Surcasti

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Graubünden (GR)

Region :

Surselva

Political community :

Lumnezia

Postal code :

7115

Coordinates :

732.92 thousand / 173 203 coordinates: 46 ° 41 '48 " N , 9 ° 10' 36" O ; CH1903: 732 920 / one hundred seventy-three thousand two hundred and three

Height :

991 m above sea level M.

Website:

www.uniuns-suraua.ch

Surcasti

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2002

Surcasti ( [ˌsuʁkɐˈʃti] ^?^/^I ) was an independent political municipality in the Val Lumnezia in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . It was officially referred to by the German name Obercastels until 1943 . In 2002 Surcasti was merged into the Suraua community , which has belonged to Lumnezia since January 1, 2013 .

geography

Surcasti is located on an important geographic spur ( 998 m above sea level ) at the confluence of the Vals Rhine and Glenner (Romansh: Glogn) with a mild, inner-Alpine climate and an impressively wild and romantic character. The Rhaeto-Romanic place name indicates this location, whereby the Germanized place name Surcastels (= above the castle) means the fortification of Burg Surcasti , which has existed there since the Late Iron Age, with the Sogn Luregn church (German: St. Lorenz), which was expanded in the Middle Ages.

The valley crossing in the immediate vicinity of this strategically favorable terrain spur over the Valser Rhine has been guaranteed since 1963 by a modern concrete arch bridge from Uors GR to Surcasti.

The clustered village is characterized by an inventory of impressive wooden houses and well-maintained and preserved old buildings. The school is located in the main town of Vella in the upper Lugnez Valley.

history

Surcasti Castle and Laurentius Church

The legendary stone Crap dalla Gneida south of Surcasti

The finds from the late Bronze Age , which are now kept in the Rhaetian Museum in Chur , are evidence of the population history of Surcasti . Occasionally shell and drawing stones can be found in the vicinity. Objects from the Bronze Age were also found in Crestaulta near Surin . A connection is possible between the Bronze Age settlement finds in Crestaulta and the archaeological finds in Surcasti. Passage to the south and alpine agriculture were the main livelihoods for centuries, as well as the occasional search for mineral resources and crystals.

The history of the village in the early Middle Ages is unexplored, the place in the Reichsurbar from 840 is clearly documented. We know from the Carolingians that they valued the whole of Lugnez as a fertile valley, which brought in as much interest as the fertile dominion Domleschg . In the later Middle Ages the Bishop of Chur owned large parts of Lugnez around 1483. The bailiwick of these areas was held by the Lords of Belmont , and after their extinction the Counts of Sax-Misox . In 1528 Uors and Surcasti succeeded in forming their own parish, detached from the mother church of St. Vincenz in Pleif in the middle of the valley.

On a rock spur between the Valserrhein and Glenner stands the tower of the former Surcasti Castle , adjoining it is the late Gothic Laurentius Church (Romanesque: Sogn Luregn ), which was first mentioned in 1345. In the village there is also the St. Joseph's Chapel , which dates from 1689 and is decorated with paintings from 1724. They are impressive works of the Catholic Church, which once again strengthened in the course of the Counter-Reformation, including the chapel built in Uors from 1616 in honor of St. Carlo Borromeo .

coat of arms

Description: In silver (white) over a tinned black shield base, a black, red-armored bird's neck. The bird's neck, the coat of arms of the Lords of Übercastel (Surcasti), is located above the castle, represented by the crenellated shield foot. The colors also stand for the upper or gray waistband . Since the merger of the neighborhood communities with Suraua in 2013, the coat of arms of the newly formed valley community of Lumnezia has applied today.

population

In 2003 the place had 79 inhabitants, whose colloquial language is Romansh .

The population finds employment in agriculture, in tourism and a few in the commercial sector. Due to the emigration, an aging of the population can be seen today and a periodic, seasonal settlement by second home owners and vacationers.

Population development
year	1850	1900	1941	1950	2000	2003
Residents	162	167	170	149	75	79

Attractions

literature

Adolf Collenberg: Surcasti. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2017 .
Simon Derungs. La historia da Surcasti-Suraua. Pro Suraua 2017
Pierina Caminada et al. Andrea Fischbacher. Places of magic in Val Lumnezia. Zurich 2015
Georges Capol. Out and about in Lugnez: Small guide through the Val Lumnezia. Vattiz / Oberuzwil 2018, p. 9

Web links

Commons : Suraua - collection of images, videos and audio files