Historic Village Center of Splügen

Idyllic, Italian-style village with pretty stone houses.

Definitely worth a trip! Splügen is a typical pass village with a well-preserved townscape, proud palazzi and sun-tanned Walser houses.
Splügen, inhabited by Walsers since the 13th century, lies at 1,460 m above sea level and, together with the pretty villages of Sufers, Medels, Nufenen and Hinterrhein, forms the Rheinwald valley near the source of the Hinterrhein. Since Roman times, the village has been shaped by its location on the mule tracks and thus by influences from both the south and the north: for more than 2000 years, the Splügen Pass was the most important connection between Graubünden and Italy, and the mule track over the San Bernardino also played an important role . With the mule trade, some families in the Rheinwald became prosperous and built stately homes; Characterized by the architectural style beyond the Alpine barrier, these houses, which are covered with impressive stone slab roofs, are often referred to as palazzi.

With the opening of the Gotthard railway line at the end of the 19th century, the mule trade finally collapsed, followed by a wave of emigration. At the time of World War II, the intention was to let the village sink in the floods of a mighty reservoir, but this was prevented. Instead, Splügen was one of the early tourist destinations in Graubünden. With the opening of the San Bernardino road tunnel in 1967, the town experienced a new boom.

Despite tourist development, the place was able to largely retain its character. In 1995, Splügen was awarded the Wakker Prize by the Swiss Homeland Security for the careful preservation of the village image.