Vaz / Obervaz

Vaz / Obervaz
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Graubünden (GR)
Region :	Albula
BFS no. :	3506
Postal code :	7077 Valbella 7078 Lenzerheide / Lai 7082 Vaz / Obervaz
UN / LOCODE :	CH LNZ (Lenzerheide)
Coordinates :	761 412  /  176 112 coordinates: 46 ° 43 '0 "  N , 9 ° 33' 0"  O ; CH1903:  761,412  /  176 112
Height :	1300  m above sea level M.
Height range :	720–2856 m above sea level M.
Area :	42.51  km²
Residents:	2780 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	65 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.vazobervaz.ch
Location of the municipality

Vaz / Obervaz ( Rhaeto-Romanic Vaz, German  Obervaz ) is a municipality in the Albula region , in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . The municipality of Vaz / Obervaz includes the villages of Lain , Muldain , Zorten , Lenzerheide and Valbella as well as the hamlets of Nivagl, Fuso, Trantermoira, Sporz, Tgantieni, Sartons and Creusen. The Obersolis fraction lies on the other side of the Albula on the southern side of the Schin Gorge .

coat of arms

Blazon : In silver (white) under a red shield head , covered with four silver, six-pointed stars, an upright black, red armed ibex

The capricorn from the community seal indicates membership of the church association , the stars indicate the four community fractions Lain, Lenzerheide, Muldain and Zorten.

geography

The high valley of Lenzerheide

Aerial photo from 500 m by Walter Mittelholzer (1925)

An actual village with the name Vaz / Obervaz does not exist. The main fractions Lain, Muldain and Zorten are commonly referred to as Obervaz .

The area of ​​the municipality of Vaz / Obervaz extends in a north-south direction from Parpan to Alvaschein or Lantsch / Lenz and in an east-west direction from the Parpaner Rothorn mountain range to the extensive alpine pastures of Piz Scalottas , Piz Danis and Stätzerhorn . On the southern slope of the Crap la Pala , the terrain drops steeply towards the deeply cut gorge of the Albula. The height differences within the municipality are correspondingly large: at almost 700 m above sea level. M. is the lowest point in the Schin Gorge, 2865 m is the highest point on the Parpaner Rothorn. The main fractions are at an average of 1200 m, the health resort Lenzerheide with the Heidsee at around 1500 m. The whole municipality covers an area of ​​4245 ha, making Vaz / Obervaz one of the largest municipalities in the canton of Graubünden. The actual productive area is around 3000 hectares, of which 730 hectares are used for agricultural purposes. The municipality of Vaz / Obervaz is located in the Surmeir region .

history

Early Middle Ages

Obervaz was evidently settled at the time of the Carolingians (750–910). The inventory of the Franconian crown estates in Churrätien from 831 mentions the factions Lain , Muldain and Zorten with the church at that time. Excavations in the area of ​​the old parish church of St. Donat in Zorten also brought to light, among other things, individual Roman finds and an early medieval hall church with a horseshoe-shaped, rectangular apse from around 650 AD.

High Middle Ages

The municipality of Vaz / Obervaz is part of the estate of the Barons of Vaz . This important dynasty family can be documented from 1135 to 1338. The barons of Vaz were undoubtedly one of the most powerful noble families in the Alpine region. A document from 1253 shows that they also owned extensive estates in Linzgau , Germany. It is mentioned that the barons of Vaz received their tithe from a total of 28 villages in the Salem area . This property in the Lake Constance area raised the question of a possible southern German origin of the Barons von Vaz. Independently of this, Jürg Muraro assumes that the barons of Vaz are the legal successors of that Azzo, whose benefice is mentioned in the Carolingian Imperial Guturbar.

In Graubünden, the barons of Vaz owned not only their headquarters in Nivagl and later Belfort Castle rights to over 25 castles, from Neu-Aspermont in the rulership to Jörgenberg in the Oberland, from Ortenstein at the exit of the Domleschg to Splügen . The two most important representatives of the dynasty were Walter the Fourth and Donat von Vaz. Donat left two daughters, Kunigunde, married to Friedrich von Toggenburg and Ursula, who married Rudolf von Werdenberg Sargans after the death of her father . The legacy of the last baron thus passed to these two noble houses.

Obervaz in the church association

In 1456 Vaz / Obervaz became an independent judicial community in the Church of God through ransom . It was composed of four squaders (quarters), which also included Stierva and Mutten. In 1456 the bishop of Chur as well as Schams and Obervaz bought Ursula's inheritance from the impoverished Count von Werdenberg Sargans for 3,600 guilders. Obervaz paid 600 guilders, about 11,000 francs, for his area.

Over the next few centuries, the judicial community gradually became more democratic and more liberal; only the Graubünden turmoil (1618–1639) led it back to a state of lack of legal security, suffering, material damage, debt and economic ruin. The post-war period was characterized by problems of competence between politics, the diocese and the local judiciary, by disputes over forest use rights and community boundaries. Quite characteristic in this context are the disputes between the Vazern, the Churwalden and Parpanern over rights of use on the Alp Stätz, which culminated in 1487 with the slaughter of twelve shepherds of the opposing party by the Vazer and could only be settled in 1788 through lease agreements.

The greatest need has been handed down from the time of the Grisons turmoil. In 1629 the plague was brought in by Archduke Leopold's mercenary army . It covered large parts of Graubünden and swept away most of the population in many valley communities. The Walser village of Schall was completely deserted behind the Piz Danis and has only been Maiensäss since then . When the plague hit the community again in 1642, the entire resident population except for twelve families is said to have fallen victim to the disease.

Economic and cultural boom in the baroque period

The end of the Graubünden turmoil and the restoration of Graubünden rule in the subject area Valtellina led to an economic and cultural boom. Within a few decades, several patrician houses and three baroque churches (Muldain 1673, Lain 1678, Solis 1688) were built. In 1663 the Capuchins took over pastoral care in the spacious parish. With the support of the patrician families de Florin, Beeli, de Cadusch and de Bergamin, they implemented the resolutions of the Council of Trent and renewed popular piety. The influence of the Capuchins is also evident in the number of spiritual vocations. Dr. iur. Canon JJ Simonet lists in his history of the parish of Obervaz in 1921 65 Obervazer (51 secular priests and religious) and Obervazerinnen (14 religious sisters) who embarked on a spiritual career in the period from 1597 to 1921.

emigration

The period from the 16th to the 19th century was mainly characterized by emigration. Many young men went into foreign military service. Members of the local upper class held the ranks of officers and received a respectable pension after decades of service. After the dissolution of the Swiss regiments, young men and women found a livelihood as confectioners, café animals, merchants, shop clerks and domestic servants. Around 1859 around 13% of the working population were in other European countries and overseas. Trieste, Udine, Capodistria, Modena, Paris, Bordeaux and Hamburg attracted the Obervazer the most.

Immigration

At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, several people from Eastern Switzerland (Altherr, Eugster) and Tyroleans (Krismer, Pfiffner, Moser, Kollegger) initially settled in the community as back-seaters or tolerated people. While the Altherr, Eugster, Krismer and Pfiffner soon merged with the Romanesque village population, the integration of the Moser and Kollegger was slower. Although they were granted Obervaz citizenship in the middle of the 19th century as part of the implementation of the federal law on homelessness , they remained marginalized for a long time, which was mainly due to their employment with the Mosers. For several decades they lived in the Canols (Valbella) area, where they performed the washer master service for the municipalities of Obervaz, Parpan and Churwalden. Since they could not earn their living with this work alone, they moved through eastern Switzerland as peddlers. Because of their semi-sedentary way of life, they were referred to as vagrants. The term Jenisch was later imposed on them from outside and was not used in the Romansh communities. The novels used job titles such as cutsch (Wasenmeister) or parler (tinker).

Establishment of the poor and orphanage Casa Son Duno

After several attempts to found a poor house and orphanage failed, Landammann and Grand Councilor Joh.Fidel Rischatsch-Bläsi made another attempt in 1893 by donating half of his house in Zorten to the community with the condition that a poor house and orphanage be set up in it. The donation initially met with shared approval. After the community a little later, however, also the other half of Dr. Luzius and Maria Ursula Brügger-Jochberg, the house was opened as Casa Son Duno in 1894. This was able to alleviate the plight of the poor class of the population, from which the Moser families were disproportionately affected.

population

Population

Population development
year	1735	1775	1819	1850	1888	1900	1910	1920	1930	1941	1950	1960	1980	1990	2000	2010	2018
Residents	554	614	750	886	768	913	965	1337	1411	1489	1568	2003	2067	2311	2691	2612	2780

Until 1900 the sedentary part of the population lived almost exclusively from agriculture and was almost constant in size for centuries. Most of the Moser and Kollegger who were entitled to reside in Obervaz were on peddling trips and therefore hardly had any influence on the population statistics. After all, in the period from 1892 to 1905 the death register recorded 115 farmers, two crockery dealers, two peddlers and one bell caster.

Many descendants of the Moser and Kollegger families still live in the community today and also hold public offices. Other branches live all over Switzerland, many of them in the cities of St. Gallen, Zurich and Basel. Some of the “Vaz Yeniche” still live in caravans, but now mostly in the Swiss Plateau, and pursue their traditional trades.

For a long time, the term Vazer was used throughout Switzerland as a synonym for “Yeniche” or “Gypsy”. One tramp mimende actor zarli carigiet gave this error singing manner with the slogan "i bi vo Vaz and kumma vo Vaz and bi au z Vaz dahaima" additional dissemination.

languages

Languages ​​in Vaz / Obervaz
languages	1980 census		1990 census		2000 census
	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
German	1297	62.75%	1728	74.77%	2209	82.09%
Romansh	594	28.74%	368	15.92%	243	9.03%
Italian	66	3.19%	52	2.25%	49	1.82%
Residents	2067	100%	2311	100%	2691	100%

Romansh and German are spoken in the municipality of Vaz / Obervaz . The Rumantsch da Vaz spoken in the community is a phonetic variety of Surmiran. Characteristic sounds are "oi" as in "moir" (Surmiran "meir", German wall), "eu" as in "neus" (Surmiran "nous", German we) and voiced "sh" as in "shantar" (Surmiran "giantar", German lunch). The Mosers and colleagues who immigrated from Tyrol and Styria occasionally use phonetic varieties and expressions from Eastern Switzerland, Tyrol and the Yenish language in their families. In the 2000 survey, 2.16% of the resident population named Portuguese as their mother tongue, which is the third most popular official language in the municipality after German (82.09%) and Romansh (9.03%).

The decline of Romansh is dramatic. In 1880 92.0% and in 1910 83.24% of the population spoke Surmiran , in 1941 it was only 55.8%. Since 1960 the German speakers have had the relative majority of the population and since 1980 the absolute majority. Today German is the only official language, but Romansh is still used in some of the authorities. The table on the right shows the development since 1980.

Religions / denominations

The majority of the community's population is Catholic . The reformed parish has around 700 members. There are eight Catholic churches and the Reformed Church in Lenzerheide in the municipality of Obervaz. Since the inauguration of the Maria Goretti Church in Valbella on July 24, 1977, there has been a church in all fractions of the municipality of Obervaz. Obersolis has a small pilgrimage church.

Origin / nationality

For a long time the community was inhabited exclusively by Rhaeto-Romans . Since the middle of the 19th century, the Mosers and colleges who immigrated from Tyrol and Styria have also had civil rights in Obervaz. In 2002 the proportion of foreigners in the resident population was 13.5%.

politics

The municipal council is the legislature and consists of 15 members. Its president is elected for one year. The municipal council decides on the issue of rules of procedure, the creation of new civil servants and the issue of ordinances that are not generally binding. It approves the annual accounts and the budget and sets the tax rate. He is also responsible for the approval of supplementary credits of up to CHF 500,000 and of construction projects for the municipality. He elects the community commissions for three years.

The municipality board is the executive. It consists of the mayor and four other members. He is the administrative and police authority of the municipality and elects the staff of the municipal administration.

tourism

The Lenzerheide Maiensäss area has been visited by botanists and entomologists since the 1860s. The construction of the Stätzerhornweg, which was largely inspired by Johann Wilhelm Coaz in 1865, also led Churwalden and Parpan hotel guests to the high valley and to the tavern on the market square, built in 1854. In the 1870s, owners of the Maiensäss in Lai and Canols showed themselves to be open to the up-and-coming tourism and construction began: Heidsennerei (1874), Pension Waldhof (1876), Sommervilla Margreth (1879), Hotel Kurhaus (1882), stowage Heidsee and construction of Insel-Châlet (1882), Church of San Carlo (1886), Hotel Lenzerhorn (1888). Wealthy people from Chur acquired land and built their first summer villas: Apotheker Heuss (1885), Dr Weber (1885), Furger (1891), Decurtins (1894 & 1896). It was only with the construction of the Grand Hotel Kurhaus in 1898 that Lenzerheide managed to connect to the larger Graubünden health resorts.

The advent of winter sports brought further momentum. In 1903 the first regular and successful ski course was held on Lenzerheide. The equally successful repetition in the following year made Lenzerheide known as an excellent ski area. The positive increase in overnight stays in the following years resulted in the construction of more hotels and the tourist infrastructure was continuously built up. The beginning of the touristic development is marked by the construction of the toboggan cable car (Funi) from Val Sporz to Tgantieni in 1936. The Funi was a facility in which two sledges on a pull cable went up and down in opposite directions, like a funicular. A funi was probably cheaper than a ski lift or even a funicular, it didn't need any rails or masts and the ropes could be rolled up in spring. For this, each sledge had to have a sledge driver (helmsman) and the operation was of course dependent on a sufficient snow cover.

The Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG is now one of the largest mountain railway companies in Central Grisons. The transport offer includes thirteen different systems on both sides of the valley with a transport capacity of over 8,000 people per hour. The total length of the slopes of all levels of difficulty is around 158 km. The Lenzerheide ski area has been part of the Arosa Lenzerheide winter sports arena since winter 2013/14 .

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Vaz / Obervaz

• Catholic branch church St. Johann Baptist
• Catholic branch church of St. Lucius
• Nivagl Castle
• House Kessler (Chasa Kessler)
• House Veuta (Tgea Veuta)
• Junker house
• Soleval holiday center

Cultural

The local museum Vaz / Obervaz is at the church in Zorten . It is open from the beginning of July to the end of October on Thursdays from 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The old rectory in Zorten was converted into a local museum in the early 1980s. The aim of the community was to show old, valuable objects that shaped the lives of the residents and made history. The collection essentially comprises: agricultural utensils, objects from former craftsmen, various objects of village culture, sacred objects from the local churches, the restored village mill, a mountain hut kitchen, a weaving room, the history of the Barons of Vaz and the Sala Parpan with many sculptures by Ferdinand Parpan . The museum also shows the beginnings of modern sport development. A collection of old posters and postcards documents the change from a quiet high valley to a modern holiday region.

Under the name Kultur am Pass “KAP” , cultural events take place all year round, from classical concerts to rock'n'roll to theater and comedy.

March 1st is Chalandamarz . This custom goes back to the time when the Romans ruled Raetia. The pagan custom that the ancestors celebrated to drive away evil spirits is cultivated in many places in Romansh, but the way it is carried out differs from place to place. The school youth of the community organized a procession with decorated carriages, children costumed as herdsmen, ringing bells. There is singing in the restaurants. Details and pictures can be found on the website of the village school.

The association list on the municipality website in 2004 shows 55 associations. Among them the Obervaz theater company, the Obervaz costume group and the Obervaz youth team (Unieun da schuantetna Vaz).

In Obervaz, Romansh is still mainly spoken in the clubs. The associations have an important function for the preservation and transmission of the Romanesque culture and the Romanesque cultural property

In Vaz / Obervaz the legend of the gun magic plays .

music

The Obervaz-Lenzerheide Music Society has a very high status in the musical and social life of the Vaz / Obervaz community. With her long-time conductor Luzi Anton Margreth, she has not only received numerous awards in the canton, but also throughout Switzerland and internationally, for the high quality of her lectures. In 2006, Luzi Anton Margreth, then 82 years old, received the culture award of the municipality of Vaz / Obervaz for his services to brass music. The youth music group Obervaz-Lenzerheide is part of the music society.

The Obervaz men's choir is also very important for the community's cultural and social life. As in the brass band, there are also many youngsters in the choir. The song repertoir includes especially Romance songs. The women from Obervaz sing in the "Chor da donna Vaz". Singers from the Obervaz, Lenzerheide and Valbella fractions are engaged in the San Carlo church choir. The “Viril Alvra” choir, which is also known in the canton, consists mainly of singers from the Albula district. The “Aelplerchörli Obervaz” performs at popular festivals in the community. The more commercial group Schwyzerörgelifründe “Töbelifätzer”, which was founded in 1995 by the Obervazern Jon and Jos Kollegger, is still young and little known.

Personalities

• Remigius Deflorin , Episcopal High Bailiff and builder of the Junker House
• Dr. Hilarius Rischatsch , district doctor, emigrated to Dubuque (USA) in 1849
• Jakob Fidel Margreth , entrepreneur in Udine, benefactor of the community on his return
• Elisabeth Candrian-de Florin , coffee maker in Milan
• Johann Jakob Simonet , Domsextar and historian
• Paul Kollegger , clarinetist and composer
• Luzi Bergamin , clarinetist and composer
• Toni Cantieni, National Councilor and President of the Lia Rumantscha
• Heini Hemmi , former ski racer (lives in Valbella)
• Silvano Beltrametti , former ski racer (lives in Valbella)

literature

• Toni Cantieni: Vaz / Obervaz. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2013 .
• Johann Jacob Simonet: Obervaz. History of the Barons of Vaz, the political community and the parish of Obervaz . Ingenbohl, 1915–1921 (three parts).
• 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 .
• Otto P. Clavadetscher, Werner Meyer : The castle book of Graubünden . Orell Fuessli, Zurich 1984, ISBN 3-280-01319-4 .
• Peter Paul Moser (1926–2003) At the age of 74, he self-published the first volume of his document-rich autobiography about his life as a victim of the Kinder der Landstrasse aid organization . Shortly before his death he was able to publish the third (last) volume.
• Jeanette Nussbaumer-Moser (* 1947): The Nivagl cellar children , a strongly autobiographical novel, was her first work. From kid's rucksack to trekker backpacks includes 17 trekker stories from mountain hikes in Switzerland and distant countries.
• Gion Peter Thöni: Mysteries between Schyn and Heide , folk legends from Vaz in German and Romansh.
• Donat Rischatsch: There is world here too. Emigrants from Obervaz in the early 19th and 20th centuries. 2014 . [1]
• Donat Rischatsch: Obervazer Rizzi portraits . In: Novitats, Somedia. 2009.

Web links

Commons : Vaz / Obervaz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Vaz / Obervaz on the ETHorama platform
• Official website of the municipality of Vaz / Obervaz
• Website of the village school with local information in the archive

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Der Schweizerische Geschichtsforscher, 1812 , p. 278, accessed on October 30, 2018.
3. ↑ Donat Rischatsch: There is a world here too . 2014, p. 11 .
4. ↑ Donat Rischatsch: There weren't any hotels here yet. Ed .: Novitats, Somedia. Somedia, May 5, 2017, p. 16 .
5. ↑ Source: Website of the Vaz / Obervaz community school.
6. ^ Hansjörg Roth: Jenische. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
7. ^ Catholic branch church St. Johann Baptist on www.graubuendenkultur.ch .
8. ^ Catholic branch church St. Luzius at www.graubuendenkultur.ch .
9. ↑ Soleval Ferienzentrum < on ETHorama
10. ^ Local museum Vaz / Obervaz
11. ↑ Peter Paul Moser: three-volume autobiography (website with text excerpts)