Discover the viewpoints of Silvaplana
Welcome to the first stop of Silvaplana Explorer and listen to the story of our marmot Niculin.
Niculin is a sleepyhead. He likes it cozy and, when in doubt, prefers to lie down again. This has now become his undoing. When he wakes up after his hibernation, his family has disappeared.
Want to know what happens next? Go to the next viewpoint, Ova dal Sagl. There you will find the continuation of the story.
Through the Fratta Forest to the Po Valley
After the Septimer Pass, the Julier Pass became the most important north-south crossing for the Romans. Emperor Augustus already walked here through the Fratta Forest to the Po Valley in Italy. Contemporary witnesses - such as the ruts of the cart wheels - can still be found today.
The majority of historical finds have been made in the Lower Engadine. This suggests that the Engadin was settled via North and South Tyrol into the Lower Engadin and then further and further up the valley. In the Lower Engadine, for example, the first signs of writing were found on pottery and on deer horn backs. A bronze axe was found in the Fratta forest of Silvaplana as late as 1910, the location of which is unfortunately unknown today.
Various political changes occurred in Raetia in the period before 930. The ownership of the individual parts of the country cannot be clearly defined. It is therefore not possible to determine with certainty when the Engadin acquired its current shape and size.
On August 11, 1538, the territorial division between the municipalities of St. Moritz, Silvaplana and Sils was documented in writing with precisely defined borders. However, even after the territorial division, considerable differences arose between the municipalities of Sils and Silvaplana. Mountain peaks, watercourses, ravines or similar topographical features were usually used to define the boundaries of the municipalities. Between the municipality of Silvaplana and Sils, for example, the municipal boundary was defined as the boundary from the "Piz della Curtinella" following the Rabgiusa to the lake. However, the people of Sils did not agree with this. They had already claimed the "La Muotta" grazing area for centuries. This dispute dragged on for centuries. It was only at the municipal assembly in 1932, when the civic communities of both had agreed to the boundary settlement, that the political municipality followed suit. After 394 years, the "Piz della Curtinella" dispute was finally put to bed.
Source: Arturo Reich, SILVAPLANA - Chronicle of a municipality
