Valser valley
Encyclopedia
The Valser valley is located in the canton of Graubünden
in Switzerland
. Originally the valley was cimply called .
. The valley is drained by the Valser Rhine
. There are two municipalties in the valley: Vals
and St. Martin
.
The population is spread out across several hamlets and the village of , which has an altitude of 1250 m. They form a Walser
enclave, since the people in the adjacent Val Lumnezia speak Romansh.
as early as the Bronze Age
.
The lower part of the valley was settled in the 12th Century, if not earlier. Low justice was provided by the court in Sagogn
; high justice by the barons of Belmont. In the 14th century, the upper part of the valley was settled by the Walser
migration.
, the only hot spring
in Graubünden where hot water springs straight from the ground, is located in the valley. Peiden-Bad, in the lower part of the valley, is a former spa
.
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Originally the valley was cimply called .
Geography
The Valser valley is roughly 16 kilometers long valley. At Uors, it branches off to the south from the Val LumneziaVal Lumnezia
The Val Lumnezia is a Swiss high Alpine valley made up of the main Lumnezia valley, and a side valley, the Valser valley to the south-east. Located at , it forms also Municipality, which is composed of the communities Vella, Vignogn, Degen, Suraua, Vrin, Cumbel, Morissen, Vals and Lumbrein. Its...
. The valley is drained by the Valser Rhine
Valser Rhine
The Valser Rhine is a source of the river Rhine in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The river originates from the Länta glacier and the Grauhorn glacier at the northern foot of the Rheinwaldhorn and initially flows through the Länta valley before it flows into the Zervreilasee reservoir...
. There are two municipalties in the valley: Vals
Vals, Switzerland
Vals is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-History:Archeological finds from the Bronze Age around the thermal baths and Tomül pass as well as Iron Age items on the slopes of the Valserberg indicate that this area was used before written history...
and St. Martin
St. Martin, Graubünden
St. Martin is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:The village was settled around the 14th Century by Walser immigrants. Initially it was a held in fief for the Bishop of Chur by the von Tersnaus and von Mont families...
.
The population is spread out across several hamlets and the village of , which has an altitude of 1250 m. They form a Walser
Walser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
enclave, since the people in the adjacent Val Lumnezia speak Romansh.
History
Isolated finds show that the Valser valley was used as a link between the Mesolcina and the Rhine ValleyRhine Valley
The Rhine Valley is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine , i.e. the section of the Rhine River between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and its mouth at Lake Constance....
as early as the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
.
The lower part of the valley was settled in the 12th Century, if not earlier. Low justice was provided by the court in Sagogn
Sagogn
Sagogn is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Sagogn has an area, , of . Of this area, 23.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 59.7% is forested...
; high justice by the barons of Belmont. In the 14th century, the upper part of the valley was settled by the Walser
Walser
The Walser are German-speaking people who live in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Wallis , the uppermost Rhône River valley...
migration.
Tourism
Therme ValsTherme Vals
Therme Vals is the hotel/spa complex in Vals, built over the only thermal springs in the Graubünden canton in Switzerland.- History :In the 1960s a German property developer, Karl Kurt Vorlop, built a hotel complex with over 1,000 beds to take advantage of the naturally occurring thermal springs...
, the only hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
in Graubünden where hot water springs straight from the ground, is located in the valley. Peiden-Bad, in the lower part of the valley, is a former spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
.