Surmeir
Surmeir is the Romansh name for a region in the center of Graubünden. It includes the Oberhalbstein , the Albula Valley and the Lenzerheide plateau . Surmeir is identical to the former political district of Albula and (with the exception of the municipality of Mutten ) with the Central Grisons region .
The name "Surmeir"
In the Schin Gorge between Thusis and Tiefencastel there is a rock face called Meir (German for 'wall') (in Surmeir from Vaz / Obervaz and Lantsch / Lenz Moir ). The Schin gorge on Romansh Tgavorgia digl meir called. Surmeir is the landscape «above the wall».
The name "Surmeir" is only available in Romansh, there is no corresponding German name. Nowadays the region is also called «Mittelbünden / Grischun central». While the term "Mittelbünden" is used by the German-speaking population, the Rhaeto-Romans prefer the term "Surmeir" to "Grischun central".
Surmeir is divided into Surses (Oberhalbstein) and Sotses (Unterhalbstein). While the terms Surses and Sotses are used in the Romansh, the German speakers usually only know the term Oberhalbstein ; the Unterhalbstein is called by them today Albulatal and Lenzerheide. There are also differences between German and Graubünden Romansh with regard to Lenzerheide: While the German speakers use the term "Lenzerheide" for both the village and the pass landscape, the Rhaeto-Romansh have different names: the village is called Lai , the plateau / pass landscape "Planoiras".
The Davos landscape , which is also located in the "above the Schins" area, is not included in the Surmeir. In general, the demarcation of Surmeir is not seen in the same way everywhere. Today it is generally accepted that Surmeir is identical to the Albula district, but there are also districts who understand Surmeir only to mean the former area of distribution of the Surmeir language . In addition, there is a religious component, as the Surmeir language area used to be almost 100% Catholic, while the surrounding regions were reformed (see section Religion).
geography
Surmeir extends from Mutten in the west to Bergün / Bravuogn and the Albula Pass in the east and from Valbella in the north to Bivio and the Julier Pass in the south. The rivers in the Surmeir are the Albula , Julia and Landwasser . The highest mountains are the Piz Kesch at 3418 m above sea level. M., the Piz Calderas (3397 m above sea level), the Piz Platta (3392 m above sea level), the Piz d'Err (3378 m above sea level) and the Piz Ela (3338 m above sea level) .). The lowest point is in the Schin Gorge at 745 m above sea level. M.
Albula valley / Val d'Alvra
The river of the same name flows through the Albula valley. The river has its source near the Albula Pass. Shortly after the source, the Albula flows through Lake Palpuogna . The Albula flows through Bergün and Filisur on the way down the valley . These two communities form the upper or rear Albula valley. About one kilometer after Filisur, the Albula joins the land water, which carries significantly more water. The Landwasser comes from Davos and flows through the Zügen Gorge , the border between Surmeir and the Davos region. Below Schmitten, shortly before the Landwasser flows into the Albula, is the Landwasser Viaduct , probably the most famous structure on the Rhaetian Railway .
The lower or front Albula valley begins where the Albula joins the land water. The Albula now flows towards Tiefencastel , where it joins the Julia. Tiefencastel is the political center of Surmeir.
Oberhalbstein / Surses
The Julia (Rom. Gelgia) flows through the second main valley of Surmeir, the Oberhalbstein . The Julia has its source in the Val d'Agnel near the Julier Pass. The first village under the pass is Bivio . Bivio is the fork in the road for the Julier Pass, which leads into the Engadine , and the Septimer Pass , which leads into the Bergell. The name Bivio means "fork in the road". In Marmorera lies the Lai da Marmorera, one of the largest reservoirs in Graubünden. Electricity has been produced here for the city of Zurich's power station since 1954 .
The Julia overcomes quite a difference in altitude between Rona and Tinizong . The forest between these two villages forms a barrier in the valley. Therefore the upper part is called “Surgôt” (ob the forest) and the lower part “Sotgôt” (below the forest). Savognin , the capital of the valley, is in Sotgôt . Savognin is the largest village in the valley. The Julia leaves the Oberhalbstein through the «Crap Ses» gorge and flows into the Albula at Tiefencastel.
Lenzerheide / Planoiras
After the confluence, Albula and Julia continue their way to the Schin Gorge , where they feed the Lai da Niselas, also an artificial lake for electricity production. The border between Surmeir and Domleschg lies in the Schin Gorge. The Lenzerheide plateau lies high above the gorge. Although Lenzerheide is the largest village in Surmeir, it does not form an independent municipality, but belongs to Vaz / Obervaz .
Political division
Surmeir is divided into the four districts of Alvaschein , Belfort , Bergün and Surses with a total of 16 communities. For details on counties and municipalities, see Albula district .
history
The history of Surmeir was shaped for centuries by the important Alpine transit route from Chur over the Lenzerheide plateau to Lantsch / Lenz, Tiefencastel, through the Oberhalbstein and over the Septimer and Julier passes. This route, called "Obere Strasse" in the Middle Ages, was once one of the most important north-south connections across the Alps. The route was the shortest connection between the Lake Constance area and the Po Valley . In addition, it does not have any topographical difficulties worth mentioning, the “Crap Ses” gorge could be easily circumvented via Mon and Salouf.
Bronze and Iron Ages
Numerous prehistoric sites (Lantsch / Lenz, Savognin, Tiefencastel) prove that the lower Albula valley and the lower Oberhalbstein were inhabited as early as the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some individual finds also suggest modest transit traffic.
The Romans
In 16 BC Under the leadership of two step-sons of the emperor Augustus - Drusus and Tiberius - a large area in the Alpine region was conquered in just one summer (Strabo, Geographika IV, 6,9), which later became the province of Raetia . Roman sling axes were also found near Tiefencastel and on the Septimerpass, which presumably originate from this campaign. Archaeological finds from Roman times are very numerous. Worth mentioning are u. a. the gold treasure of Burvagn , the remains of a Roman villa in Riom or the Roman sanctuary on the Julier Pass with the two columns that are still visible today.
The population practiced extensive agriculture and intensive sheep farming. Ore deposits are also known. The transit traffic over the Julier and Septimer passes was significant. In several places proven bike tracks on the Julier Pass show that the pass was one of the few alpine crossings that was already used intensively in Roman times. Most of the mule traffic preferred the shorter, but steeper and avalanche-prone septimer. The " Itinerarium Antonini ", a street directory created in the late 3rd century AD with the help of older documents, shows a street between the stations Tinnetione ( Tinizong in Oberhalbstein) and Muro (probably Müraia near Promontogno), which is only the Septimer - or can correspond to the Julier route.
Early middle ages
The first documentary appearance took place in the early Middle Ages. The so-called Reichsurbar from approx. 840 mentions the existence of four royal courts (large economic units with a large number of farms), namely at Vaz, Lantsch / Lenz, Tiefencastel and Riom. The entire area of Surmeir, which was populated around 840, formed one of a total of twelve self-contained administrative districts of the Frankish royal estate in Churrätien . The minister, based in Tiefencastel, administered the royal estates, secured and controlled the north-south traffic and held court over the royal courtiers and the free people in this room. The Reichsurbar expressly mentions a hundred free men. It was the last time Surmeir formed a political entity in a thousand years.
High Middle Ages
In the High Middle Ages, several feudal dominions emerged, of which the two most important remained: the Diocese of Chur , the Barons of Vaz and their successors ( Toggenburg , Montforter and the Dukes of Austria). Most of the upper Albula valley was settled and developed from the 11th to the 13th century. In addition to free Rhaeto-Romanic colonists, Walser people also contributed to the development. The subjects of the bishop joined the Gotteshausbund , which the Austrians the Zehngerichtebund .
Free State of the Three Leagues
In the late 15th and especially in the 16th century, the rights of the feudal lords were passed on to the population of the neighborhoods through purchase. The judicial communities emerged from the courts of the feudal era. A judicial parish in the old three-covenant state enclosed an area with several neighborhoods (villages). The council of the judicial community, presided over by the Landammann , had to take a position on all political questions. The council of the Landsgemeinde , which met at least once a year, submitted important proposals . The judicial communities also had the lower jurisdiction, while the high courts were responsible for the high jurisdiction.
The situation in Surmeir was as follows:
- Ten Court Association
- Belfort Supreme Court
- Innerbelfort judicial municipality with the neighborhoods Alvaneu, Schmitten and Wiesen.
- Court municipality of Ausserbelfort with the neighborhoods of Brienz / Brinzauls, Surava and Lantsch / Lenz.
- The judicial community of Churwalden also belonged to the Belfort High Court.
- Belfort Supreme Court
- Church Association
- High Court Oberhalbstein
- Judicial municipality of Oberhalbstein with the neighborhoods Cunter, Savognin, Salouf, Riom, Parsonz, Tinizong, Rona, Mulegn, Sur.
- Tiefencastel judicial community with the Tiefencastel, Mon and Alvaschein neighborhoods.
- High court Greifenstein with
- Judicial municipality Obervaz with neighborhoods Vaz / Obervaz, Stierva and Mutten as well
- Judicial municipality Bergün with the neighborhoods Bergün, Stuls, Latsch and Filisur.
- The judicial community of Stalla with the neighborhoods Bivio and Marmorera belonged to the Ramosch high court
- High Court Oberhalbstein
In 1387 the Septimerpass was expanded to a passable road. The movement of goods was controlled by the porten , transport cooperatives of the local farmers. On the Septimer these were the portes Lenz, Tinizong, Stalla (Bivio and Marmorera) and Bergell. When the road through the Viamala Gorge was built in 1473 , the “Obere Strasse” lost more and more importance compared to the “Untere Strasse”, which led over the Splügen and San Bernardinopass .
In addition to the important north-south transversal, other routes have also been developed, for example through the Schin Gorge and over the Albula Pass . In addition to agriculture and transit, mining also played a major role (Schmitten, Bellaluna near Filisur, Val d'Err ). The sulfur bath of Alvaneu Bad was presented as one of the most frequented Graubünden in a work published by Conrad Gessner in 1553 on the Rhaetian baths.
The Christianization took place relatively early in Surmeir, which certainly has to do with the traffic situation. The chapels on the pass are among the earliest sacred buildings. There is evidence of a St. Peter chapel on the Septimer Pass around 1100. In St. Cassian near Lantsch / Lenz, which marks the southernmost point of the Lenzerheide plateau, the remains of a church from the 6th century have even been found. A monastery near Mistail is mentioned for the first time in 924. The opinion that the Church of St. Peter in Mistail was the valley church of the whole Albula Valley is rejected by the new research. This role was played by the St. Ambriesch Church in Tiefencastel. The valley church of the Oberhalbstein was St. Laurenz in Riom. After two apparitions of Mary in 1580 a church was built in Ziteil . A much-visited place of pilgrimage emerged.
The Reformation did not find fertile ground in Surmeir. Only a few areas on the edge adopted the new faith. It was the Capuchins of the Rhaetian Mission who ensured that Surmeir stayed with the old faith. The many baroque churches in the Surmeir are witnesses of this time.
Modern times
Since Graubünden became part of the Swiss unified state of Helveticia in 1799, the existing political and judicial organization was dissolved. Instead of the previous judicial communities, a district of Albula was created, in which a single court was responsible for criminal and civil cases of first instance. It was actually the re-establishment of an organization as it had already existed around 840. In political terms, power came from the unitary state. In 1803 the former federal structures were largely restored, only the judicial communities no longer had legislative powers. This was the responsibility of the Grand Council. From 1851 new districts were created instead of judicial communities, some with new compositions. The district of Bergün emerged from the judicial community, to which the Wiesen neighborhood was assigned. The Belfort district was now Wiesen smaller. From the two judicial communities Obervaz and Tiefencastel, only one circle emerged: Alvaschein. Oberhalbstein was enlarged by Bivio and Marmorera. The previous neighborhoods were given the status of self-governing bodies recognized under constitutional law and became political communities. Surmeir then had 27 parishes. In 1869 the communities of Brienz / Brinzauls and Surava merged into one community, but separated again in 1883. Latsch and Stuls merged with Bergün in 1912 and 1920 respectively. In 1979 Parsonz and Riom merged to form Riom-Parsonz and in 1998 Tinizong and Rona to Tinizong-Rona. On January 1, 2009, the municipality of Wiesen merged with the municipality of Landschaft Davos. With the merger, Wiesen left the Albula and Bergün districts.
From 1820 to 1840 the new road was built over the Julier Pass and Lenzerheide. In 1865 the Albulapassstrasse and in 1869 the Schinstrasse were expanded. The stagecoach traffic brought a new bloom for the transit traffic. The first hotels were also built on the transit routes (Tiefencastel, Mulegns, Bergün). In 1882 the Hotel Kurhaus was opened on Lenzerheide. This event is considered to be the foundation of the Lenzerheide health resort, which was previously only used as a mountain hut.
In 1903 the Albula Railway of the Rhaetian Railway was opened. For the villages on the railway line this meant a new upswing, whereas the villages on the old Julier route got into economic difficulties.
Efforts towards political reorganization have recently been underway. A valley merger of all 9 communities in Oberhalbstein was rejected in 2006. On January 1, 2015, the municipalities of Alvaneu, Alvaschein, Brienz / Brinzauls, Mon, Stierva, Surava and Tiefencastel merged to form the new municipality of Albula / Alvra.
population
Surmeir has 8,573 inhabitants (December 2008). The largest municipality is Vaz / Obervaz with 2599 inhabitants, including Lenzerheide and Valbella. The smallest municipality of Mulegns has 26 inhabitants.
language
In most of the communities in Surmeir, Romansh is spoken . Its idiom is spoken Surmiran . Bergün, whose dialect, the Bargunsegner , also belongs to the Surmiran, was a special case, but where the Upper Engadin turkey was used as the written language . This linguistic situation goes back to the time of the Reformation , when Bergün was one of the very few communities in Central Grisons to accept the Reformation. However, since the beginning of the 20th century, the German language has spread more and more. In Oberhalbstein, Romansh speakers still form the majority, whereas in most of the communities in the Albula Valley, German has gained the upper hand.
Mutten and Schmitten were never Romansh; Both villages were founded by the Walsers and were therefore always German-speaking. Filisur, which was Germanized in the 19th century, is a special case, where the field names still bear witness to the Romanesque past.
A very special linguistic situation prevails in Bivio, a trilingual community. Originally, Bivio was Romanesque. Since the inhabitants of the neighboring Bergell have their Maiensäss in Bivio, some Bergell families settled there in the early modern period and thus brought the Italian language into the village. As a result of the transit traffic over the Julier Pass, the German finally found its way to Bivio.
The table shows the results of the Federal Population Census. It should be noted that the census asked for the language “that is used most often”. As a result, many people who speak Romansh were counted as German-speaking.
| Languages in Surmeir (Federal Census 2000) | ||
| language | Residents | percent |
| German | 5,646 | 66.3% |
| Rumantsch | 2,163 | 25.4% |
| Italiano | 263 | 3.1% |
| Other languages | 442 | 5.2% |
| Total | 8,514 | 100.0% |
religion
The Ilanz articles of 1524 and 1526 guaranteed every community the right to stick to the religion of their choice. So the situation arose that a Graubünden community was reformed while the neighboring community remained with the old faith .
In the Surmeir, religion and language are largely correlated: Almost all communities with the original Surmiran language remained Catholic during the Reformation, as did the Walser community in Schmitten. The two communities of the upper Albula valley, Bergün and Filisur, however, accepted the Reformation, whereby the great influence of the Upper Engadin certainly played a role. The Walser community of Mutten was also reformed.
Bivio again represents a special case: The Bergellians brought the Reformed denomination with them, the long-established Romanesque population remained Catholic. The fact that Bivio only had one church building repeatedly gave rise to disputes between the denominations, so that in 1657, after violent disputes and the intervention of the Three Leagues , the Protestants renounced their right to the common church and built their own church . The Catholics gave them a bell for this.
| Denominations in Surmeir (2000 census) | ||
| Denomination | Residents | percent |
| Roman Catholic | 5,375 | 63.1% |
| Ev.-reformed | 2,196 | 25.8% |
| Other | 586 | 6.9% |
| Non-denominational | 357 | 4.2% |
| Total | 8,514 | 100.0% |
economy
As everywhere in the canton of Graubünden, the majority of those in employment in Surmeir work in the service sector, namely 61.7% (December 2005). The main line of business is tourism. It is followed by the second sector (23%), where wood processing and electricity production are particularly noteworthy. 15.3% still work in agriculture and forestry.
tourism
Surmeir lives off both winter and summer tourism; but winter tourism is still more important. There are three tourist destinations in Surmeir: Lenzerheide , Savognin -Bivio and Bergün.
The biggest destination is Lenzerheide. Over the past 120 years, the destination has established itself as an internationally known place. Alongside Davos , St. Moritz , Arosa and Flims / Laax, Lenzerheide is one of the largest destinations in Graubünden. Savognin is one of the medium-sized destinations. It distinguishes itself primarily as a holiday destination for families. Bergün is one of the small destinations. It is not primarily known for the ski area, but for the toboggan run between Preda and Bergün.
media
With the Pagina da Surmeir , the region has a weekly newspaper in the local Rhaeto-Romanic idiom.
Electricity production
Electricity production is an important pillar of the region's economy and prosperity. Not only does it provide jobs, but also considerable income for the communities through the water interest. The two large production companies Kraftwerke Mittelbünden, owned by the Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (EWZ), and Albula-Landwasser Kraftwerke (ALK), which is majority owned by Axpo .
Central Grisons power plants
The Mittelbünden power plants mainly use the water from the catchment area of the Julia and Albula. The first power plant, known as the Albula Plant, went into operation in December 1909. The water was collected with the weir system Nisellas⊙ near Alvaschein and fed to the headquarters in Sils im Domleschg . A 140 km long 47 kV high-voltage line brought the energy to the city of Zurich . In 1920 the Heidsee factory went into operation, which supplemented the production of the Albula factory in winter. After the Second World War , the Juliawerke went into operation. The first stage after 1949 was the Burvagn –Tiefencastel West stage . Tinizong , the largest headquarters of the Mittelbünden power plants, went into operation in 1954. The water comes from the Lai da Maarmorera, which is dammed up by an earth embankment and has a capacity of 60 million m³. The reservoir flooded the old village of Marmorera . The system was supplemented in 1971 by the Tinizong – Tiefencastel West stage and in 1976 with the Solis – Rothenbrunnen stage.
The Mittelbünden power plants produce an average of 735 GWh, namely 191 GWh in Tinizong, 224 GWh in Tiefencastel, 24 GWh in Solis, 102 GWh in Sils and 185 GWh in Rothenbrunnen. Sils and Rothenbrunnen are not in the Surmeir, but since the water comes from the Surmeir, they are also counted among the Central Grisons factories.
Albula-Landwasser power plants
The ALK has been using the water of the Albula and the Landwasser since 1965. The water that is collected in Davos-Glaris and Bergün-Islas is fed to the headquarters in Filisur in a joint pressure pipe. The Filisur plant produces an average of 290 GWh per year. Since 1989 the water has been forwarded from Filisur to Tiefencastel, where another 104 GWh are produced on average.
Tiefencastel Plus project
The Tiefencastel Plus project envisaged the construction of a power plant that uses the slope of the Albula between the ALK's Tiefencastel machine house and the Solis reservoir . The water would have been passed through a pressure tunnel under the village and turbined at the EWZ headquarters in Tiefencastel. The new Waters Protection Act and the difficult market environment in the field of hydropower created planning uncertainty, which is why the consortium, led by the EWZ, decided in July 2014 to put the project on hold, although the concession had already been granted in 2012.
literature
- Gion Peder Thöni: Surmeir. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Friedrich Pieth : Bündnergeschichte. F. Schuler publishing house, Chur 1982.
- 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.
- A. Sonder: Churches and chapels on the Julier route. Calanda Verlag, Chur 1984.
Individual evidence
- ^ Department for water management (ed.): The water forces of Switzerland . tape 4 . Bern 1916, Albula power station, p. 246-247 .
- ^ W. Kummer: The projected Heidsee plant, a supplementary system to the Albula power plant of the city of Zurich . In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung . tape 69 , issue 17, April 28, 1917, p. 192-193 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-33868 .
- ↑ Herbert Calvis: The importance of the Rhine in terms of water and energy economics from its sources to the entry into the Rhenish Slate Mountains . Ed .: Herbert Calvis. 1981, p. 84 ( google.ch [accessed on April 28, 2020]).
- ↑ a b Office for Energy and Transport Graubünden (Ed.): All power plants in Graubünden . 1st January 2018.
- ↑ “Tiefencastel Plus” power plant project interrupted. In: Southeastern Switzerland. Retrieved May 2, 2020 .