Pontresina
20 January 2023
The area around Pontresina (Canton of Graubünden) was already inhabited before the arrival of the Romans. Excavations in Val Languard reveal 8 000 years old settlements.
After the conquest by the Romans (15th B.C.), vulgar Latin mixed with the Raetic languages. It led to various Romansh idioms in the Canton of Graubünden. Puter is spoken in Pontresina.
The first mention of Pontresina is in a document from 22 January 1139, when the bishop of Chur ruled the village. The Oberengadin participated in the founding of the Gotteshausbund in Zernez in 1367.
Pontresina lies at the foot of the Bernina Pass and the highest mountain in Graubünden, Piz Bernina (4 049 m). In the Middle Ages, there was lively traffic over the Bernina Pass. The village was the first community in the Upper Engadine to adopt the Reformed faith.
St. Maria church and the Spaniolaturm
The Rhätische Bahn
Thanks to its good accessibility, healthy climate and the growth of alpinism, Pontresina rapidly developed into a holiday- and spa resort from 1850 onwards.
The opening of the Bernina road in 1864 and the connection to the Rhaetian Railway in 1908 contributed to his development.
(Source: www.gemeinde-pontresina.ch).
