Away from Switzerland’s better known villages lies Mulegns, a mountain village with a population of just 12. This place was once an important horse-changing station for stagecoaches that offered large stables. The striking Post Hotel Löwe still stands to this day as a reminder of this time. The construction of the Rhaetian Railway and the outbreak of the First World War caused the traffic on the Julier Pass to collapse and prevented the further expansion of the hotel. The alleyways are narrow, and the houses marked by history. Mulegns is a place where the past can still be felt, even if Origen has given the village surprising new touches.

The Post Hotel Löwe is one of the oldest in Graubünden. Located on the old mountain pass road, it experienced its heyday at the end of the 19th century. Presidents, the widows of Tsars, Nobel Prize winners and crown princesses have stayed within its historic walls. Since the summer of 2024, the venerable establishment has been welcoming guests from all over the world once again.

The Tor Alva is symbolic of the return of the confectioners to their homeland – for those courageous men who, after years abroad, returned with new ideas, experiences, a keen sense of aesthetics and wealth. Inspired by distant cities, they combined precision craftsmanship with a surprisingly modern view of architecture and community. In this way, buildings were developed in their villages that united both tradition and progress. The Tor Alva continues this story – as a contemporary answer to the question of what a confectioner would build if he were to return to the 21st century.

As the founder and artistic director of Origen, Giovanni Netzer shapes the cultural landscape of Graubünden. From his home in Savognin, he transforms historic buildings and spectacular natural settings into stages full of stories – that are innovative, courageous and bring with them a deep sense of tradition.

Giovanni Netzer is one of those people giving the Alps a new stage. His work often begins where others only stay for a short while: in old houses, on rugged pass heights or in almost forgotten villages. It is precisely these places that he seeks out in order to fill them with life.

With his cultural foundation Origen, he transforms walls, town squares and landscapes into worlds of theatre. Riom Castle, the Post Hotel Löwe or the White Tower in Mulegns – these all bear his signature. It is his combination of discipline, passion and courage that makes Giovanni Netzer Graubünden’s most influential person shaping culture.

Giovanni Netzer is always on site for performances. He greets the audience, introduces them to the play and ensures that the performers are motivated and ready before the performance starts. In this way, every performance becomes a special moment in which the stage, performers and audience are connected in a way that is different every time. Origen’s stages are often set up as an arena. The stage areas are directly adjacent to the rows of spectators and allow for close proximity to the performers.

At the Tor Alva, the landscape itself becomes a stage. Here, international artists come together with rising stars from Graubünden. Together, they bring stories to the stage that reach up into the tower itself.

The costumes by Martin Leuthold, who is probably the most talented textile designer in Switzerland, are intended to be more than just decorative: they tie in with the history of Post Hotel Löwe and allow both past and present to flow into one another. The audience experiences the performance from varying perspectives: sometimes at eye level, at other times from up in the tower.