The Rheinwald (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''Rheni vallis'' meaning "Rhine Valley"; Romansh: ''Valrain'') is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in the Canton of Grisons in Switzerland, the first section of the Hinterrhein valley. The river

Hinterrhein Hinterrhein can refer to: * Hinterrhein (river), a tributary of the Rhine * Hinterrhein, Switzerland, a municipality * Hinterrhein (district), the district including that Swiss municipality {{Disambig ...

flows through three valleys in the Grisons, the Rheinwald, the Schams and the Domleschg.

Geography

The Rheinwald is about 26 km long and mainly runs from East to West. It is lined on both sides with peaks of over 3000 m high. The highest peaks are the Rheinwaldhorn (3402 m) to the West and the Pizzo Tambo (3279 m) in the South. The Hinterrhein leaves the valley at the entrance to the Rofla Gorge, which separates the Rheinwald from the Schams valley. Two mountain passes lead South from the Rheinwald: the San Bernardino Pass into Misox valley and the Splügen Pass into

Val San Giacomo The Valle Spluga, also known as the Val San Giacomo and as the Val dei Giüst, is an Alpine valley in the north Italian Province of Sondrio ( Lombardy), which extends from the Splügen Pass The Splügen Pass (german: Splügenpass; it, Passo de ...

in Italy. The San Bernardino Tunnel (Swiss Highway A13) was opened in 1967 and stays open all winter. Mule tracks on Mount Safierberg and Mount Valserberg connect the Rheinwald with its Northern neighbour Safien valley and Vals. Another trail leads through the Val Curciusa valley via Bocchetta di Curciusa Pass and then connects to the San Bernardino. The villages in the valley are all on the Northern bank of the river and between 1420 m and 1620 m high, at the foot of the moderately steep slopes on the sunny side of the valley. The northern slope is covered with many Alpine meadows; the Southern side also has some meadows, separated by several side valleys.

Municipalities

The economic and cultural center of the valley is Splügen. The Rheinwald Kreis is a sub-district of the Hinterrhein District. It includes the municipalities of

, Nufenen, Splügen and Sufers. The municipality of Val Curciusa belongs

orographically Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...

to the Rheinwald, but administratively to the district of San Bernardino.

History

The San Bernardino Pass and the route via Splügen have been used since at least the days of the Romans. The Rheinwald valley, however, was sparsely inhabited until well into the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD ...

. During the 13th Century, Walser settlers travelled into the valley, at the behest of the Barons of Sax-Misox and the Barons of Vaz. Their language and culture shape the valley today. The 1286 ''Erblehensbrief'' ("Letter of enfeoffment") documents the legal relations between the settlers and their ruler. In 1337, after the death of the last Baron of Vaz, the Rheinwald came was given as a dowry to the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans. They sold it in 1493 to the Trivulzio family of Milan. In 1616, the umbrella contract with the Trivulzio was terminated, and after paying the last interest payment the inhabitants of the Rheinwald obtained full autonomy within the Grey League, to which they had belonged to since around 1400.

References

* Kurt Wanner: ''Unterwegs auf Walserpfaden'', Chur, 1993,

External links

* {{Authority control Rheinwald Regions of Switzerland Valleys of Graubünden Geography of Graubünden