Discover the viewpoints of Silvaplana
Welcome to the second station of Silvaplana Explorer and listen to the story of our marmot Niculin.
Niculin bravely and resolutely sets off on a great quest. His story is told at the six viewpoints around Silvaplana. Set off and experience Niculin around Silvaplana.
Want to know what happens next? Go to the next viewpoint, Murtèl. There you will find the continuation of the story.
The artificial waterfall against flooding
Did you know that Surlej has been devastated by floods several times? In 1873, an 80 m long rock tunnel with a diameter of 3 m was built to guide the Ova da Surlej stream through an artificial tunnel to the waterfall. The waterfall is also called "Ova dal Tunnel" (meaning water of the tunnel) or "Ova da Surlej" (meaning water of Surlej).
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.
In 1786, Surlej consisted of a few small farms with a total of around twelve households and a population of 40 people. On June 30, 1793, the hamlet was hit by the biggest natural disaster for Surlej. A few days earlier, a piece of the Corvatsch glacier had broken off in the "Margun vegl" area and blocked the normal flow of water in the Surlejbach stream. The ever-increasing water pressure caused a sudden outburst of water. An avalanche of water, debris, rubble and mud rolled over the settlement. The subsequent excavations did not unearth any human or animal remains or any tools. The villagers of the time were aware of the danger posed by the mountain and left the hamlet with their belongings in good time. According to the witness of the time, no lives were lost.
Source: Arturo Reich, SILVAPLANA - Chronicle of a community
