The District of Bergün

	This district comprises the catchment area of the river 
Albula to the point where the mouth of the Landwasser coming 
from Davos joions it, the left slope of the lower valley of the 
Landwasser up to the gorge of Brombänz, and also the right 
slope between Tieftobel and Alteingrat.  This region 
corresponds to the territory of the political communes of 
Bergün/Bravuogn, Filisur and Wiesen.

	According to Robert von Planta the name Bergün, Romansh 
Bravuogn, goes back to Roman "Barica" = hut.

	Bronze Age settlement seem probable, as bronze castings 
were found at Filisur, and an arm-bracelet at Bergün dating 
from the period of urn fields (13th century B.C.).

	During the early Middle Ages the district was part of 
the Carolingian Ministerium Impitinis, in the late Middle Ages 
it belonged to the sovereignty of Greifenstein, with the 
exception of Wiesen ,which up to 1851 was joined to the High 
Court of Belfort (cf. District of Belfort).  Greifenstein 
Castle at Filisur was the centre from which the lords of the 
same name exercised their power.  Only one of the last of the 
line is mentioned in a document as "nobilis vir Rudolfus de 
Grifenstein", because he took an active part in the murder of 
Bishop Berthold I of Helfenstein at Reams Castle on 25th August 
1233.  After the extinction of the line of Greifenstein the 
castle and the sovereign rights passed to Heinrich of 
Wildenberg in the second part ofthe 13th century, and through 
his daughter to her husband Hugo III of 
Werdenberg-Heiligenberg.  In 1360 the Dukes Albrecht the Elder 
and the Younger of Werdenberg ceded the sovereign rights to the 
Lords of Matsch, who were related to them.  The latter sold 
them to the Bishop in 1394.

	In 1333 there was a battle near Filisur which was 
important in the history of the Grisons, between Donat of Vaz 
with allied troops from the Waldstätten and the Bishop Rudolf 
of Montfort, an ally of Austria

	In the 14th and 15th centuries Walsers from Davos 
settled at Wiesen and at the hamlet of Jenisberg on the 
opposite side of the valley.  Both places were completely 
Germanised by the end of the 16th century.

	Within the League of God's House, Bergün, Filisur, 
Latsch, and Stuls formed one single jurisdiction, which, 
together with the jurisdiction of Obervaz, was joined in the 
High Court of Greifenstein.  In 1537 the Court aucceeded in 
buying the rights from the Bishop for 2300 guilders.

	In 1577 Duri Chiampell preached the new belief at 
Bergün, metting with violent opposition.  It was only between 
1581 and 1613 that the new faith spread throughout the whole 
territory of Greifenstein under the Reverend Zenthius.

	In April 1618 the reformed preachers gathered at Bergün 
under the leadership of Caspar Alexius, Georg Jenatsch, Blasius 
Alexander, and Bonaventura toutsch to hold an extraordinary 
synod; this became famous as the beginning of the uprising 
against the Spanish party, which later led to the trials at 
Thusis in the wars of the Grisons.

	The economy of Bergün and Filisur benefited from the 
trade that passed along the Albula to the Valtellina in which 
the import of salt from Hall was of some importance.  Filisur 
was the unloading and storage place of the transport 
organisation.  For some time the mines and the foundry at 
Bellaluna which they supplied were of considerable importance.
	
	After the division into districts in 1851 Wiesen, the 
only Protestant village in the jurisdiction of Belfort, was 
joined to the communes of the jurisdiction of Bergün, and they 
all formed the district of the same name.  Thus all the 
Protestant communes of the Albula valley with the exception of 
Mutten were united in one district.

	The language of the district of Bergün is predominantly 
German.  Wiesen and Jenisberg, where the Walsers settled, are 
completely German-speaking as well as Filisur, which was 
Germanised in the 19th century.  Bergün is half 
German-speaking.  The Romansh people speak the dialect of 
Bergün, which belongs to Surmiran.

Personality from the district of Bergün:

	Dr. Paul Lorenz from Filisur (1835-1915)  He practised 
as a doctor at Chur and for many decades was the director of 
the hospital "auf dem Sand".  He became well known for his 
studies in zoology, anatomy and meteorology.  With his treatise 
on medical history and above all his statistics on population 
he pioneered in these fields and his work is still acknowledged 
today.

	District Coat of Arms:  Silver, rampant, griffin sable 
with claws, gules.  Blazonry:  The district goes back to the 
old High Court of Greifenstein.  The griffin is a symbol for 
the name Greifenstein.  Greif means griffin.  District colours: 
white-black.