Samnaunerstrasse
Coordinates: 46 ° 55 ' N , 10 ° 29' E ; CH1903: 831963 / 201,574
The Samnaunerstrasse ( Romansh today because Samignun Via , for construction Via da Samagnun ) closes Montague since 1912 to the system of the Swiss main roads to. The end points are Vinadi and the Spissermühle intersection on the Swiss side of the border crossing between Samnaun and Spiss in Tyrol . The distance from Vinadi to the Spissermühle is 8.4 km. The road overcomes a height difference of 430 m.
designation
As a side street , Samnaunerstrasse does not have a numbered designation like the autobahns or main streets . Instead, the name of the street is the postal designation. The only address on Samnaunerstrasse is Acla da Fans at number 1, belonging to the postcode 7560 Martina .
location
The road leads through the Val da Tschera (also Val del Tschera , dt. Spissertal ) and connects Samnaun with the Engadin via Swiss territory, namely the main road 27 of the Swiss road system with the Spisser state road L348 of the Austrian road system .
The road is up to the hamlet of Acla da Fans in the area of the municipality of Valsot (until December 31, 2012 the municipality of Tschlin ), while the remaining 20% of the route is in the area of the municipality of Samnaun.
In the Val Mundain , a little below the Acla da Fans, a steep road branches off into the Val Sampuoir .
construction
Starting position
Samnaun's seclusion
Until 1830 Samnaun was only accessible via mule tracks.
From today's perspective it is difficult to imagine how a small village community could function in this seclusion. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that at that time many places in mountain cantons traded over the highest mountain passes or gulped down the Alps . Samnaun, for example, founded the Griosch settlement in the neighboring Val Sinestra , although the new settlement was separated from Samnaun by the 2920 m high Fuorcla da Maisa .
Road connection to Tyrol
In 1830, a widened path into the neighboring Tyrolean village of Spiss was built, which could also be used by carts. At that time the residents of Samnaun preferred this connection to Tyrol over a connection to Martina, while the Graubünden cantonal government would have favored the connection to Martina in Switzerland and also intended to subsidize it. From Spiss until the completion of the Spisser Landesstrasse L348 in 1980, only a mule track led down to the Inn, the ravine on the Schalklbach formed a traffic obstacle .
Situation along the street before the construction
The hamlet Acla da Fans at the top and the Alp Pra dal Cor (dt. Rock corn meaning " Bracken -Lichtung") at the end of the valley were colonized in the 19th century. Today, however, the huts are in ruins.
Acla da Fans was only associated with Samnaun and was therefore just as difficult to reach as Samnaun itself, especially in winter.
Access to Alp Pra dal Cor, on the other hand, was neither from Samnaun nor from Vinadi, but from the Austro-Hungarian hamlet of Schalkel in the valley floor on the Inn (today Schalkl , Vallader Tschera , today a hamlet of the Austrian municipality of Spiss ).
The main obstacle to access from the Inn valley was the steep section above Vinadi. The main obstacle to a road construction traverse of the Val da Tschera was the ravine-like side valley Val Alpetta (in former times also Fernertobel ).
In addition to the constructional difficulties, there were also state-political obstacles to access from the Inn Valley: Tyrol and later Austria-Hungary made demands on the Novellaberg , i.e. the area to the left of the Inn from Val da Mot (Ovella or Novellahof) to Schalkl, since 1555 about halfway from Martina to Schalkl. These claims were related to the strategic importance of the Reschen Pass. It was not until the State Treaty of July 14, 1868 between Franz Joseph I , Emperor of Austria, and the Federal Council that the area on which Samnaunstrasse was to be built was finally assigned to Switzerland. This created the prerequisite for the Samnaunstrasse to be rightly propagated as a national connection between Samnaun and Switzerland.
Beneficiaries of the future road
Samnaun had fewer than 400 inhabitants at the beginning of the 20th century. Apart from visits by a few alpinists, there was no tourism that could have been compared with the spa and bathing tourism in nearby Scuol / Vulpera, which has been active since 1880 .
In contrast to this current state of the modest tourism in Samnaun, there were high expectations of a future road: Samnaun's goal was to become a climatic health resort. Great hopes were also placed in the sulphurous and iron-containing mineral springs in the surrounding Alps. In fact, Samnaun became a climatic health resort, but Samnaun has not become a drinking or spa resort.
The management of the Tschlin forests should be greatly facilitated by the road. In fact, the Tschlin forest along the road experienced a strong increase in value after construction.
On August 17, 1900, the cantonal government of Graubünden banned driving cars on all roads in the canton. The ban was only lifted on June 21, 1925. At the time of planning the Samnaunerstrasse at the beginning of the 20th century, the re-admission of car traffic could not be foreseen, so that the planning was based on mere use by pedestrians, riders, carts and carriages.
The low settlement density, the car ban and the high costs would have spoken against the construction of Samnaunstrasse.
Military aspects
From 1830 until the First World War, Austria-Hungary made great efforts to fortify the border with Italy. This included the construction of fortresses and alpine military roads . The Nauders Fortress , opposite Vinadi and operational since 1840, was the first completed structure from this initiative and shows the importance that was attached to securing the Reschen Pass . In fact, the fortress later played a role in the 1915–1918 mountain war between Austria-Hungary and Italy.
The Swiss Army was also involved in alpine road and fortress construction during this time. In 1901, for example, the nearby Umbrail Pass at what was then the border triangle between Austria, Italy and Switzerland was opened and then expanded and fortified by the Swiss military.
With the construction of Samnaunerstrasse, the Reschenpassstrasse and the troop movements there could be viewed and controlled from Switzerland.
Theophil spokesman von Bernegg , Graubünden politician and chief of staff of the Swiss Army, reassessed the threat situation to Switzerland in 1906 because of the increasing tensions in Europe. Among other things, he came to the conclusion that the canton of Graubünden was sufficiently fortified due to its topography, but that there were deficiencies in the logistical infrastructure. In this respect, too, the Samnaunerstrasse filled a gap.
patriotism
In its 1913 edition, the Schweizerische Bauzeitung mentions a “duty of honor by the canton of Graubünden and the whole of Switzerland” to the Samnaun, which is surrounded by the “surrounding Austrian countryside”, as a strong motivator for the construction of the road. Military reasons are not mentioned, and the issue of the driving ban is not an issue in the 1913 article.
financing
After the unsuccessful attempt in 1830 to build a purely Swiss valley connection, the canton of Graubünden took up the idea again in May 1901 and granted a planning loan.
On December 20, 1905, the federal government approved a contribution of almost CHF 798,400 for the construction of Samnaunerstrasse, which corresponded to 80% of the total costs planned at the time. In 1906 the canton followed suit with a loan of almost CHF 100,000.
Building history
In 1901 and 1902, the canton of Graubünden initially had a mobile road built from the Spissermühle to the village of Samnaun, connecting the Compatsch and Laret fractions. This ensured the connection of the later Samnaunerstrasse to the settlements. This street was narrow with a width of 2.2 to 3.0 m.
The construction of the first section from Vinadi to S-chalun (entry from the Engadin into the side valley) began in September 1907 and was officially approved at the end of 1910. The S-chalun - Spissermühle section was tackled in spring 1909. The difficulties consisted of the steepness of the terrain, the unfavorable rock conditions, the murders and avalanches, the poor transport conditions and the negative consequences of the border and customs situation. Workers from Italy and Macedonia were mainly involved in the construction work.
The official acceptance of the entire Samnaunerstrasse took place on October 30, 1912, the handover to traffic on November 15, 1912. There were no festivities. Due to the car ban, traffic was likely to be limited for the first 15 years. Today the daily frequency is an average of 950 vehicles.
In the end, the total cost of the road rose from the planned CHF 900,000 to CHF 1.8 million, i.e. twice as much. At that time, this corresponded roughly to the average cantonal budget for road spending for six years, which means that Samnaunerstrasse was given a remarkably high weight.
business
Expansion status
The road rises from 1086 m above sea level. M. at Vinadi at 1516 m above sea level. M. at the Spissermühle, which corresponds to a height difference of 430 m.
The street has three galleries and five tunnels. The lowest tunnel, originally about 1 km above Vinadi, was only 70 m long. Today, a 500 m long tunnel, curved by 90 ° in both entrance areas, bypasses this old tunnel and the dangerous debris flows and avalanches of the Val Spelunca . The road that used to be open is in the process of decay.
Some of the tunnels in Samnaunerstrasse are unlit and there is no oncoming traffic.
maintenance
The road is prone to falling rocks and is not safe for winter. Avalanches sometimes make the road impassable for weeks. A winter-proof expansion is discussed again and again, but still seems a long way off. A project study by the Canton of Graubünden costs between 80 and 100 million CHF.
In the summer of 2002, the canton of Graubünden planned the general winter closure for Samnaunerstrasse, but this led to protests. A planned handover of the road from the canton to the Tschlin municipality was also prevented at the time: This would have meant an enormous financial burden for the small municipality.
In 2011, plans for the renovation of Samnaunerstrasse became known. This renovation costs 4 million CHF.
Private traffic
The road is only permitted for vehicles up to 2.3 m wide, 3 m high, 10 m long and 18 tons in weight. Larger vehicles must use the L348 over Austrian territory. Trailers are also not permitted.
Public transport
The Swiss Post recorded her first stagecoach connection on June 1, 1913 in the summer after the opening so.
The Postbus route from Scuol to Samnaun was opened in 1928, three years after the re-admission of car traffic in the Canton of Graubünden and nine years after the opening of the first Swiss Postbus connection over an Alpine pass ( Simplon Pass ).
Today, Postbus courses connect Martina with Samnaun / Dorf every one to two hours in both directions. The journey takes 35 minutes. The courses take place in all parts of Samnaun as well as in Acla da Fans and Vinadi.
Acla da fans
The hamlet of Acla da Fans ( Pfandshof , also Hof da Fans or earlier Pfandhof and Funshof ) is located on the road and belongs to the municipality of Valsot (until 2012 municipality of Tschlin ) and, like Samnaun, could only be reached via Austrian territory before 1912. Like Samnaun, the hamlet changed from the Rhaeto-Romanic to the Bavarian language area in the 19th century .
Today the hamlet essentially consists of a duty-free shopping center with a restaurant and petrol station. The shopping center mainly advertises the purchase of alcohol, perfumes and cosmetics, which can be offered particularly cheaply due to the fact that the hamlet belongs to the Sampuoir customs exclusion zone .
Acla da Fans is the starting point for mountain hikes in the Val Sampuoir, to Piz Motnair ( 2732 m above sea level ), via Rossbodenjoch to the Muttler or to Samnaun and via Fuorcla Salèt to Tschlin. The earth pyramids (Romanesque pignas , literally ovens ) at the Acla da Fans are striking .
literature
The street is the subject of the short story Üna traversada ris-chada by the Scuol author Men Gaudenz (1899 - 1982).
The Engadin engineer and writer Men Rauch was involved in the construction of the road .
Trivia
The Samnaunerstrasse is repeatedly misused for private street races, which is very dangerous for both those involved and bystanders.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swisstopo: time travel function. Accessed March 18, 2015.
- ↑ Google Maps , accessed on Oct. 12, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d Swiss National Topography , accessed on October 12, 2012.
- ↑ Examples: Vals GR , Alps from Soglio , Alps from Ramosch in the Paznaun Valley , close connection between Ardez and Galtür , belonging to the hamlet of Acla da Fans and the Val Sampuoir to Tschlin.
- ↑ a b c d Christian Ruch (1912). One hundred years of Samnaunerstrasse .
- ↑ Nicolin Bischoff: Noms locals per lung e per larg dal cunfin tanter l'Engiadina Bassa e'l Tirol dal sür e dal nord , Annalas da la Societad Retorumantscha, vol. 105, 1992.
- ↑ a b Dufourkarte , accessed on October 12, 2012.
- ↑ a b P. Werner, L. Thoma (1982). Samnaun group . Bergverlag Rother. Munich.
- ^ Siegfriedkarte , accessed on October 12, 2012.
- ^ Reichs-Gesetz-Blatt for the Empire of Austria. Born in 1869. Vienna 1869.
- ↑ Ambros Sonder: The rural life of the Lower Engadine community Tschlin (Schleins) as reflected in its language . Swiss Folklore Archive. Volume 40, born 1942–1944.
- ↑ Article Samnaun in the Geographical Lexicon of Switzerland, 1902.
- ↑ a b c d e f J. Solca. The Samnauner Strasse . In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung , Volume 61/62, year 1913.
- ^ Solca, J .: The Samnauner Strasse. In: www.e-periodica.ch. ETH Zurich, accessed on October 27, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c C. Täuber (1912) Two recently developed Graubünden valleys (Avers and Samnaun) . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Technical report on the expansion of the tunnel in Val Pischöt ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on November 17, 2012. Annual average of 347,500 vehicles for an unknown time interval that includes the years 2007 and 2009.
- ↑ http://rund-um-meran.de/samnaun.php
- ^ Article in the Engadinerpost from May 4, 2009
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Online SBB timetable , accessed on October 12, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.acla-da-fans.ch/
- ↑ Tschliner Val Sampuoir, not identical to the valley of the same name in the nearby municipality of Ardez .
- ↑ Hiking description
- ↑ Peter Gujan and Gian Andrea Hartmann (2010). Alpine tours Silvretta / Lower Engadine / Münstertal. SAC, Bern. P. 452
- ↑ In his Autobiografia in rima (German autobiography in verse ) from the work Nardats e vardats (German foolish and truth ) Men wrote smoke summary: Dal poly get sco hom / füt indschegner - Sainza diploma - / mo eir sco tal ün vaira bun / lavur: Via da Samagnun. German: I left ETH as a man / was an engineer - without a diploma - / but even so [I got] a good / job: Samnaunerstrasse.
- ↑ Various YouTube videos. A direct link is dispensed with for reasons of prevention; the YouTube code utIHcM0RC_M serves as an example of a source.
