The District of the Upper Engadine For the geographer the Upper Engadine begins at the highest point of the Maloja pass, from a historical-political point of view, however, only at the boundary where the district of Bergell begins, which is a line north of Isola running across the lake of Sils. From this line the district of the Upper Engadine comprises the whole valley of the Inn with its tributaries as far as Punt ota, the High Bridge, between Cinuoschel and Brail. It includes the political communes of Bever, Celerina/Schlarigna, Madulain, La Punt-Chamues-ch, Pontresina, Samedan, St.Moritz, S-chanf, Sils i.E., Silvaplana, and Zuoz. The name Engadine, Romansh Engiadina, which appears in the oldest documents as Endena and Eniatina, is derived from the antique river name Enus, the Inn; the form Eniatina is derived from Eniates, meaning - the people living in the Inn valley. The importance of the geographical position is evident when one remembers that four pass routes lead to the Upper Engadine: Albula, Bernina, Julier, and Maloja. A Bronz Age settlement has been proved by several finds, the most important of which is the well at St. Moritz. The Romans used the Maloja and Julier passes. This is proved not only by the pillars of the Roman sanctuary on the Julier pass, but also by the four Roman votive altars found near Sils Baselgia in 1964. In documents the Upper Engadine is first mentioned in the imperial register in Currätien dating from the first half of the 9th century. It formed its own Ministerium called Endena. After the extinction of the upper Rhaetian duchy in the 11th century, the sovereignty of the whole valley passed to the Bishop probably by royal bestowment. It is a fact that the Bishop of Chur was already in possession of sovereign rights in 1137/39 when he acquired extensive land property in Swabia from the Dukes Ulrich and Adalbert of Gamertingen. At the end of the 13th century the members of the Planta family at Zuoz held the sovereign rights of the Bishop. At an early date, about the middle of the 12th century, the market corporation of the people in the valley appears as an independent power, which soon gained political importance. In 1367 "Thomas Planta, magistrate, and his whole family as well as the commune in the Upper Engadine" sealed the treaty with the League of God's House, which shows that the commune could act independently. After the middle of the 14th century a subdivision of the whole commune was made into "Sur funtauna merla" and "Suot funtauna merla", at a source between Bever and La Punt. This division became officially recognised in 1438 when the two lower courts were given the right to deal with minor matters, which meant that they were practically independent jurisdictions within the High Court of the Upper Engadine. Toward the middle of the 16th century the development to independence of the eleven villages was formally settled by giving them the right to have their own statutes. This also meant that the present-day boundaries of the communes were fixed. They were later recognised by the bill of 1851. Philipp Gallicius preached the new faith in the Upper Engadine, but at first the Reformation made little headway because of the influence of the Bishop and the policy of the Planta and Travers families. It was not until Johann Travers of Zuoz took a definite stand on the side of the Reformation that the whole territory accepted it. The geographical importance of the Julier, Maloja, and the Bernina passes, as well as the road through the valley, brought the Upper Engadine many drawbacks during times of upheaval such as the wars in the Grisons. On the other hand the transport corporations and the local trade benefited a great deal from the traffic. Service abroad for foreign armies was also of economic importance, not only because of the money that came into the country but also because of the experience and know-how that those who had worked in foreign countries brought back with them. Many of them earned their living as confectioners or owners of coffee houses. Since the unique beauty of the landscape of the Upper Engadine was discovered by the modern tourist, the hotel trade has become one of the most important factors in the economy of the Upper Engadine. The language of the Upper Engadine is Ladin, a regional dialect of Romansh, which is also written. Personalities from the District of the Upper Engadine: Johann Travers (1483-1563) from Zuoz. He made humanistic studies at several universities abroad. When he returned home he bacame the steward of the Bishop. In the battle of Marignano he was the leader of a company. Above all he made himself a name as a leader in the wars against the Castellan of Musso. He was Captian General of the Valtellina and was no less than 13 times magistrate of the Upper Engadine. His acceptace of the new belief was the decisive factor in introducing the Reformation into the Upper Engadine. He is not only considered to be one of the most eminent statesmen of his time, but also became the founder of the Ladin language and in some way also the founder of the written form of Romansh because he wrote the chronicle of the first Musso war and also his spiritual plays in Romansh rhymes. Georg Jenatsch (1596-1639) from Samedan. After he had been accepted in the Rhaetian synod he was a preacher in the Grisons and the Valtellina. In the wars of the Grisons he played an important part against the Spanish party, especially in the murder of Pompeius Planta, the leader of the Spanish-Austrian party. In 1635 he was the right hand of Duke Henri de Rohan, who was in the service of Richelieu and who took the Valtellina from the Spanish. When Jenatsch saw that he was deceived in his hope of the Valtellina being given back to the Grisons by the French, he became an ally of Spain and Austria and in May 1637 forced the French to leave the Grisons. In January 1635 he converted to Catholicism. In 1639 he became victim of a plot a Chur. He is one of the best-known and at the same time most controversial personalities in the history of the Grisons. District Coat of Arms: Azure, portrait of St.Luzius with crown gold and halo. Blazonry: St. Luzius, patron of the old church of S.Lucii at Zuoz, is on the traditional seal of the court of the Upper Engadine. The blue colour goes back to the coat of arms of the Barons of Gamertingen, from whom the Bishop took over the sovereignty of the Upper Engadine. District colours: blue-yellow.