Surselva Region

Surselva Region

*Regiun Surselva* (Romansh)
*Region Surselva* (German)
Surselva Region Regiun Surselva (Romansh); Region Surselva (German)
District
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
Area
• Total	1,373.56 km2 (530.33 sq mi)
Population (2020)
• Total	21,318
• Density	16/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities	15

Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton.^[1]

Surselva Region has an area of 1,373.56 square kilometers (530.33 sq mi), with a population of 21,318 as of 31 December 2020.^[2]. It corresponds exactly to its predecessor, Surselva District, but the former subdistricts (Kreise) of Disentis, Ilanz, Lumnezia/Lugnez, Ruis and Safien have been abandoned.

Surselva ("above the forest") is the name of the valley of the Anterior Rhine in the local (Sursilvan) dialect of Romansh. The eponymous forest is that of the Flims rockslide; the region "below the forest" is Sutselva, where the Sutsilvan dialect used to be spoken.

Geography

The Surselva encompasses the valley of the Vorderrhein/Rein Anteriur (the Surselva) and all its side valleys, from the source near the Oberalp Pass all the way down towards Reichenau (where the Vorderrhein joins the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur to form the Alpine Rhine). The region ends before that confluence at the huge forest on the giant debris of Flims Rockslide that is responsible for the name of the region: The debris area lack of water and soil and were ever left as a big forest as it was useless for farming. This forest (romonsch: silva) is the border for "Sur-silva" (meaning "above the forest").

The Surselva is one of the few areas in Switzerland that is mainly Romansh-speaking (another notable valley being the Engadine, the valley of the Inn). There are a few German-speaking communities in the Surselva, e.g. Disentis/Mustér, with its Benedictine monastery, which dates back to 720, Obersaxen and Vals, which were founded in the thirteenth century by the Walser.

A long-distance hike is signposted to follow the full length of the main valley of the Anterior Rhine.^[3]

Municipalities

Surselva Region had 17 municipalities at the time of its formation. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and Waltensburg/Vuorz merged into the municipality of Breil/Brigels, for a total of 15 municipalities.

Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)^[2]	Area (km²)^[4]
Falera	625	22.36
Laax	1,974	31.71
Sagogn	736	6.92
Schluein	611	4.79
Vals	946	175.56
Lumnezia	1,996	165.48
Ilanz/Glion	4,797	133.48
Safiental	937	151.42
Breil/Brigels	11,253	50.64
Disentis/Mustér	2,009	90.99
Medel (Lucmagn)	344	136.22
Sumvitg	1,104	101.88
Tujetsch	1,183	133.91
Trun	1,161	51.9
Obersaxen Mundaun	1,164	70.36

Linguistic demography

Romansh is the predominant language in the region, most of which speak the Sursilvan dialect. There is a large German-speaking minority in Surselva, notably the Walser settlements of Obersaxen and Vals. However, the percentage of Romansh-speakers is on the decline. Traditional Romansh-speaking cities such as Ilanz are losing ground to German.

Languages of Surselva Region, GR
Languages	Census 2000
Languages	Number	Percent
German	7,335	34.5%
Romansh	12,606	59.4%
Italian	289	1.4%
TOTAL	21,231	100%

References

^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz – Mutationsmeldungen 2016 accessed 16 February 2017
^ ^a ^b "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
^ "85 Senda Sursilvana, Andermatt-Chur". Chur, Switzerland: Graubünden Ferien Schweiz. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
^ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen

46°46′N 9°05′E / 46.76°N 9.09°E / 46.76; 9.09

[1] Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz – Mutationsmeldungen 2016 accessed 16 February 2017

[Stat2020_GR-2] "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

[3] "85 Senda Sursilvana, Andermatt-Chur". Chur, Switzerland: Graubünden Ferien Schweiz. Retrieved 2016-01-11.

[Arealstatistik-4] Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen

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