| Engadine | |
 | |
| State | Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Region | Canton of Grisons |
| Institutional website | |
Engadine is a valley of the Switzerland.
To know
Engadine (in German Engadin) is a mountain valley in the canton of Graubünden, in Switzerland. It is one of the highest inhabited valleys in Europe and is 80 km long. It traces the first part of the River Inn route and splits into two very distinct parts (Upper and Lower Engadine).
Geographical notes
From the orographic point of view, the valley wedges into the western Rhaetian Alps and separates various subsections. In particular, starting from the upper valley, it separates the Bernina Alps (to the south-east) from the Albula Alps (to the north-west); later it separates the Livigno Alps (to the south-east) from the Albula Alps (to the north-west); later in the lower valley it separates the Val Müstair Alps (to the south) from the Silvretta, Samnaun and Verwall Alps (to the north).
Background
The Upper Engadine was governed by its own count. In 1139, Count Dedalrico sold his territory to the bishop of Chur. In the Lower Engadine, however, there were frequent fights between local lords for the possession of that part of the valley. During the war of Valtellina the Engadine was devastated by the Austrians, who occupied the valley in 1622. The following year the Engadine managed to free itself and return to the Grisons; the last country left to Austria was Tarasp, which passed to the Canton in 1803.
Spoken languages
The primary language in the Lower Engadine and parts of the Upper Engadine is Romansh. The Upper Engadine dialect is spoken in the Upper Engadine (ladin putér) and in the Lower Engadine the lower Engadine (ladin vallader), two Romansh dialects. Due to the strong growth of tourism in the last century and the consequent economic growth, Engadine has been a place of immigration for people who do not know the Romansh language. For this reason, together with Romansh in this region, Swiss German is also a very widespread dialect.
Territories and tourist destinations
Engadine: full screen map.Urban centers
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How to get
By plane
Airport of Zurich
By car
There is only one road in the Engadine (main road 3 to Silvaplana, then main road 27) which crosses the whole valley from Maloja (and consequently from the Italian border of Castasegna, in Val Bregaglia) to the Austrian border afterwards Martina, fraction of Valsot.
On the train
The most important station in the valley is that of Sankt Moritz, terminus of the Albula and Bernina lines; then there is the Engadine railway, which crosses the whole central part of the valley, parallel to the road.
