The area of the canton is 7,105 km². Only about a third of this is commonly regarded as productive land. Forests cover about a fifth of the total area. The canton is almost entirely mountainous, comprising the highlands of the Rhine and Inn valleys. There are many significant elevations in the Grison Alps, including the Todi with 3,614m and the highest peak Bernina with 4,048m. Many of the mountain ranges feature extensive glaciers, such as at the Adula, the Albula, the Silvretta or the Rhatikon range.
The mountain ranges in the central area are very deep, some of which are considered the deepest valleys in Europe. These valleys were originally settled by the Raeti (Rhaeti) people of probably Celtic origin.
The canton borders on Liechtenstein to the north, Austria to the north and the west, Italy to the south and southwest, and the cantons of St. Gallen to the north east, Canton of Glarus, Uri to the east, and Ticino to the south west. The capital city is Chur. The world-famous resorts of Davos and St. Moritz are located in the canton.
Most of the lands of the canton were once part of a Roman province called Raetia which was established in 15 BC. The area later was part of the lands of the diocese at Chur.
In 1367 the League of God's House (Cadi, Gottes Haus, Ca' di Dio), was founded to resist the rising power of the Bishop of Chur. This was followed by the establishment of the Grey League (Grauer Bund), sometimes called Oberbund, in 1395 in the Upper Rhine valley. The name Grey League is derived from the homespun grey clothes worn by the people. The name of this league later gave its name to the canton of Graubunden. A third league was established in 1436 by the people of ten bailiwicks in the former Toggenburg countship. The dynasty of Toggenburg has become extinct. The league was called League of the Ten Jurisdictions (Zehngerichtebund).
The first step towards the canton of Graubunden was when the league of the Ten Jurisdictions allied with the League of God's House in 1450. In 1471 the two leagues allied with the Grey League. This was caused when the Habsburgs inherited the possessions of the extinct Toggenburg dynasty in 1496. This meant that the leagues allied with the Swiss Confederation. The Habsburgs were defeated at Calven Gorge and Dornach. This helped the Swiss confederation and the allied leagues of the canton of Grison the be recognized.
The last traces of the bishop of Chur's jurisdiction were abolished in 1526. The lands of the canton of Graubunden were part of the Helvetic Republic, but the "perpetual ally" of Switzerland became a canton in 1803. The constitution of the canton dates from 1892.
The arms of the three original leagues are now all part of the arms of coat of the canton of Graubunden.
Comments
No Comments on Graubunden Yet
Be the first to share your experiences of Graubunden
Post your Tips and Travel Advice on Graubunden
(NOT to be used to Contact Owners)
Share your tips, travel advice and experiences of with our readers. Your experiences of where to go, what to do, what to see (or not see!), etc are invited. Comments are moderated by our editors, so there may be a delay between submission and publication of your comment. Commercial advertising will not be published.
