District of Ruis

	Geographically speaking the district of Ruis comprises 
the Obersaxer terrace on the right bank of the Rhine (with the 
exception of Flond and Surcuolm), as well as the slopes on the 
left bank of the valley of the Vorder Rhine between the Gorge 
of Sether and the ridge coming down from Piz da Dartgas.  
Politically speaking the district includes the communes of 
Andiast, Obersaxen, Pigniu/Panix, Rueun/Ruis, Siat and 
Waltensburg/Vuorz.

	The name Ruis/Rueun is derived from preRoman rova and 
probably refers to the heap of stones and rocks brought down by 
the torrent (Schmuérbach) near which the village of Ruis is 
situated.

	Prehistoric settlement is proved by finds on both sides 
of the valley.

	The first documentary evidence goes back to the 
testament of Tello, Bishop of Chur around 765, in which four of 
the six villages are mentioned.  At the time of the Franks the 
territory belonged to the Ministerium Tuverasca, which embraced 
the upper part of the Vorder Rhine valley.  After the decline 
of the old Carolingian Duchy, it split up into several separate 
territories, which the Barons of Räzüns took into their 
possession in the 14th century.  The point from which they 
operated their well-planned policy of expansion was Obersaxen, 
where the Walsers founded a colony as early as the 12th 
century; this was probably the last stage of their migration 
over the Furka and Oberalp passes.

	In the 13th century the Barons of Räzüns became the 
landlords of Obersaxen and the bailiffs of the Walser colony.  
In 1343 they acquired the sovereign rights of Jörgenberg and 
Friberg, together with the villages of Waltensburg, Andest, 
Ruis, Panis, Seth and Schlans.

	In 1394 Ulrich the Powerful of Räzüns joined the Grey 
League at Ilanz.  When the League was renewed at Truns in 1424, 
special mention was made in the charter of the Commune of 
Obersaxen, which points to the fact that this Walser commune 
had a relatively high degree of independence.  Upon the death 
of Jörg, the last Lord of Räzüns, in 1459, the territories 
corresponding to the present-day district of Ruis, together 
with the family estate, passed to Duke Jost Niklas von Zollern, 
a nephew of the last Lord of Räzüns.  On taking over his 
territory he demanded from the communes an oath of allegiance 
and obedience.  The people of Obersaxen could only be brought 
to comply after the Duke von Zollern had complained to the 
court at Truns, and the court had issued an order that they 
must submit.  In 1472 the Duke von Zollern offered to sell the 
domain and rights of Jörgenberg to Bishop Ortlieb von Brandis 
of Chur, stipulating that the property should not be resold, 
and that he had the right of repurchase.  Before the year was 
out he made use of these rights, upon being offered 1800 
Rhenish guilders for the same domain.  Through this the 
territory was divided to a certain extent.  It was not included 
in the territory of the High Court of Disentis, but remained a 
part of the High Court of Räzüns in respect of elections in 
the League.  In 1473 Duke Jost Niklas von Zollern also sold 
Obersaxen, which, together with the family estates, came into 
Austrian possession in 1497.

	Within the Grey League the villages of Waltensburg, 
Andest, Schlans, Seth, Panis and Ruis formed the jurisdiction 
of Waltensburg, which, with the jurisdictions of Obersaxen and 
Laax/Scewis, formed the High Court of Waltensburg.

	At the time of the Reformation, Waltensburg was the 
only village of the High Court district that accepted the 
Protestant faith.  As a result of this there were frequent 
quarrels between this village and the monastery at Disentis, as 
the people of Waltensburg wanted to free themselves completely 
from the rule of the abbot; they succeeded in this by 
purchasing the rights in 1734.  The five remaining villages, 
Ruis, Andest, Seth, Schlans and Panix, were now combined in an 
independent jurisdiction.

	At the time of the Revolution the district of the 
district of the present-day Ruis was the focus of attention in 
Europe for a short time.  It was when the victorious Russian 
General Suworoff crossed over the snow-covered Panix Pass from 
Italy with his army in the late autumn of 1799; his troops had 
suffered such heavy losses and were so exhausted that he had to 
refrain from further action.

	Upon the reorganisation of the canton in 1851, Schlans 
was taken from the former territory of Jo-rgenberg and was 
added to the District of Disentis.  The remainder of the 
one-time territory, together with Obersaxen, now formed the 
District of Ruis.

	With the exception of German-speaking Obersaxen, 
Sursilvanian-Romansh is spoken in the district.

	Well-known men of the District of Ruis:

	Johann Peter Mirer (1778 - 1862) from Obersaxen.  From 
1811-15 he was a teacher of law at the Cantonal School at 
Chur.  From 1820-29 he was Headmaster and Professor of the 
Cantonal School at St.Gall.  In 1846 he was made the first 
Bishop of St.Gall.

	Anton Cadonau (1850 - 1929) from Waltensburg/Vuorz.  By 
hard work and good business sense he acquired a fortune of over 
ten million francs, as a merchant trading with overseas 
countries.  He left all his money to the Church, to charity, 
and to be used for cultural purposes.  His legacies gave "a 
great impulse to the cultural life and welfare of the Grisons".

	District Coat of Arms:  Gules and silver; gules, cross 
of St.Andrew in silver; silver, river band across the skyblue 
(Rhine).  Blazonry:  St.Andrew's cross refers to Andrew as the 
patron saint of the church at Ruis, and at the same time to the 
coat of arms of the monastery at Disentis.  The blue river band 
symbolises the beauty of the country, and the fact that the 
territory of the district is on both sides of the Rhine.  
Colours of the district: red-white-blue.