The best dog-friendly hikes and walks around Sufner Lake

Medels is a small village in the Rheinwald region, where only about 40 people live today. In addition to the old farmhouses, the village church is worth seeing.

Splügen is a beautiful town on the Via Spluga

Wonderfully set back from the Hinterrhein in the meadow landscape near the Alpli.

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.

it's simply nice to be away from the Cantonale

Splügen, Romansh Spleja/Spligia The towns in the Rheinwald, which were originally located in Romansh-speaking areas, were settled in the late 13th century by German-speaking Walsers from the south via the San Bernardino Pass. From the late Middle Ages to the 19th century, the transport of goods was the main source of income for the local population; most of them lived directly or indirectly from the muleteering trade. In 1716, the village of Splügen was largely destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt on the remaining foundations. A second fire in 1751 cost six families their possessions. From 1818 to 1823, the mule tracks over the Splügen and the San Bernardino Pass were almost simultaneously expanded into so-called commercial roads, which led to an upswing in the transit of goods and people. The reason was the rivalry between Piedmont and Austrian Lombardy, so that Lombardy expanded the Splügen Pass on its own account, while Piedmont only had to participate in the Graubünden project - a brief landmark was the bridge south of San Bernardino dedicated to King Vittorio Emanuele. The project for a rail link through Graubünden had been moved to the Lukmanier Pass and was subject to the Gotthard Railway. With the opening of the Gotthard Tunnel in 1882, many locals lost their job and earning opportunities; the transport of goods fell from 14,000 tons to 1,000 tons within a short time. Many emigrated and sought their fortune in the USA or New Zealand. At the time of the Second World War, there was an intention to submerge Splügen, Medels and Nufenen in a huge reservoir. The 700 meter long and 150 meter high dam would have been built near the Splügen castle ruins; a smaller dam near Sufers. Strong opposition from the population prevented the project. On November 29, 1946, the Rheinwald reservoir project was rejected by the Federal Council after years of legal disputes. During the Second World War, the Splügen barrier was built in the village and near the castle. A new chapter in the history of the pass village of Splügen began in 1967 with the opening of the road tunnel. Text / Source: Wikipedia https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spl%C3%BCgen_GR

Reformed Church in Medel in the Rheinwald In 1530, Medels, together with the other communities in the Rheinwald, accepted the Reformation and finally separated from the centuries-long affiliation with the Misox, which remained with the old faith. The church was built in 1708 and served as the parish church of its own parish from 1726 to 1886, until Medels merged with Splügen again. The church tower has a tent roof and is positioned on the hillside in such a way that it protects the entrance area from avalanches or snow slides. The simple interior is dominated by a pulpit without a sound cover and a baptismal and communion table in the middle of the choir. Text/Source: Wikipedia https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformierte_Kirche_Medels_im_Rheinwald#:~:text=History%20and%20Equipment,-1530%20took%20Medels&text=The%20Church%20was%201708%20erected,before%20avalanches%20or%20snowslides% 20estimated%C3%BCessed.