198 Routes 81, 82.-The Prettigau-Pass of the Julier. overlooked by several ruined castles, and situated near the mouth of the Prettigau (? Rhæti-gau). The entrance of that valley is through a narrow gorge or defile, called Klus, a mile long, broken through by some geological phenomena, so as to give passage to the waters of the Landquart, a furious torrent. The valley abounds in fine scenery, is shut in by high mountains and glaciers, and is famed for its large breed of cattle. The rt., or N. side of the valley, is occupied by the Alpine chain of the Rhætikon, which separates it from the Vorarlberg and from the vale of Montafun. Its most remarkable summits are the Falknis, overlooking the Rhine, the Scesa Plana, and the Fermund (Ferreus Mons), on the borders of the Engadine. It is crossed by several passes one is called DruserThor. The road ascends on the rt. bank of the Landquart by Grüsch and Schiersch to Rütinen, where it crosses the stream to Fideris. About 2 miles S. of the village, in the wild, romantic vale of the Raschitsch, a tributary of the Landquart, stand the Baths of Fideris, considered efficacious in cases of intermittent fevers, supplied by several alkaline acidulous springs, the strongest of their class in Switzerland. Visiters are accommodated in two Bath Houses, capable of lodging 100 persons. The visiters are almost exclusively Swiss. Above the village of Fideris rises the ruined Castle of Strahleck; and, on the rt. bank of the Landquart, opposite, that of Castels, which was stormed and taken, in 1622, by the peasants, armed with sticks alone, from the soldiers of the Emperor Ferdinand, who at that period wanted to make himself master of the passes of the Grisons, to extinguish the Protestant religion in this country, and to seize and banish its ministers. A path leads S., in 3 hours, over the mountains, into the Schalfik-thal. About 13 miles above Fideris, on the rt. bank of the Landquart, lies Klosters (Inn, near the bridge), a village, named after a convent suppressed 1528. Paths go from hence S. over the Stutz into the Davos-thal, and E. over the Selvretta into the Engadine. The latter runs up the valley of Vareina, and down the valley of Süss. Süss is 9 stunden from Klosters. ROUTE 82. PASS OF THE JULIER, FROM COIRE UP = 16 stunden 52 English miles. The long-projected carriage road up the valley of the Oberhalbstein, and across the Julier, has at length been undertaken by the canton of the Grisons, and was so far advanced, in September, 1837, that carriages, with 2 or 4 horses, could drive as far as Tiefenkasten. The rest of the journey may be performed in a char. But the entire road may possibly be completed in 1838. There is as yet great want of inns between Coire and St. Mauritz. Lenz is a tolerable dining-place; but the traveller will do well in stowing away some eatables in his wallet, in case of accidents. He will everywhere be able to procure the tolerable wine of the Valteline. On quitting Coire, the traveller leaves, on the 1., the entrance to the Schalfik-thal, and passes through the villages of Malix, Churwalden, and Parpan; then, over a barren heath, to 43 Lenz-(Inn: Krone; not very good). Here the road divides; one branch, a path, runs to the Albula (Route 83); the other is the carriageroad to the Julier. Beyond Lenz, the Romansch tongue (p. 175) is almost exclusively spoken; even German is rarely understood, except in the inns. The river Albula is crossed, in order to reach Tiefenkasten (Rom. Casté), a village, situated, as its Route 82.-Pass of the Julier-St. Mauritz. name implies, in a deep hollow, at the entrance of the Oberhalbstein. This valley runs up to the foot of the Julier and Septimer, a distance of about 20 miles. It is scattered over with ruins of castles; no less than 10 of which may still be counted. Immediately above Tiefenkasten, the road is carried through a remarkable gorge, called the Stein, which has been compared, in the grandeur of its scenery, with the Via Mala (Route 87). 2 Conters. Above this lies Savognin, or Schweiningen. At 1 Tinzen-Inn-travellers are received at the house of the magistrate (Landvoght), Dosch; it is but humble quarters. This part of the valley is very bleak and bare; its inhabitants, the women especially, have a most squalid aspect. A constant and steep ascent through the villages of Rofna, Molins (Muhlen), to reach which the road crosses the stream, re-crossing it to the next village of Saur and Marmels, brings you at length to 34 Bivio Stalla (the Capucin, who acts as parish priest, would possibly accommodate a traveller). This village lies at the foot of two passes, the Septimer, on the rt., leading into the Val Bregaglia and the Julier, in a direction nearly due E. It is placed in a secluded basin, shut in by high mountains, in a climate so severe that all vegetation is stunted. Not a tree can grow in the neighbourhood, and the people are reduced to burn sheep dung for fuel. Potatoes rarely ripen at this height-5630 ft. above the sea. It takes about two hours to ascend from Stalla to the summit of the Julier Pass, 6830 ft. above the sea level. The ascent is not difficult, and the pass is remarkably safe from avalanches. Its scenery is not particularly grand, the outline of the mountains being round. On the top, the road passes between two rudelyhewn pillars of granite (derived from the neighbouring mountains), be 199 lieved to be Roman, called Julius's Columns. They are about 4 ft. high, destitute of inscription, but may have been set up as mile-stones in the time of Augustus, who caused a Roman highway to be carried from Chia. venna over the passes of the Maloja and Julier. A carriage road was formed across this pass to St. Mau ritz in 1823; but, as no attempt was made, till very lately, to improve the approach to it through the Oberhalbstein, little advantage was gained by it. Flocks of Bergamesque sheep are often found on the highest pastures, near the summit of the pass, in summer. A still more easy descent leads into the Engadine, to the village of 3 Silva Plana, situated between two small lakes, which are feeders and reservoirs of the river Inn, at the junction of the roads from the two passes of the Julier and Maloja, 5560 ft. above the sea. About 4 miles lower down, on the 1. bank of the Inn, stands 11 St. Mauritz.-There are three Inns here, the Upper (Obere), best; Mittlere and Untere Gasthof: the accommodation in all is of the homeliest kind. This little village is rising into repute in Switzerland as a water-/ ing-place, upon the strength of its very powerful chalybeate waters, first described, 1539, by Paracelsus. The spring rises at the foot of Mount Rosegg, on the rt. bank of the Inn. A Kurhaus has been built over it. The water is heated to supply the baths. The village contains but 160 inha⚫ bitants. Its situation is really delightful, overlooking the Inn, and several beautiful green lakes which that river forms in this part of its course. The climate is too cold to allow even barley to flourish; the surrounding land is chiefly laid out in pastures, which are let to Bergamasque shepherds; and there are some forests of larch on the neighbouring mountains. The little lake, close to the village which is generally frozen 200 Routes S2, 83.-St. Mauritz-Pass of the Albula. over from St. Andrew's-day (the end of November) to the beginning of May, furnishes capital trout. In one of the most recent descriptions of the Engadine, the author mentions that, on repairing to church on a Sunday, at St. Mauritz, he found the parish fire-engine drawn up by the side of the pulpit-the church, in this and other villages, being somewhat profanely used as an enginehouse. He found the office of watchman filled, and its duties discharged, by a woman, and a female also occupied the situation of baker, the bakehouse being the property of the parish. The principal Excursions to be made from St. Mauritz are up the valley to the Lugni See, the source of the Inn (Route 89); to the great Bernina glacier (Route 85); and, down the valley, to the pass of Finstermünz (Route 84). ROUTE 83. COIRE TO PONTE IN THE ENGADINE, 14 stunden 47 Eng. miles. A bridle-path, barely practicable for light carts. As far as 4 Lenz, it is identical with the preceding route, but at Lenz it turns round the shoulder of the mountain to the E., leaving Tiefenkasten on the right, and, passing the village of Brienz, ascends the vale of Albula. On the left towers the Castle of Belfort, on an almost inaccessible rock. In about 3 miles more we reach the Baths of Alveneu, on the rt. bank of the Albula, and, crossing the mouth of the Davos Thal and the stream running out of it, follow the Albula, ascending, in a S.E. direction, to 23 Filisur, a village on its rt. bank. Near it stand the ruins of SchlossGreifenstein. The inhabitants of this and the adjoining valley emi grate from home to various parts of 2 Bergün (Rom. Bergogn), a village of about 600 inhabitants, chiefly Protestants, speaking Romansch, and muleteers or carters by profession. A Protestant synod was held here 1617. A steep ascent leads to the inn, or chalet, of 2 Weissenstein, 4900 ft. above the sea, in the vicinity of a small lake, the fountain head of the Albula. "A few stunted firs are scattered about the lower end, where the water is shallow; on all other sides the lake lies dark and treeless, beneath the frightful precipices that tower above." The ascent from this point is very rapid, the path lies along the N. side of the lake; traces of the Roman road may be discovered near this. A savage ravine, called Trümmer-thal, because filled with fragments of broken rocks, hurled down from the heights above, along with the avalanches, which render this part of the pass dangerous in spring, brings the traveller to 1 the summit of the pass of the Albula. The culminating point, marked by a cross, is 6980 feet above the sea level: near it is another small lake. It is a scene of complete desolation. On the N. of the path rise the two peaks of the Albula-Crap Alv, or White Rock, 7560 ft.; and on the S.E. that of Piz Err, 8770 ft. high. The descent into the Ober-Enga Route 84.-The Engadine. dine is also at times exposed to avalanches. 2 Pont, or Punt, in Route 84. ROUTE 84. THE ENGADINE; ST. MAURITZ TO NAUDERS, AND THE PASS OF FINSTERMÜNZ. 15 stunden 49 Eng. miles. A tolerable char-road, traverses the Engadine. The Engadine, or Valley of the Upper Inn, is nearly 60 miles long, and is one of the highest inhabited valleys among the Alps, varying between an elevation of 5600 ft. above the sea, at Sils, the highest village, and 3234 ft. at Martinsbruck, the lowest. It has at least 20 tributary valleys. Owing to this high elevation, and the icy barrier of enormous glaciers which separates it from Italy on the S., it possesses a most ungenial, nay, severe climate. In the language of its inhabitants it has 9 months of winter and 3 of cold weather. The only grain grown in it is rye and barley, a stunted crop; and, in the upper portion, potatoes rarely : come to maturity; yet it is one of the most opulent valleys among the Alps, though the source of its wealth must be sought for in another theatre than the valley itself. Its inhabitants, aware of the inclemency of their climate and of the barrenness of its soil, are but little addicted to agriculture. The surface, where not actually bare rock, is either covered with forests or converted to pasture, with the exception of small patches on the lower grounds, set apart for the plough or spade. Yet even of this the natives appear to take small account; they let their pastures annually to the Bergamasque shepherds, and intrust the mowing of their meadows and the gathering of the hay harvest to Tyrolese haymakers, who resort to the valley at the season when their labour is required. The sons of the 201 of valley, for the most part, emigrate at an early age, scatter themselves over all parts of the Continent, and may be found in most of the great capitals exercising the professions of pastrycooks, confectioners, distillers liqueurs, keepers of cafés, and sellers of chocolate. Many of them in the exercise of their calling acquire considerable wealth, and become millionnaires in florins, with which they retire to end their days by the side of the stream of their native valley. They display their wealth especially in the architecture of their houses, which are distinguished by their large dimensions, by their decorations of whitewash and fresh paint. They are usually decked out with fresco frieses, and pillars, remind ing one of the pretension to taste of a cockney citizen's box near London, combined with the studied neatness of a Dutchman's country house, both equally unexpected and out of place, amidst the savage landscape of a Grison valley. Some of the buildings really may be called splendid, though few are in good taste. The windows are few and small, to guard against admitting the cold. Poverty is rare, beggary almost unknown, and the people, who are, with the exception of one or two parishes, Protestants, are creditably distinguished for their morality, and are exempt from the vices common in other parts of Switzerland. Their pastors are held in great respect, but their pay is miserable, affording a striking proof of the working of a voluntary system. The sabbath is strictly observed; strangers only are allowed on that day to ride or drive until after church-time. The accommodation of travellers is not, as yet, much studied in the Eugadine. The Inns (except at St. Mauritz) are very inferior, and the traveller who resorts to them must be prepared often to content himself with hard rye bread, baked only once a-quarter; eggs, cheese, and perhaps coffee. The 202 Route 84.-The Engadine-Gardovall-Zutz. universal language is the Ladin (see p. 175); but among the returned emigrants, in almost every village, may be found individuals speaking French, Italian, or even English. Many of the retired patissiers are otherwise well-informed men ; so that it is seldom that the stranger will not find an interpreter. The wine of the Valteline may be had good and cheap, and pastry (made with flour imported from St. Gall) is set before the traveller in spots where wheaten bread is not to be had; indeed, some villages, which cannot boast a shoemaker or tailor, possess 10 or 15 pastry-cooks. The higher Alpine pastures of the Engadine are let out every summer to Bergamasque shepherds, from the valleys Seriana and Brembana, on the Italian side of the Alps-a wild, dark, and scowling class of men, but hardy and honest, clad in homespun brown and white blankets, and feeding frugally on water pollenta of maize-meal, and a little cheese. They arrive about the beginning of July, with their flocks lean and meagre, after their long march, performed generally in the cool of the night. After a solitary sojourn of nearly 3 months, spending often the night as well as day in the open air among their flocks, they return home with fattened kine and long fleeces, which are sold to the wool manufacturers of Bergamo. Just below St. Mauritz, the Inn, on quitting the small lake, forms a pretty fall. The first villages passed are Celerina and Samadan (Sommo d'On, Romansch; summum Eni), the principal and wealthiest village in the Upper Engadine, with 500 inhabitants. Opposite to it, the valley of Pontresina opens out, up which runs the road to the Bernina (Route 85). Beyond Bevers the path from the Albula (Route 83) descends into the valley. At the foot of the Albula lie Ponte, and Madulein, and over the latter village towers the ruined Castle of Gardoval, connected with which the following story is told:In the days of the Faustrecht, before Switzerland was free, this castle was held by a tyrannical and licentious Seigneur or Bailiff, who greatly oppressed the peasantry around, retaining in his pay a body of lawless soldiers for the purpose of overawing his neighbours. This libertine lord in an evil hour cast his eyes on the fair daughter of Adam, a farmer of the opposite village of Camogask. The maiden was still of a tender age, but of surpassing beauty, like an -opening rosebud. One morning, her father, who doated fondly on her, was surprised by a summons brought by two of the bailiff's servants, to convey his daughter to the castle. The father stifled his indignation, promised obedience, and next morning set out, conducting his daughter attired as a bride, and accompa nied by a number of his friends in festive garments as to a wedding, but with mournful mien. The lord of the castle watched the approach of his victim with impatience, and rushing down to meet her was about to clasp her, when, ere his polluting lips could touch her fair cheek, her father's dagger was buried deep in his breast, and his companions throwing off their peaceful garb, and brandishing their concealed weapons, fell upon the guards, and made themselves masters of the tyrant's stronghold. It was immediately burnt, and from that day freedom dawned upon the serfs of the Engadine. 3 Zutz, or Suoz, is a village of 550 inhabitants. An old tower still remains of the Stammhaus, or original castle of the family of Planta, who, as far back as 1139, held the Engadine in feof. The climate here first becomes a little milder, Zutz being sheltered from the cold blasts descending from the Maloya. There is a path from Scanfs to Davos, over |
