Viamala
Viamala or Via Mala (Chancellery Latin , Rhaeto-Romanic “veia mala”, translated “bad route”) describes a previously notorious, approximately eight kilometer long stretch of route along the Hinterrhein between Thusis and Zillis-Reischen in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . The deeply dug gorge is the most difficult obstacle in the course of the Untere Strasse from Chur to the Alpine passes Splügen and San Bernardino .
history
The roman way
As research by Armon Planta shows, a path led through the Viamala as early as Roman times . It is unclear whether it could be driven over by car. Rock carvings from the Bronze Age on Carschenna as well as Bronze Age and Iron Age finds in Schams in the south and Domleschg in the north already indicate a mule track over the Alps (Splügen and San Bernardino) through this area back then (i.e. from around 1500 BC ).
There were two options for accessing the gorge from the north: on the left from Masein via Rongellen or on the right from Sils im Domleschg via Hohenrätien Castle and St. Albin Church . The latter variant was probably more popular in Roman times, but was impassable around 1300 due to Rüfen and was not rebuilt until 1666, which led to the temporary exclusion of shame from the Gray League due to the competition for the Thusis side . Both paths met at the Nesselboden , the northern entrance to the Viamala, which the Romans were able to conquer on the left with several half-galleries carved out of the rock . Presumably in the area below today's road bridge at today's bridge of the hiking trail ( Punt da Suransuns ) a wooden bridge directed the traffic back to the right bank of the Rhine and via Reischen to Zillis.
The Viamala letter of 1473
In the Middle Ages , long-distance traffic shifted more and more from the Splügen Pass to the competing Obere Strasse over the Septimer Pass, which was sponsored by the influential Chur bishop . The poorly maintained path on the Hinterrhein fell into disrepair, which is why the gorge and path have been called Viamala since the 13th century .
In 1473 the municipalities of Thusis, Masein and Cazis decided to divest richstrass and the waeg Tusis and Schams, so that one nempt Fyamala zuo howen, uffzuorichten and make . In this courageous project, the Heinzenbergers found support from the other ports (transport cooperatives) along Untere Strasse. Instead of the old wooden bridge, the mighty stone Punt da Tgiern was built about a kilometer and a half further south . The Roman section of the path was rehabilitated and then a bold path, partly hewn out of the rock and partly on wooden walkways, led over the dizzying abyss to the new bridge.
The bishop could not prevent the expanded Splügen route from becoming the most important Graubünden transit connection; his power had waned and the court communities developed in the Three Leagues for Sovereign . Alongside mule caravans , commercial travelers, diplomats and “early tourists”, the Lindauer Bote , a courier service organized by the city of Lindau , also passed the Viamala on its way to Milan .
Modern extensions
In the years 1738–1739, the Davos builder Christian Wildener built two bridges with which the most exposed section of the Roman Viamala-Weg could be bypassed on the right; one of them has survived to this day.
Until 1818 the transport system in Graubünden consisted of so-called portes, individual transport associations between which there were obligatory reloading stations.
This system was very cumbersome, which is why the first proposals for expanding the Graubünden road network were made as early as 1805. An artificial road over the San Bernardino would have simplified the transport of goods. However, the Porten were against the construction of the artificial road, and the proposals met with a lot of resistance from the agrarian.
The competition from other passes became more and more noticeable. Sardinia-Piedmont supported the construction of the new pass road. Austria was against it, but nevertheless agreed to the construction in 1818. The road construction costs were mainly financed by the Chur forwarding agent, Sardinia and the canton of Graubünden.
Under the direction and planning of Giulio Picobelli and with the help of the engineer Richard La Nicca , the construction of the artificial road began in 1818. The famine of 1816 is given as one reason for the construction of the artificial road, but this is controversial. Although it is mentioned in many historical accounts, Jürg Simonett, former director of the Rhaetian Museum in Chur, says that he has not found any contemporary source that proves the famine as the cause of the road construction.
The new road was accessible for the first time from 1821 and was completed around 1823. It was not until 1834 that there was finally free competition in haulage, when the ports were abolished. This meant that goods could be transported faster and more cheaply. The expanded pass roads not only promoted trade, but also tourism in Graubünden.
The Bernhardinstrasse leads in the north access with tunnel and galleries through the Verloren Loch and thus eliminates the counter slope over the Rongeller Höhe. The three existing bridges were still used, with a new route blasted out of the rock between them.
In 1834 a devastating flood destroyed the road in the area of the Punt da Tgiern. The bridge itself held up, but was then useless and left to decay. As a replacement, the Rania Bridge was built north of it in 1836 . The course of the road from 1836 corresponds to today's cantonal road, with the exception of a new tunnel at the A13 junction and the two bridges that took over the Wildener bridges that were no longer suitable for car traffic in 1935/38 (one bridge remained and is accessible to pedestrians ). Between the two bridges, at a parking lot with a kiosk, the gorge is accessed by a staircase with 321 steps so that visitors can view the narrow place and the whirlpool.
During the Second World War , the Via Mala barrier was created in the gorge .
The A13 motorway, opened in 1967, bypasses the narrowest section in a 742 meter long tunnel and crosses the southern part of the Viamala on a large arched bridge designed by Christian Menn with a span of 86 meters. The section between Thusis and Rongellen, built in 1958, was replaced in 1996 by the 2171 meter long Crapteig tunnel.
In the same year, the historic path on the right bank of the Rhine, the Veia Traversina , was renewed by building the traversine footbridge. This bridge was destroyed by falling rocks in 1999, just like the Roman road before it. The new suspension bridge built in 2005 is longer and also a staircase. Another footbridge in the southern part of the gorge enables the entire passage through the Viamala on foot.
In spring 2014 the tourist infrastructure of the visitor center was renewed. A new shop with a visitor terrace and a new toilet facility were built and the staircase was renovated; the renovation project with a budget of 1.4 million CHF was officially opened on June 21, 2014. A small exhibition a little further up by the old bridge provides information about the history of the gorge and the landscape. The traffic history of the Viamala is presented to visitors in guided tours and nightly shows.
literature
- Armon Planta: Traffic routes in ancient Raetia. Volume 4, Verlag Bündner Monatsblatt , Chur 1990, ISBN 3-905241-06-4 .
- Friedrich Pieth: Bündnergeschichte. 2nd edition, Verlag F. Schuler, Chur 1982, ISBN 3-85894-002-X .
- Thomas Riedi: Viamala. Texts and pictures on the nature and history of the largest gorge in the canton of Graubünden. Verlag Buch- und Offsetdruck Bischofberger, Chur 1992, ISBN 3-905174-07-3 .
- Jürg Simonett: Viamala. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2013 .
Web links
- Viamala on the ETHorama platform
Individual evidence
- ↑ Historical consideration of the routes
- ↑ Jürg Simonett: Traffic renewal and traffic shift in Graubünden. Terra Grischa Buchverlag, Chur 1986.
- ^ Arne Hegland: On the way on Graubünden art roads. Bulletin, IVS 99/2.
- ^ Heimatbuch Thusis Viamala. published by the Thusis Tourist Office in 1973
- ↑ Jürg Simonett: Traffic renewal and traffic shift in Graubünden. Terra Grischa Buchverlag, Chur 1986.
- ^ Leza Dosch: Art and Landscape in Graubünden. Verlag Scheidegger & Spiess AG, Zurich 2011.
- ^ Arne Hegland: On the way on Graubünden art roads. Bulletin, IVS 99/2.
- ^ Bündner Tagblatt: The forgotten catastrophe. Mon. November 21, 2016
- ^ Arne Hegland: On the way on Graubünden art roads. Bulletin, IVS 99/2.
- ^ Heimatbuch Thusis Viamala. published by the Thusis Tourist Office in 1973
- ↑ Lost Hole on ETHorama
- ↑ Leonardo Fernández Troyano: Bridge Engineering. A global perspective. Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puentes, Thomas Telford 2003, ISBN 0-7277-3215-3 , p. 331.
- ↑ Pedestrian Bridge I 1996–99
- ↑ Hiking Switzerland: Via Spluga, the cultural and historical hiking trail.
- ↑ New era in the Viamala Gorge. Guest information Viamala, accessed on November 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Guided tours & activities. In: Viamala. Retrieved May 25, 2015 .