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GRISONS (Ger. Graubunden)

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Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 610 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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GRISONS (Ger. Graubunden) , the most easterly of the Swiss cantons and also the largest in extent, though relatively the most sparsely populated. Its See also:total See also:area is 2753.2 sq. m., of which 1634.4 sq. m. are classed as " productive " (forests covering 503.1 sq. m. and vineyards 1.3 sq. m.), but it has also 138.6 sq. m. of glaciers, ranking in this respect next after the See also:Valais and before See also:Bern. The whole See also:canton is mountainous, the See also:principal See also:glacier See also:groups being those of the See also:Todi, N. (11,887 ft.), of Medels, S.W. (Piz Medel, 10,509 ft.), of the Rheinwald or the Adula See also:Alps, S.W. (Rheinwaldhorn, 11,149 ft.), with the See also:chief source of the See also:Rhine, of the Bernina, S.E. (Piz Bernina, 13,304 ft.), the most extensive, of the Albula, E. (Piz Kesch, 11,228 ft.), and of the Silvretta, N.E. (Piz Linard, 11,201 ft.). The principal valleys are those of the upper Rhine and of the upper See also:Inn (or See also:Engadine, q.v.). The three See also:main See also:sources of the Rhine are in the canton.

The valley of the Vorder Rhine is called the Bundner Oberland, that of the Mittel Rhine the Val Medels, and that of the Hinter Rhine (the principal), in different parts of its course, the Rheinwald, the Schams valley and the Domleschg valley, while the upper valley of the Julia is named the Oberhalbstein. The chief affluents of the Rhine in the canton are the Glenner (flowing through the Lugnetz valley), the Avers Rhine, the Albula (swollen by the Julia and the Landwasser), the Plessur (Schanfigg valley) and the Landquart (coming from the Prattigau). The Rhine and the Inn flow respectively into the See also:

North and the See also:Black Seas. Of other streams that of Val Mesocco joins the See also:Ticino and so the Po, while the Maira or Mera (Val Bregaglia) and the Poschiavino join the See also:Adda, and the Rambach (Munstervalley) the See also:Adige, all four thus ultimately reaching the Adriatic See also:Sea. The inner valleys are the highest in Central See also:Europe, and among the loftiest villages are Juf, 6998 ft. (the highest permanently inhabited See also:village in the Alps), at the See also:head of the Avers glen, and St See also:Moritz, 6037 ft., in the Upper Engadine. The See also:lower courses of the various streams are See also:rent by remarkable See also:gorges, such as the Via See also:Mala, the Rofna, the Schyn, and those in the Avers, Medels and Lugnetz glens, as well as .that of the Zuge in the Landwasser glen. Below See also:Coire, near Malans, See also:good See also:wine is produced, while in the Val Mesocco, &c., See also:maize and See also:chest-nuts flourish. But the forests and the See also:mountain pasturages are the chief source of See also:wealth. The lower pastures maintain a See also:fine breed of cows, while the upper are let out in summer to Bergamasque shepherds. There are many See also:mineral springs, such as those of St Moritz, Schuls, Alvaneu, Fideris, Le Prese and See also:San Bernardino. The See also:climate and vegetation, See also:save on the See also:southern slope of the Alps, are alpine and severe.

But yearly vast See also:

numbers of strangel's visit different spots in the canton, especially See also:Davos (q.v.), Arosa and the Engadine. As yet there are comparatively few See also:railways. There is one from Maienfeld (continued north to See also:Constance and north-See also:west to See also:Zurich) to Coire (11 m.), which sends off a See also:branch See also:line from Landquart, E., past Klosters to Davos (31 m.). From Coire the line bears west to See also:Reichenau (6 m.), whence one branch runs S.S.E. beneath the Albula Pass to St Moritz (5o m.), and another S.W. up the Hinter Rhine valley to Ilanz (2o1 m.). There are, however, a number of fine See also:carriage roads across the passes leading to or towards See also:Italy. Besides those leading to the Engadine may be noted the roads from Ilanz past Disentis over the Oberalp. Pass (6719 ft.) to Andermatt, from Disentis over the Lukmanier Pass (6289 ft.) to Biasca, on the St Gotthard railway, from Reichenau past Thusis and Splugen over the San Bernardino Pass (6769 ft.) to See also:Bellinzona on the same railway line, and from Splugen over the Splugen Pass(6946 ft.)to See also:Chiavenna. The Septimer Pass(7582 ft.) from the Julier route to the Maloja route has now only a See also:mule path, but was probably known in See also:Roman times (as was possibly the Splugen), and was much frequented in the See also:middle ages. The See also:population of the canton in 1900 was 104,520. Of this number 55,155 (mainly near Coire and Davos, in the Prattigau and in the Schanfigg valley) were Protestants, while 49,142 (mainly in the Bundner Oberland, the Vail Mesocco and the Oberhalbstein) were Romanists, while there were also 114 See also:Jews (81 of whom lived in Davos). In point of See also:language 48,762 (mainly near Coire and Davos, in the Prattigau and in the Schanfigg valley) were See also:German-speaking, while 17,539 (mostly in the Val Mesocco, the Val Bregaglia and the valley of Poschiavo, but including a number of See also:Italian labourers engaged on the construction of the Albula railway) were Italian-speaking. But the characteristic See also:tongue of the Grisons is a survival of an See also:ancient See also:Romance language (the lingua rustica of the Roman See also:Empire), which has lagged behind its sisters.

It has a scanty printed literature, but is still widely spoken, so that, of the 38,651 persons in the Swiss See also:

Confederation who speak it, no fewer than 36,472 are in the Grisons. It is distinguished into two dialects: the Romonsch (sometimes wrongly called Romansch), which prevails in the Bundner Oberland and in the Hinter Rhine valley (Schams and Domleschg), and the Ladin (closely related to the tongue spoken in parts of the See also:South Tyrol), that survives in the Engadine and in the neighbouring valleys of Bergiin, Oberhalbstein and See also:Munster. (See F. Rausch's Geschichte der Literatur See also:des rhaeto-romanischen Volkes, See also:Frankfort, 1870, and Mr Coolidge's bibliography of this language, given on pp. 22-23 of Lorria and Martel's Le See also:Massif de la Bernina, Zurich, 1894.) Yet in the midst of this Romance-speaking population are islets (mostly, if not entirely, due to See also:immigration in the 13th See also:century from the German-speaking Upper Valais) of German-speaking inhabitants, so in the See also:Vals and Safien glens, and at Obersaxen (all in the Bundner Oberland), in the Rheinwald (the highest See also:part of the Hinter Rhine valley), and in the Avers glen (middle reach of the Hinter Rhine valley), as well as in and around Davos itself. There is not much See also:industrial activity in the Grisons. A considerable portion of the population is engaged in attending to the wants of the See also:foreign visitors, but there is a considerable See also:trade with Italy, particularly in the wines of the See also:Valtellina, while many See also:young men seek their fortunes abroad (returning See also:home after having accumulated a small stock of See also:money) as confectioners, pastry-cooks and See also:coffee-See also:house keepers. A certain number of See also:lead and See also:silver mines were formerly worked, but are now abandoned. The See also:capital of the canton is Coire (q.v.). The canton is divided into 14 administrative districts, and includes 224 communes. It sends 2 members (elected by a popular See also:vote) to the Federal Standerath, and 5 members (also elected by a popular vote) to the Federal Nationalratk. The existing cantonal constitution was accepted by the See also:people in 1892, and came into force on 1st See also:January 1894.

The legislature (Grossrath—no numbers fixed by the constitution) is elected for 2 years by a popular vote, as are the 5 members of the executive (Kleinrath) for 3 years. The " obligatory See also:

referendum " obtains in the See also:case of all See also:laws and important matters of expendi-'ire, while 3000 citizens can demand (" facultative referendum ") a popular vote as to resolutions and ordinances made by the legislature. Three thousand citizens also have the right of " initiative " as to legislative projects, but 5000 signatures are required for a proposed revision of the cantonal constitution. In the See also:revenue and See also:expenditure of the canton the taxes are never counted. This causes an apparent deficit which is carried to the capital See also:account, and is met by the See also:land tax (See also:art. 19 of the constitution), so that there is never a real deficit, as the amount of the land tax varies annually according to the amount that must be provided. In the pre-1799 constitution of the three Raetian Leagues the See also:system of the " referendum " was in working as See also:early as the 16th century, not merely as between the three Leagues themselves, but as between the bailiwicks (Hochgerichte), the See also:sovereign See also:units within each See also:League, and sometimes (as in the Upper Engadine) between the villages composing each bailiwick. The greater part (excluding the three valleys where the inhabitants speak Italian) of the See also:modern canton of the Grisons formed the southern part of the See also:province of See also:Raetia (probably the aboriginal inhabitants, the Raeti, were Celts rather than, as was formerly believed, Etruscans), set up by the See also:Romans after their See also:conquest of the region in 15 B.C. The Romanized inhabitants were to a certain extent (The Romonsch or Ladin tongue is a survival of the Roman dominion) Teutonized under the See also:Ostrogoths (A.D. 493-537) and under the See also:Franks (from 537 onwards). See also:Governors called Praesides are mentioned in the 7th and 8th centuries, while members of the same See also:family occupied the episcopal see of Coire (founded 4th-5th centuries). About 8o6 See also:Charles the See also:Great made this region into a See also:county, but in 831 the See also:bishop procured for his dominions exemption (" See also:immunity ") from the See also:jurisdiction of the See also:counts, while before 847 his see was transferred from the Italian province of See also:Milan to the German province of See also:Mainz (Mayence) and was thus cut off from Italy to be joined to See also:Germany.

In 916 the region was See also:

united with the duchy of Alamannia, but the bishop still retained See also:practical See also:independence, and his wide-spread dominions placed him even above the abbots of Disentis and Pfafers, who likewise enjoyed " immunity." In the loth century the bishop obtained fresh privileges from the emperors (besides the Val Bregaglia in 960), and so became the chief of the many feudal nobles who struggled for See also:power in the region. He became a See also:prince of the empire in 1170 and later allied himself with the rising power (in the region) of the Habsburgers. This led in 1367 to the See also:foundation of the League of See also:God's House or the Gotteshausbund (composed of the See also:city and See also:chapter of Coire, and of the bishop's subjects, especially in the Engadine, Val Bregaglia, Domleschg and Oberhalbstein) in See also:order to See also:stem his rising power, the bishop entering it in 1392. In 1395 the See also:abbot of Disentis, the men of the Lugnetz valley, and the great feudal lords of Razuns and See also:Sax (in 1399 the counts of Werdenberg came in) formed another League, called the Ober Bund (as comprising the See also:highlands in the Vorder Rhine valley) and also wrongly the " See also:Grey League " (as the word interpreted " grey " is simply a misreading of graven or counts, though the false view has given rise to the name of Grisons or Graubunden for the whole canton), their See also:alliance being strengthened in 1424 when, too, the See also:free men of the Rheinwald and Schams came in, and in 1480 the Val Mesocco also. Finally, in 1436, the third Raetian League was founded, that of the Zehngerichtenbund or League of the Ten Jurisdictions, by the former subjects of the See also:count of See also:Toggenburg, whose See also:dynasty then became See also:extinct; they include the inhabitants of the Prattigau, Davos, Maienfeld, the Schanfigg valley, Churwalden, and the lordship of See also:Belfort (i.e. the region See also:round Alvaneu), and formed ten bailiwicks, whence the name of the League. In 1450 the Zehngerichtenbund concluded an alliance with the Gotteshausbund and in 1471 with the Ober Bund; but of the so-called perpetual alliance at Vazerol, near Tiefenkastels, there exists no See also:authentic See also:evidence in the See also:oldest See also:chronicles, though diets were held there. By a See also:succession of purchases (1477-1496) nearly all the possessions of the extinct dynasty of the counts of Toggenburg in the Prattigau had come to the junior or Tyrolese line of the Habsburgers. On its extinction (1496) in turn they passed to the See also:elder line, the head of which, See also:Maximilian, was already See also:emperor-elect and desired to maintain the rights of his family there and in the Lower Engadine. Hence in 1497 the Ober Bund and in 1498 the Gotteshausbund became See also:allies of the Swiss Confederation. See also:War See also:broke out in 1499, but was ended by the great Swiss victory (22nd May 1499) at the See also:battle of the Calven See also:gorge {above Mals) which, added to another Swiss victory at Dornach (near See also:Basel), compelled the emperor to recognize the practical independence of the Swiss and their allies of the Empire. The religious See also:Reformation brought disunion into the three Leagues, as the Ober Bund clung in the main to the old faith, and for this See also:reason their connexion with the Swiss See also:Con-federation was much weakened. In 1526, by the Articles of Ilanz, the last remaining traces of the temporal jurisdiction of the bishop of Coire was abolished.

In 1486 Poschiavo had at last been secured from Milan, and Maienfeld with Malans was bought in 1509, while in 1549 the Val Mesocco (included in the Ober Bund since 1480) See also:

purchased its freedom of its lords, the Trivulzi6 family of Milan. In 1512 the three Leagues conquered from Milan the See also:rich and fertile Valtellina, with See also:Bormio and Chiavenna, and held these districts as subject lands till in 1797 they were annexed to the .Cisalpine See also:Republic. The struggle for lucrative offices in these lands further sharpened the See also:long rivalry between the families of Planta (Engadine) and Salis (Val Bregaglia), while in the 17th century this rivalry was complicated by See also:political enmities, as the Plantas favoured the See also:Spanish See also:side and the Salis that of See also:France during the long struggle (1620-1639) for the Valtellina (see See also:JENATSCH and VALTELLINA). Troubles arose (1622) also in the Prattigau through the attempts of the Habsburgers to force the inhabitants to give up Protestantism. Finally, after the emperor had formally recognized, by the treaty of See also:Westphalia (1648), the independence of the Swiss Confederation, the rights of the Habsburgers in the Prattigau and the Lower Engadine were bought up (1649 and 1652). But the See also:Austrian enclaves of Tarasp (Lower Engadine) and of Razuns (near Reichenau) were only annexed to the Grisons in 1809 and 1815 respectively, in each case France holding the lordship for a See also:short See also:time after its cession by See also:Austria. In 1748 (finally in 1762) the three Leagues secured the upper portion of the valley of Munster. In 1799 the See also:French invaded the canton, which became the See also:scene of a fierce conflict (1799-1800) between them and the united See also:Russian and Austrian See also:army, in the course of which the French. burnt (May 1799) the ancient See also:convent of Disentis with all its See also:literary treasures. In See also:April 1799 the provisional See also:government agreed to the See also:incorporation of the three Leagues in the Helvetic Republic, though it was not till See also:June 18ot that the canton of Raetia became formally part of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803, by See also:Napoleon's See also:Act of See also:Mediation, it entered, under the name of Canton of the Grisons or Graubunden, the reconstituted Swiss Confederation, of which it then first became a full member. Codex diplomaticus Raetiae (5 vols., Coire, 1848—1886) ; W. See also:Coxe, Travels in See also:Switzerland, vol. ii. of the 1789 See also:London edition; E.

Dunant, La See also:

Reunion des Grisons a in Suisse (1798—1799) (Basel, 1899); G. Fient, Das Pratligau (2nd ed., Davos, 1897); P. Foffa, Das bundnerische Munsterthal (Coire, 1864); F. Fossati, Codice diplomatico See also:delta Rezia (originally published in the Periodico of the Society storica a Comense at See also:Como; See also:separate reprint, Como, 1901); R. A. Ganzoni, Beitrage zur Kenntnis d. biindnerischen Referendums (Zurich, 189x); Mrs See also:Henry Freshfield, A Summer Tour in the Grisons (London, 1862) ; C. and F. Jecklin, Der Anteil Graubiindens am Schwabenkrieg (1499) (Davos, 1899) ; C. von See also:Moor, Geschichte von Curraelien (2 vols., Coire, 1870—1874), and Wegweiser (Coire, 1873) ; E. Lechner, Das Thal Bergell (2nd ed., See also:Leipzig, 1874) ; G. Leonhardi, Das Poschiavinothal (Leipzig, 1859) ; A. Lorria and E. A. Martel, Le Massif de In Bernina (Upper Engadine and Val Bregaglia) (Zurich, 1894) ; P.

C. von Planta, Das alte Raetien (See also:

Berlin, 1872); See also:Die curraetischen Herrschaften in d. Feudalzeit (Bern, 1881) ; Geschichle von Graubunden (Bern, 1892) ; and Chronik d. Familie von Planta (Zurich, 1892); W. See also:Plattner, Die Entstehung d. Freistaates der 3 Bunde (Davos, 1895), R. von Reding-Biberegg, Der See also:Zug Suworoffs durch die Schweiz in 1799 (See also:Stans, 1895); N. Salis-Soglio, Die Familie von Salts (See also:Lindau, 1891) ; G. See also:Theobald, Das Bi ndner Oberland (Coire, 1861), and Naturbilder aus den rhatischen Alpen (3rd ed., Coire, 1893) ; N. Valaer, Johannes von Planta (d. 1572) (Zurich, 1888); R. See also:Wagner and L. R. von Salis, Rechtsquellen d. Cant.

Graubunden (Basel, 1877—1892) ; F. Jecklin, Materialen zur Standes- and Landesgeschichte See also:

Gem. iii. Halide (Graubunden), 1464—1803 (pt. i., Regesten, was published at Basel in 1907). See also COIRE, ENGADINE, JENATSCH and VALTELLINA. (W. A. B.

End of Article: GRISONS (Ger. Graubunden)

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