Hinterrhein Village

Hinterrhein (Rhaeto-Romanic Valragn)
Around 1270 the first Walsers came from the Val Formazza via the Misox to the Hinterrhein. This made Hinterrhein the oldest Walser settlement in Graubünden. In 1274 two settlers from Hinterrhein signed a vassal contract with the Lord of Sax-Misox. But Baron Walter IV von Vaz, who owned the Schams and the area up to Splügen, which was still inhabited by Romans, as an episcopal fief, tried in 1277 to sign a protection agreement with the Theutunici of Hinterrhein. In 1286 the monastery of San Vittore bequeathed the land in the valley to the colonists in Hinterrhein for an annual interest of 16 pounds. This obligation to pay interest was only replaced in 1773 with 100 Lire di Milano. This contract of inheritance names the origins of 16 colonists: Val Formazza (Pomatt), Simplon, Brig, Valle Maggia. The term Walser first appeared in this area around 1599.
With the construction of the commercial road from Chur to Bellinzona in 1820 and the opening of the Gotthard railway in 1882, the residents of the Hinterrhein lost their source of income from the many centuries of mule trading. The Alte Landbrugg above the Hinterrhein dates back to the time of the mule trade. Thanks to the San Bernardino road tunnel opened in 1967, Hinterrhein is now easily accessible from the north and south both in summer and in winter. Milan and Zurich can be reached in two hours.
Text/Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterrhein_GR#:~:text=At%201270%20%20the%20%20first arrived, the%20Mr%20%20Sax%2DMisox.

The village of Hinterrhein is at 1,624 meters and currently has 62 permanent residents who mainly make their living from organic farming.

At the origin of the Rhine and yet in the middle.