Lumnezia is a valley region and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss of canton of the Grisons. The former municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Lumnezia.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013 It covers the Val Lumnezia (), a Swiss high alpine valley. Its upper regions are among the most remote areas in the Swiss Alps. The official language is Romansh.
In 1998, the village of Vrin was awarded the Wakker Prize for the preservation of its architectural heritage.
History Neolithic and Megalithic Period In the Neolithic times the valley was probably inhabited by Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans. Witness to this is the Crap da Treis Siarps, the "Three Snakes Stone", a remnant of a Neolithic or Bronze Age Megalithic monument. It can be found at the slope of the Glogn gorge east of the Parish church of Pleif. Although the other megaliths of this monument have substantially weathered, the "Three Snakes Stone" is well preserved. It has three snakes and a half moon engraved, hinting at its use as either a burial site or as an archaeoastronomical site.
Roman Times During Roman times Lumnezia was probably inhabited by a Celtic tribe known as the Helvetii. It was a part of the Roman Province of Rhaetia. However, as there were hardly any natural resources in the valley and the alpine crossing into the Ticino would have been difficult, there are no significant archaeological finds of this period.
Middle Ages Chronicles of the early Middle Ages mention the Lumnezia because of its fertile soils and advantageous climate. In several sheltered parishes, such as Peiden peaches and grapes were grown. In the 6th century AD the parish church at Pleif near Vella was built. At about this time the valley became a domain of Bishopric Chur, with its inhabitants living in serfdom to the bishops at Chur. At around 1,200 AD the Valser Valley, a side valley of the Val Lumnezia, was settled by an Alemannic tribe known as the Walsers. With the foundation of the Grey League in the 14th century, the valley emancipated itself politically.
Reformation and Enlightenment 1538 AD the citizens of the Val Lumnezia bought themselves off the feudal ownership. The parishes of the valley became autonomous and the feudal domains became partially private property. Within the Grey League legislatives and juridical councils emerged in the form of confederations comprising several parish councils — one of which became the municipality Lumnezia. This had, in particular, economical advantages, as the valley was then autonomous, being able to supply itself with food and goods. Across the Greina high plain, the cattle trade was done with cities as far afield as Milan in Italy. As a bastion against the emerging Protestantism which has spread across Northern and Western Switzerland, the Holy See established 1621 AD a Rhaetian Capuchin congregation to spread the Counter-Reformation across the Val Lumnezia. This had the effect, that still today, the valley is conservative Roman Catholic, with sacred buildings, such as baroque churches dominating the landscape.
Industrial Age The construction of the road to Ilanz for stagecoaches in 1890 connected the Lumnezia to the infrastructure of the Vorderrhein valley and the Swiss railway network.
Cumbel Cumbel is first mentioned about 825 as Cumble. Until 1983, the municipality was officially known as Cumbels.
Degen Degen is first mentioned about 840 as Higenae/Egenae. Rumein was mentioned at about the same time as villa Ramnensis, and in 1325 Vattiz was mentioned as Vatigis.
Lumbrein The Crestaulta hill near the hamlet of Surin was occupied since at least the early Bronze Age (c. 2000-1700/1600 BC). However, Lumbrein is first mentioned about 850 as in villa Lamarine though this comes from a 16th-century copy of an earlier and now lost document. In 1231 it was mentioned as de Lumarins.
Morissen Morissen is first mentioned in 1210 as Mureizens.
Suraua The municipality was formed on 1 January 2002 through the merger of Camuns, Surcasti, Tersnaus, and Uors-Peiden. Camuns is first mentioned in 1543 as Gamundtz. Surcasti is first mentioned in 1515 as Oberkastels and until 1943 it was known by its German name of Obercastels. Tersnaus is first mentioned in 1362 as Terzenaus. Uors was first mentioned in 831 as villa Vorce, and in 1290 as Furze. Peiden was first mentioned in 1345 as Pedens.
Vignogn Vignogn is first mentioned in 1325 as Vinanne. In 1469 it was mentioned as Viends.
Vella While there is some evidence of a late Bronze Age settlement and coins from the 3rd and 4th centuries have been found, Vella is first mentioned about 840 as ad sanctum Vincentium [...] in valle Leguntia. In 1290-98 it was mentioned as ad Ville, aput Villam. The village church was the center of a parish that covered the entire valley. However, about 1300 Vals separated from the parish due to the desire of Walser German speaking Walser immigrants to have their own religious leadership. Over the following centuries, most of the other villages in the valley also separated from the Vella parish (the most recent being Peiden in 1910). Due to the village's function as a religious center and the power of a local patrician family, de Mont, Vella grew to be the most powerful village in the valley. Since 1887, it has been home to the sub-district secondary school.
Vrin Vrin is first mentioned in 1208 as Varin.
Geography After the 2013 merger Lumnezia had an area of . Before the merger Lumnezia had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 44.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 32.0% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits accessed 2 May 2016
Geology Tectonics and rock formations The rock formations in the Val Lumnezia are mostly composed of slate — geologically known as the Grisons slate belt — which forms the mountains and valleys south of the Vorderrhein. The slate is interbedded with dolomite and quartzite. The Greina high Alpine plain distinguishes itself from the remainder of the Val Lumnezia by the occurrence of crystallite rock formations, characteristic of the Adula Alps. As several tectonic faults have fractured the original rock formations, the geological origin of the Grisons slate is unknown, but it is probably sediment of the thickness of some , which has formed during the Jurassic Period in estuaries. There are two types of slate in the Val Lumnezia: North of the river Glogn the slate of the Adula Alps predominates, whereas South of the river Glogn the Lugnez slate can be found. (These strata run with an inclination of 75° towards the North West). The former has weathered substantially, the latter is more resistant. The most cohesive slate mass stretches across and area of approximately . South of this massive slate plate, again the rock formations show substantial tectonic disruptions.
Glaciers The current geological morphology of the Val Lumnezia is due to the last widespread glaciation some 26,000 until 13,000 years ago, when the entire valley was covered by a giant glacier. The glacier swept the deposits in the direction of the Vorderrhein and when it melted, an undulating sheet of clay and gravel remained, which forms today's terraced plateaus of Lumnezia.
The Piz Terri and the high Greina plain form a Nature reserve shared between Grisons and Ticino. The Kar Glacier below the Piz Terri has seen a substantial reduction due to global warming. Back in 1865 the glacier filled the area of the entire Lake Kar. This has resulted in massive erosion as the permafrost ground thawed releasing rocks and gravel which has formed a massive landslide below the Piz Terri. Other landslides have covered the remaining Glacier.
River systems During snow melt and flash floods the river Glogn tends to flush away the slopes of its gorge resulting in the 1920s in the near evacuation of the Parish council Peiden on the northern site of the Glogn. However, the construction of several reservoirs and drainage systems along its path has alleviated this danger. Several streams emerging from the surrounding mountain ridges have cut small, but partially deep ravines and gullies into the terraced plateaus of the Val Lumnezia.
Ecology Fauna The fauna can be divided between high Alpine fauna and low Alpine fauna. At heights above in the Val Lumnezia the marmot and the chamois are of common occurrence and the Alpine ibex can be seen occasionally. Below that altitude, foxes, hares, wild boars and red deer can be found. With the onset of winter, the chamois move towards the valley. As there is a brown bear sanctuary some Alpine valleys further to the east, in Trentino of Italy, it might occasionally happen that a bear from this sanctuary ventures through lower ranges of the Val Lumnezia. Some caves and buildings of the lower Val Lumnezia are inhabited by the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophidae), which is a protected species.
In the higher and middle ranges of the valley several pairs of golden eagles have been resettled.
Transport Airports Both the international airports at Zürich-Kloten and Milan Malpensa are about equidistant from the Lumnezia.
Railways The Railway station is located at Ilanz/Glion in the valley of the Rein Anteriur. The Rhaetian Railway line to Disentis/Mustér serves the valley, with connecting services to the Swiss Federal Railways network at Chur. In addition, Ilanz is a stop for the famous Glacier Express.
Roads The Lumnezia can be accessed only by the Via Principala road from Ilanz. Arriving from Zürich and Chur, respectively, the Swiss Federal Highways A3 and A13(E43) to the San Bernardino road tunnel have to be left at the intersection Reichenau. The Swiss National Road 19 is to be followed to Ilanz. From here the Lumnezia can be reached taking the Via Principala past Cumbel into Vella or Vals. Arriving from Milan the Lumnezia can be reached leaving the A13(E43) at the intersection Reichenau. Arriving from Geneva, Lumnezia can be reached via the Swiss Federal Highways A1 and A9 (E62) taking the Furka Pass road, the Swiss Federal Road 19, passing the Furka pass and the Oberalp Pass to Disentis. At Ilanz, the Swiss Federal Road 19 has to be left for the Via Prinzipala.
Demographics Population Lumnezia has a population () of . , 3.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 3 years (2010-2013) the population has changed at a rate of -4.42%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2013, was 3.8 while the death rate was 16.0 per thousand residents.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 16.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 58.0% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 25.5%.
Employment , there were a total of 944 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 300 people worked in 126 businesses in the primary economic sector. The secondary sector employed 203 workers in 45 separate businesses. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 441 jobs in 116 businesses. In 2013 a total of 31.3% of the population received social assistance.
Historic Population The historical population is given in the following chart:Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Bevölkerungsentwicklung nach Region, 1850-2000 accessed 29 January 2011
Tourism Skiing There are two main skiing areas in the Lumnezia. The Piz Mundaun and the Piz Aul in the Valser Valley.
There are various ski-lifts on the northern face of the valley, connecting the Lumnezia to the Obersaxen ski area.
Sites of Interest Mountains Piz Terri Piz Aul Piz Mundaun
Nature Glenner Gorge Alpine Forests Lake Kar