Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a

mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or sceni ...

in the canton of Graubünden,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the foot of the

Parpaner Rothorn The Parpaner Rothorn is a mountain of the Plessur Alps, overlooking Parpan in the canton of Graubünden. The summit is easily accessible with a cable car from Lenzerheide, the upper station being located 30 metres below the main summit. See a ...

. The village lies in the municipality

Vaz/Obervaz Vaz/Obervaz is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Albula Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipality of Vaz/Obervaz includes the following villages: Lain, Muldain, Zorten, Lenzerhe ...

in the district of Albula, sub-district

Alvaschein Alvaschein ( Romansh: Alvaschagn) is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinz ...

. The village lies in a broadened section of the valley between the cantonal capital

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

to the north and

Tiefencastel Tiefencastel () is a village and a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls a ...

, beyond which are the

Julier Pass The Julier Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass dal Güglia'', German: ''Julierpass'', Italian ''Passo del Giulia'') (elev. 2284 m) is a mountain pass in the Albula Alps of Switzerland. It connects the Engadin valley with central Graubünden. At its summit, ...

and

St Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

. The high valley forms a pass of no official name, often referred to as

Lenzerheide pass Lenzerheide is the common name of a passage past a high mountain pass in the Alps in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland, reaching summit at 1549 m between Valbella and Parpan, approximately 5 kilometers south of the resort of Lenzerheide ...

, with a culmination point located 5 km north of the village. Lenzerheide is popular as skiing resort and for its lake (

Heidsee Heidsee (Romansh: ''Igl Lai'') is a lake at Lenzerheide, Grisons, Switzerland. Its surface area is . It lies at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. See also *List of mountain lakes of Switzerland This is a list of high-altitude lakes of Sw ...

), which is frozen in winter. The offers access to the skiing areas of Stätzerhorn, Danis, Scalottas, and Rothorn. There are slopes approved for all

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang (skiing), Serge Lang and the alpine ski team d ...

races for women and men. At the end of 2013 the Lenzerheide ski resort was linked with

Arosa Arosa is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort. On 1 January 2013, the former mu ...

by cable-car, creating the new ski resort of

Arosa Lenzerheide Arosa Lenzerheide is a ski area located in Arosa, Lenzerheide, Valbella, Vaz/Obervaz, Valbella, Parpan and Churwalden, Canton of Graubünden, Graubünden/Switzerland. It originated 2013/14 by connecting the existing ski areas of Arosa and Lenzerh ...

. Since then transport passes are available to both resorts. A two-day hike connects Lenzerheide with two more resorts in Graubünden in different Valleys, which are

(can be reached in one day) and

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

(a two-day hike).Hiking Alps in Switzerland, Lenzerheide, Graubünden

Historical note

On 31 July 1954, Antoinette, Crown Princess of Bavaria, wife of

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by the Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Rupert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last heir ...

, died in Lenzerheide. Lenzerheide was also the location where philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote his famous posthumous fragment about Nihilism.

Sports

Lenzerheide has hosted several stages of the

Tour de Ski The Tour de Ski (TdS) is a cross-country skiing event held annually since the 2006–07 season in Central Europe. The Tour de Ski is a Stage World Cup event in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup. Each Tour de Ski has consisted of six to nine stages ...

, a

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

stage event. It was host to the 2018

UCI Mountain Bike World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing ...

, and was a stop in the 2019 UCI MTB World Cup tour. Lenzerheide hosted the 2025

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km) ...

References

External links

Website of tourist office of LenzerheideThe municipality of Vaz/Obervaz
* {{authority control Vaz/Obervaz Villages in Graubünden Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland