Graubünden (Grisons) — Canton of eastern Switzerland

The canton of Graubünden bears the name of what was once the politically most important of the Three Confederations from which it emerged. The Grey Confederation (split shield, black and silver), founded in 1367, was first named in 1442, presumably a derisive name of the Zurichers and Austrians, adopted by the confederates before 1486. In the 15th century, the name appears for what was otherwise called the Three Confederations. In the 16th century, humanists transferred the name of the Roman province of Raetia to the territory of the Three Leagues as Raetia. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte incorporated the confederation into the Helvetic Republic as the canton of Raetia. The designation is still used today for institutions such as the Rhaetian Railway or the Rhaetian Museum in Chur, and the term Rhaeto-Romanic for the Graubünden Romansh language also comes from this. The name Graubünden became official with the Act of Mediation issued by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 and the associated constitution of the modern Swiss Confederation. The cantonal coat of arms is composed accordingly of the coats of arms of the Three Leagues; see also flag and coat of arms of the canton of Graubünden.

Overview

• Highest point: Piz Bernina (4048.6 m above sea level)
• Lowest point: the Moësa on the border with the canton of Ticino (253 m above sea level).

As the canton with the largest surface area in Switzerland, it forms its southeastern part and is mainly characterised by mountainous landscapes. Due to its geographical conditions, it is the most sparsely populated canton in Switzerland and, despite its size, ranks 14th in terms of population.

Neighbouring areas

Graubünden shares cantonal borders with the canton of Ticino to the southwest, Uri to the west, and Glarus and St. Gallen to the north. Graubünden forms the national border of Switzerland with Liechtenstein as well as with Austria (federal states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol) in the north, the Italian South Tyrol in the east and Lombardy in the south. In addition to Graubünden, only St. Gallen borders three different neighbouring states.

Water Geography

Graubünden is largely drained by the Rhine and its headwaters, the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein, which rise in Graubünden. The east of the country, the Engadine, is drained by the Inn, which also rises in Graubünden. On the other side of the main Alpine ridge are the Italian-speaking southern valleys of Graubünden, which drain to the Po: the Misox with the Calanca Valley, the Bergell and the Puschlav. The easternmost part of the country, the Münstertal, drains to the Adige.

The three catchment areas of the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea meet not far from the source of the Inn near the Lunghin Pass above Maloja, the most important watershed in Europe. From there, to the north flows the Julia, which leads to the North Sea via the Rhine, to the south the Maira, whose waters enter the Mediterranean via the Po, and to the east the Inn, which joins the Danube and thus flows into the Black Sea.

Landscapes

The canton of Graubünden has around 150 valleys, 615 lakes (out of a good 1,500 in Switzerland) and 937 mountain peaks up to Piz Bernina at 4049 metres. Graubünden also has the largest prehistoric landslide in the world, which is still visible near Flims. The entire complex of mountain groups around the Rhine and Inn springs is known as the Graubünden Alps.

fauna and flora

The canton of Graubünden is known for its abundance of game, especially deer, chamois and ibex. There are so many marmots in the Averstal that a marmot nature trail has been created. The immigration of once extinct mammal species such as bear, wolf, lynx, beaver etc. has enhanced Graubünden's fauna in modern times, but often creates conflicts of use and interest with the populated valley communities and the heavily used alpine areas.

Around 300 bird species are known in Graubünden and are documented in the reference work "Die Vögel Graubündens".