with two laurel wreaths and a crown.
ESTE DUCES.
Grafenort 11
A bridle.
REGIT ET CORRIGIT.
Grafenort 12
A smoking censer.
DUM PLACEAM PEREAM.
Grafenort 13
A bird of paradise.
ALTIORA PETO.
Grafenort 14
A war tent.
PARATUS AD OMNIA.
Grafenort 15
An exploding bomb.
TEMPUS OBSERVANDUM.
Grafenort 16
A plant whose seeds are falling to the ground.
SPES ALTERA VITÆ.
Grafenort 17
A flying eagle looking downwards.
ET PROFUNDISSIMA QUÆQUÆ.
Grafenort 18
A rose [in a vase].
VIVO QUIDEM.
Grafenort 19
A crane holding a stone in its claw.
NE IMPROVISO.
Grafenort 20
A shining star amidst clouds.
INCLINAT NON COGIT.
Grafenort 21
The moon amidst stars and clouds.
UNA MILLE PRÆVALET.
Grafenort 22
A mushroom next to an oak.
RARA IUVANT.
Grafenort 23
A rose.
NON ROSA SINE SPINIS.
Grafenort 24
An imperial orb.
STULTUS FIDET.
Grafenort, Herrenhaus, 1st floor,
Grosskellnerei, entrance door.
Grafenort 25
A crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis).
MODESTA IUVENTUS HONESTA SENECTUS.
Grafenort 26
A battering ram.
LABOR OMNIA VINCIT.
[left]
Grafenort 27 and 28
A bear with a beehive.
CONSILIA MEDIA FUGIENDA.
A rolled-up hedgehog.

MEA ME VIRTUTE INVOLVO.
[right]
Grafenort 29
A fox tied to a column.
SECURITAS ALTERA.
Grafenort 27 and 28
AI-assisted reconstruction.
Grafenort 29
AI-assisted reconstruction.

Copyright note: Added 2025; revised 2026. All photos taken by the author, March 2021; except for the photo of exterior (left) taken from https://gastbetriebe.ch and photos of the cupboards (nos. 27–29) taken by Klosterschreinerei Engelberg. Floor plans reproduced from Kegel et al. 1996: 31.