Roflaschlucht
The Roflaschlucht (formerly also Rofflaschlucht ) is a gorge in the Hinterrhein between Andeer- Bärburg and Sufers in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It lies at an altitude of 1100 meters and forms the border between the Schams and the Rheinwald .
Below the gorge are the headquarters and the Bärenburg compensation basin of the Hinterrhein power plants , so the valley is not completely traversed by the water of the Hinterrhein.
The Via Spluga cultural hiking trail and the Graubünden Walser Trail lead through the Roflaschlucht gorge.
Inn in the Roflaschlucht
The first proven inn in the Roflaschlucht was built in 1639; Previous buildings in the same place are conceivable. The residents benefited from the passing traffic of goods, which was handled via a mule track. Between 1818 and 1823 the new roads over the Splügen and San Bernardino passes were built ; they too led through the Rofla. After the opening of the Gotthard tunnel in 1882, the movement of goods collapsed, and most of the opportunities to earn a living remained.
At the end of the 19th century, Christian Melchior-Pitschen decided to emigrate to America with his wife Maria; the emigration was paid for by the community. The parents continued to run the inn and the small farm. Christian Melchior also came to Niagara Falls through his work as a servant . He saw how money was made with this excursion destination and recognized the tourist potential of natural beauties. He decided to return and make the Roflaschlucht accessible in order to open up the waterfall in the rearmost part of the valley to the public.
In the winter months - in summer the family was busy working on the farm - between 1907 and 1914 Christian Melchior blew up a gallery from the rock to the waterfall and under the Hinterrhein with hand drills and around 8000 explosive charges. Over 10,000 blast holes had to be made in the rock with the simplest of hand tools. His wife and children helped him with this. Although the number of visitors was modest at the beginning, Melchior managed to secure the existence of the hotel “Rofflaschlucht” at the entrance to the gorge with the new tourist attraction. Christian Melchior was born in 1862 and died in 1940; his wife Maria lived from 1869 to 1941.
The house has been owned by the Melchior family since 1833. It has been rebuilt and expanded several times and is now in the 6th generation.
The Alte Averserstrasse began near the Roflaschlucht gorge in the 19th century . From today's national road A13 the gorge can only be guessed, if you want to see the inn and more of the gorge, leave the A13 at Bärenburg (coming from the north, exit Rofla, No. 26) or Sufers (coming from the south, exit 27).
During the Second World War , the Rofla barrier was created in the vicinity of the Roflaschlucht gorge .
gallery
gallery
High water mark from October 2006
waterfall
hotel
The N13 road in the Roflaschlucht; Traverse bridge and south entrance of the Rofla tunnel with river and rockfall barriers
literature
- Kurt Wanner: Via Spluga Verlag Terra Grischuna , Chur 2001, ISBN 3-7298-1139-8
- Margret Rettich: The story of the waterfall publishing house Otto Maier publishing house Ravensburg , 1974, ISBN 3-473-33854-0 .
Web links
- Roflaschlucht on the ETHorama platform
- Website of the Gasthaus Rofflaschlucht with information about the gorge and the waterfall
- The Via Spluga on the website of the regional tourism organization "Viamala tourism"