Brusio (; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Bernina Region Bernina Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy ...

in the canton of

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

in Switzerland.

History

Brusio is first mentioned in 1106 as ''Bruse''. It was first mentioned as Brusio in 1212. Previously it was known as Romansh: ''Brüsch'' and . The monastery of San Romerio (earlier, San Remigio) was founded above the

Val Poschiavo Val Poschiavo (, , ) is a valley in the southern, Italian-speaking part of the Swiss canton of the Grisons. The main town is Poschiavo. The valley is known for its distinctive microclimate that supports a diverse agricultural landscape, ranging ...

before 1055. Soon thereafter the village of Brusio was settled on the valley floor below the monastery. The monastery influenced this early stage of settlement and growth in the village. By 1212 it was an independent municipality with its own dean or senior pastor who represented the municipality's interests. In the 13th century, the entire Val Poschiavo became part of the

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Diocese of Chur in Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').League of God's House The League of God's House ( German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', ) was formed in what is now Switzerland on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with ...

and by extension, the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the 1471 alliance between the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League. Its members were all Swiss Associates, associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ...

. During the conquest of the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

valley by the Three Leagues, the hamlets of Campocologno (1518) and Zalende (1526) were founded. In 1610 Brusio tried to leave the

municipality of Poschiavo Poschiavo (, , , ) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824 as ''in Postclave'' though this comes from a later copy of the original document. In 1140 it was men ...

, but it wasn't until 1851 that they were successful. In 1863 the previously Italian side valley of Saiento and the hamlet of Cavajone joined Brusio and became Swiss.

Geography

Brusio has an area, , of . Of this area, 16.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 54.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (27%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 2 October 2009 The municipality is located in the Brusio sub-district of the Bernina district. It is located in the

on the road from the

Bernina Pass The Bernina Pass (el. .) () is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-spea ...

into Italy. Besides the village of Brusio itself, it consists of the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

Campocologno Brusio (; ) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Brusio is first mentioned in 1106 as ''Bruse''. It was first mentioned as Brusio in 1212. Previously it was known as Romansh: ''Brüsch'' and . ...

, Zalende,

Campascio Brusio (; ) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Brusio is first mentioned in 1106 as ''Bruse''. It was first mentioned as Brusio in 1212. Previously it was known as Romansh: ''Brüsch'' and . ...

, Piazzo and parts of

Miralago Miralago is a village in the Val Poschiavo in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies at above sea level at the southern end of Lago di Poschiavo, and the Poschiavino river flows out of the lake in the village. The village is some sou ...

as well as the small settlements of Viano and

Cavaione Poschiavo (, , , ) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824 as ''in Postclave'' though this comes from a later copy of the original document. In 1140 it was men ...

high in the mountains.

Demographics

Brusio has a population (as of ) of . , 7.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of 12.7%. , the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Brusio is; 116 people or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 71 people or 5.9% are 10 to 14, and 44 people or 3.7% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 117 people or 9.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 193 people or 16.1% are 30 to 39, 142 people or 11.8% are 40 to 49, and 181 people or 15.1% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 146 people or 12.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 128 people or 10.6% are 70 to 79, there are 56 people or 4.7% who are 80 to 89, and there are 8 people or 0.7% who are 90 to 99.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 40.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (21.8%), the CVP (20.9%) and the FDP (15.9%). In Brusio about 61% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). Brusio has an unemployment rate of 1.9%. , there were 107 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 30 businesses involved in this sector. 217 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

and there are 24 businesses in this sector. 374 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

, with 70 businesses in this sector. From the , 1,052 or 87.5% are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while 91 or 7.6% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

. There are less than 5 individuals who are

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. There are 6 individuals (or about 0.50% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 24 (or about 2.00% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 29 individuals (or about 2.41% of the population) did not answer the question. The historical population is given in the following table:

Languages

Most of the population () speaks Italian (92.4%), with German being second most common (5.3%) and Portuguese being third (1.0%).

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Casa di Risch'', ''Chiesa di San Romerio e dintorni'' (or San Romerio Church) and ''Gruppo di 9 «Crot»'' are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21 November 2008 version, accessed 2 October 2009 The monastery of San Romerio (also San Remigio) was founded in the hills above the Val Poschiavo before 1055. The village of Brusio was settled soon after and was heavily influenced by the monastery.

Transportation

The municipality has three railway stations: , , and . All three are located on the

Bernina line The Bernina railway line (; ; ) is a single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the town of Tirano, in the Province of Sondrio, I ...

, with regular service to and . The municipality gives its name to the Brusio spiral viaduct.

References

External links

Official Web site
* * {{Authority control Municipalities of Graubünden Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Towns in Val Poschiavo