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Splügen gets a new piano from Zurich
The bus shelter in Splügen remains the most musical Postbus stop in Switzerland. A donor has been found to give a new piano to the community. Winter and summer, it is there for all to use.
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Video in german: a piano for Splügen
Since 2020, the Graubünden village of Splügen has had an additional attraction. In the bus shelter at the “Splügen, Dorf” Postbus stop, there is a public piano that anyone is welcome to play – an offer widely taken up by travellers and locals alike. With the toll taken by weather in the mountain village, the instrument had reached the end of its life. So in late summer 2024, the municipality and PostBus launched an appeal: was there anyone who didn’t need their piano and would donate it to the community, including transportation? Indeed there was! The call from Rheinwald was heard, and the Swiss musical instruments specialist, Hug Musik donated a second-hand piano to the community – including transportation. The company’s head of IT, Philippe Pfiffner, is from Graubünden and had heard about Splügen’s search for a piano on social media. He immediately thought of the Wohlfahrt piano that had long been in Musik Hug’s workshop in Bülach. The instrument was made in Switzerland 50 years ago and is in good shape after repairs. “When I read the story, I knew right away – this piano’s going to Splügen,” says Philippe Pfiffner.
Transport from Zurich to Splügen
After a two-and-a-half-hour journey from Bülach to Splügen, the piano is now in place just in time for the winter season and there for anyone looking to pass the time with a musical interlude in the bus shelter. The old piano has done its job and is being disposed of.
“I’m delighted that “Splügen, Dorf” now remains the most musical Postbus stop in Switzerland,” says Rudolf Wüthrich, Operating Zone Manager at PostBus. The municipality of Rheinwald, of which Splügen is a part and which is responsible for the bus shelter, is also delighted: “This story is a great blessing for Splügen. It’s marvellous for us and for travellers that the shelter remains alive with music. We would like to thank PostBus and Musik Hug very much for their involvement,” says Luisa Baselgia, Managing Director of Tourism and Culture.
Who had the clever piano idea?
