Brienz / Brinzauls

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Brienz / Brinzauls
Coat of arms of Brienz / Brinzauls
State : SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
Canton : canton of Grisonscanton of Grisons Graubünden (GR)
Region : Albula
Political community : Albula / Alvrai2
Postal code : 7084
former BFS no. : 3512
Coordinates : 764 997  /  170908 coordinates: 46 ° 40 '8 "  N , 9 ° 35' 42"  O ; CH1903:  764 997  /  170908
Height : 1144  m above sea level M.
Area : 13.37  km²
Residents: 124 (December 31, 2014)
Population density : 9 inhabitants per km²
Website: www.albula-alvra.ch
Brienz / Brinzauls, view from the west

Brienz / Brinzauls, view from the west
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Brienz / Brinzauls (Switzerland)
Brienz / Brinzauls
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Brienz ( German  Brienz , Romansh Brinzauls ) is a village in the municipality Albula / Alvra in district Alvaschein , Bezirk Albula , in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland . The place belongs to the Surmeir region .

Until December 31, 2014, Brienz / Brinzauls was a political municipality in the Belfort district . On January 1, 2015, it merged with the municipalities of Alvaneu , Alvaschein , Mon , Stierva , Surava and Tiefencastel to form the new municipality of Albula / Alvra .

geography

Historic aerial photo by Werner Friedli from 1954
Parish before the merger on January 1, 2015

The former municipality of Brienz / Brinzauls consists of the village of Brienz / Brinzauls and the hamlet of Vazerol. The former municipality is located on a sunny terrace in the Albula valley , at the foot of Piz Linard (2768 m above sea level). The former municipal area extends from the valley floor of the Albula to the Lenzer Horn (2906 m above sea level), the highest point in the municipality. The Belfort castle ruins are also located in the former municipality of Brienz / Brinzauls.

The village of Brienz / Brinzauls (1144 m above sea level) is located on the cantonal road between Lenzerheide / Lai - Lantsch / Lenz and Davos . Horse mail has been running from Davos to Lantsch / Lenz since 1874. In the summer of 1964 the post bus was used between Lenzerheide and Wiesen-Station. The village was served directly by the post office, which up to this point had to be picked up by the postman in Vazerol.

In contrast to the village of Brienz / Brienzauls, the Vazerol fraction (1125 m above sea level) is located on Julierstrasse ( Chur- Lenzerheide-Lantsch / Lenz- Tiefencastel - Julier Pass - Silvaplana ). The Septimerstrasse , the “Obere Strasse”, ran through Vazerol early on .

The slide"

Show spherical panorama from the slide area over Brinzauls
as spherical panorama

The village of Brienz / Brinzauls, but not Vazerol, is located on the "Rutsch", an old landslide area that has not yet calmed down. The latest measurements in 2019 showed that the village is slipping one meter per year. Evacuations are no longer excluded.

The south side of Piz Linard was and is partly still today from about 2500 m above sea level. M. on to the valley floor in motion. Under the superficial dolomite lies slate that cannot withstand the heavy pressure and slowly oozes out below Brienz, with its deepest parts constantly being gnawed off by the Albula and thus losing its hold. The movement can be well delimited on the streets, as these suffer kinks where they pass from the solid to the moving slate. The unrest in the ground can be seen on the cantonal road Lantsch / Lenz-Davos, the streets Vazerol-Brienz and Tiefencastel-Surava and the leaning church tower.

Of the various subsections above Brienz, the landslide should be mentioned, which forms the rubble stream east of the village. The demolition site is at approx. 1690 m above sea level. M. under the Maiensässen by Propissi. A road led through today's slide area from the village to the Maiensässen. The slide was probably triggered by the deforestation that became necessary after the fire in Brienz in 1874. The movement began in November 1878 after a long period of rain and was most active in the winter of 1878/79 and from 1902 to 1907; at that time the debris flow penetrated about 1 meter daily. With the construction of drains in the demolition area and afforestation between 1947 and 1955, the movement has calmed down.

In August 2019 a landslide occurred, as a result of which a rock weighing around 100 tons crossed a field and the main road, which was blocked by an automatic signal system, at almost 100 km / h. He rolled past a children's playground where he lay in a farmer's field. Local residents filmed the event.

coat of arms

Brienz / Brinzauls, view from Mon

Blazon : In blue three interlocking golden (yellow) rings

The three rings are reminiscent of the meeting of the Three Leagues at the Vazerol farm in the former municipal area.

history

Various locations in the Lantsch-Tiefencastel- Oberhalbstein area were occupied early on . Settlements from the prehistoric era can be found in this area, both from the Bronze and Iron Ages . They were located on the north-south transit route to the Julier and Septimer passes, which was then and later heavily used by the Romans . Although there are no such finds for Brienz, it can be assumed with the greatest possible probability that the municipality of Brienz / Brinzauls was also settled very early.

As it were, as a mirror image of the Roman complexes (settlements, cultures, fortresses, roads) the landscape of the front Albula valley presents itself in its first documented appearance in the early Middle Ages . It is a picture of a well-tended landscape with extensive arable farming and intensive sheep farming. The settlement “Brienzola” is mentioned for the first time in the so-called Reichsurbar from approx. 840. The entire area of ​​the Albula valley, including Oberhalbstein, which was populated around 840, formed one of a total of twelve self-contained administrative districts of the Franconian royal estate in Churrätien.

This unit disintegrated in the High Middle Ages with the division of power and property between different feudal lords. From Belfort Castle, the barons of Vaz developed a rule to which Brienz / Brinzauls also belonged. After the Vazers died out around 1330, rule passed to the Toggenburgers , then to the Montforters and finally in 1466 to the Dukes of Austria, with whom it remained until 1652.

In 1436 “Land and Court of Belfort” became a member of the Ten Court Association. In 1613 the court split into the Innerbelfort and Ausserbelfort half-courts with the villages of Brienz / Brinzauls, Vazerol, Surava and Lantsch / Lenz.

With the new cantonal constitution of 1851, the districts were created from the courts, and the individual places became political communities. In 1869 the municipality of Brienz / Brinzauls gave up its independence and merged with Surava to form the municipality of Brienz-Surava . As early as 1883, after only 14 years, the merger partners separated again. Brienz / Brinzauls and Surava were again independent political communities until December 31, 2014.

On the night of March 30th to March 31st, 1874, a large fire destroyed almost the entire village of Brienz. The parish church and 24 of 37 houses were affected. During the reconstruction, the main street was straightened and several houses were rebuilt on it in generous dimensions and in an urban style.

Since 1981, Birmensdorf ZH has been the sponsor community of Brienz. Since January 1, 1997, the former municipality officially bears the double name Brienz / Brinzauls.

Vazerol

The settlement of Vazerol on Julierstrasse belongs to Brienz / Brinzauls , where the three leagues are said to have merged in 1471 in what was then the border area between the church and ten courts . Vazerol has long been known as the Bündner Rütli . The inscription on the memorial stone: “In memory of the union of the Upper Confederation, the Association of Churches of God and the Association of Ten Courts in Vazerol 1471” has faded somewhat. The thesis is rejected by recent historical research, an authentic document is missing. What is certain, however, is that the councilors of the Three Leagues held their meetings in Vazerol in the middle of the 15th century. In Chur there is a Vazerol monument on the government square and also a Vazerolgasse.

  • Memorial in Vazerol

  • Memorial plaque

population

Population development
year 1808 1850 1860 1888 1900 1941 1950 1980 1990 2000 2005 2014
Residents 111 191 205 146 158 186 172 95 112 117 114 124

languages

The population traditionally speaks Surmeir , an idiom of Romansh. In 1880 practically all residents spoke Romansh, in 1941 it was 83%. Romansh has been in decline since 1970. German has dominated since 2000 and is now the only official language, although half of the population still understands Romansh.

Languages ​​in Brienz / Brinzauls
languages 1980 census 1990 census 2000 census
number proportion of number proportion of number proportion of
German 26th 27.37% 45 40.18% 80 68.38%
Romansh 67 70.53% 65 58.04% 37 31.62%
Residents 95 100% 112 100% 117 100%

Origin and nationality

All 114 residents who were registered at the end of 2005 are Swiss citizens.

school

Since 2010 the municipalities of Alvaschein, Brienz / Brinzauls, Lantsch / Lenz and Tiefencastel have formed the primary school and kindergarten association “Vorderes Albulatal” based in Lantsch / Lenz. Kindergarten and school are run in Romansh. The eleven municipalities of the Albula Valley form a school consortium based in Tiefencastel for the upper level (secondary and secondary school).

economy

Brienz / Brinzauls was a typical agricultural community. In contrast to all other municipalities in Central Grisons, the former municipality has to get by without the so-called water interest (compensation of the electricity works for the use of hydropower). The former community has little business to offer. Gentle tourism is the aim. Brienz / Brinzauls is connected to the Lenzerheide tourist destination. In the Vazerol faction, some second homes have recently been built.

Energy city

The “ Energy City ” label is awarded to cities, municipalities and regions that provide above-average performance in the energy sector. Because the Albula Valley is very active in the energy and environmental sectors, this valley with the municipalities of Alvaneu, Bergün, Brienz / Brinzauls, Filisur, Lantsch / Lenz, Mon, Schmitten, Stierva, Surava, Tiefencastel and Wiesen was the first region to be awarded the Energy City label certified.

In 1991, Brienz / Brinzauls received the Swiss Solar Prize from the “Solar Working Group” for their efforts in the energy sector.

Attractions

Belfort ruin
  • In the late Gothic parish church of Son Tgalester / St. Calixtus is an altar from the workshop of Ivo Strigel . It is one of the most important high altars in Graubünden.
  • To the east of the village are the Belfort castle ruins .
  • The covered wooden bridge Belfort , built in 1873, is located below the Belfort castle ruins . Including the old Belfort Bridge, restored in 1982/83, a round arched stone bridge (barrel vault), called "Paunt dalla dieschma" (Bridge of the Tenth)

literature

  • Erwin Poeschel : The art monuments of the canton of Graubünden II. The valley communities Herrschaft, Prättigau, Davos, Schanfigg, Churwalden, Albula valley. (= Art Monuments of Switzerland. Volume 9). Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1937. DNB 811066703 .
  • Kaspar Egli: The Belfort landscape in the central Albula valley (Canton of Graubünden). The traditional element in the cultural landscape. Helbing and Lichtenhahn, Basel 1978 ( Basel contributions to geography. H. 19).
  • Martin Bundi : Historical aspects of community formation in the Albula valley. In: Novitats . March 19, 2004.
  • Jürg Simonett: Brienz / Brinzauls. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2016 .
  • Jürg Simonett: Vazerol. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2016 .

Web links

Commons : Brienz / Brinzauls  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Graubünden mountain village of Brienz slides one meter into the valley every year In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of May 3, 2019
  2. ↑ How the Graubünden village of Brienz is preparing for a rock fall of the century In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of July 9, 2019
  3. ↑ Video from falling rocks in Brienz 100 tons of boulders thundering past the playground In: View from August 14, 2019
  4. ^ Catholic parish church of St. Calixtus