Places & Areas

1. Cuira

   Chur (capital of the canton of Graubünden)

   Usage

   The capital of the canton of Graubünden (Grischun in Romansh), on the Rhine, spread between roughly 550 and 1,888 m above sea level. The German name is Chur. It is the starting point for trains and buses to the Romansh-speaking valleys

   Grammar Note

   Local idioms differ (Cuera, Cuoira, Coira), but the standard written form, Rumantsch Grischun, is Cuira. Signs and timetables often show the German Chur alongside it

2. Tavau

   Davos

   Usage

   A town in Graubünden with more than 10,000 residents, known for winter sports. It is reached on the canton's narrow-gauge railway, whose first line ran from Landquart to Davos

   Grammar Note

   The German name is Davos and the Italian name is Tavate. The standard Romansh spelling is Tavau

3. Scuol

   Scuol (a town in the Lower Engadine)

   Usage

   A municipality in the lower part of the Engadine. On 1 January 2015 it merged with Ardez, Ftan, Guarda, Sent and Tarasp. Until 1943 its official name was the German Schuls, and since 1970 it has been the Romansh Scuol only

   Grammar Note

   The German name is Schuls. The name is thought to come from Latin scopulus (rock)

4. San Murezzan

   St. Moritz

   Usage

   A municipality in the Upper Engadine with a lake of the same name, Lai da San Murezzan, on its territory. In German it is St. Moritz

   Grammar Note

   Built as San + the saint's name. Tourist material mostly uses the German St. Moritz, so it helps to know both

5. Samedan

   Usage

   A municipality in the Upper Engadine at about 1,721 m. Its inhabitants are called Samedrins

   Grammar Note

   The German spelling is the same, Samedan. Inhabitants are called Samedrin (m.) or Samedrina (f.)

6. Puntraschigna

   Pontresina

   Usage

   A municipality in the Engadine, north of the Bernina Pass. German and Italian call it Pontresina

   Grammar Note

   Puntraschigna is the Romansh name and Pontresina the German and Italian one. Both refer to the same village

7. Engiadina

   The Engadine (the valley along the River Inn)

   Usage

   A mountain valley in Graubünden about 100 km long, traversed by the En (the Inn). It splits into the Upper Engadine, Engiadin'Ota, and the Lower Engadine, Engiadina bassa

   Grammar Note

   In running speech it usually takes an article, l'Engiadina. The German name is Engadin

8. Val Müstair

   Val Müstair (Münstertal)

   Usage

   A municipality in Graubünden formed on 1 January 2009 by merging Fuldera, Lü, Müstair, Santa Maria, Tschierv and Valchava. The German name is Münstertal and the Italian name is Val Monastero

   Grammar Note

   The ü is part of the spelling, as in German. Typing a plain u may fail to find the place in a search

9. Surselva

   Surselva (the valley region of the upper Rhine)

   Usage

   A valley region of Graubünden, home to towns such as Mustér (Disentis) and Glion (Ilanz). It follows the Anterior Rhine, Rein anteriur

   Grammar Note

   The regional idiom Sursilvan takes its name from this area. In the standard language the name usually takes an article, la Surselva

10. Mustér

    Mustér (Disentis)

    Usage

    A municipality in Graubünden. The name comes from Latin monasterium, meaning monastery. The official name is Disentis/Mustér, and signs often give the German Disentis

    Grammar Note

    The German name Disentis is thought to come from Latin desertina, wasteland, so the two names have different origins

11. Glion

    Glion (Ilanz)

    Usage

    A municipality on the Anterior Rhine in the Surselva region. The official municipality name is Ilanz/Glion, and stations and signs often stress the German Ilanz

    Grammar Note

    Glion is the Romansh name and Ilanz the German one. Both mean the same town

12. Flem

    Flem (Flims)

    Usage

    A municipality in Graubünden. The German name Flims is the one most used in tourist material. Lai da Cauma lies within the municipality

    Grammar Note

    The Romansh name is Flem and the German is Flims. The vowel and ending differ, so search for both on maps and timetables

13. Laax

    Usage

    A municipality in Graubünden that grew into a major tourist destination after the cable cars up Crap Sogn Gion were built in the 1960s and 1970s. In Romansh it is also called Lags

    Grammar Note

    The spelling Laax is used in the standard language too, and it is what you will see on signs

14. Parc Naziunal Svizzer

    Swiss National Park

    Usage

    A national park in the Lower Engadine covering about 172.4 square kilometres. It lies across the municipalities of Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol and Val Müstair

    Grammar Note

    Noun followed by two adjectives, since Romansh adjectives usually come after the noun

15. Lai da Cauma

    Lake Cauma (an alpine lake)

    Usage

    An alpine lake in Graubünden that belongs to the municipality of Flem (Flims). In the local idiom it is also written Lag la Cauma

    Grammar Note

    Lai da followed by a name means the lake of that name. The German name is Caumasee

16. Viafier retica

    Rhaetian Railway

    Usage

    The narrow-gauge railway company of Graubünden, based in Chur. Its network is about 384 km with a one-metre gauge. The Albula and Bernina lines became UNESCO World Heritage on 7 July 2008

    Grammar Note

    The abbreviation is VR. The German name is Rhätische Bahn, abbreviated RhB, and that abbreviation is what you will see on timetables and at stations

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