Graubünden: A region with an eventful past and diverse culture

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Graubünden, with its 150 valleys, three languages and important passport connections to Germany, Austria and Italy, looks back on a long history of migration. From the 16th to the 19th century, emigration was an economic necessity for many people in Graubünden. Poor harvests, epidemics and overpopulation increased seasonal and periodic emigration.

 

Each region of Graubünden developed its own specific form of emigration. While the Grisons Oberland and Central Grisons focussed on military service, many master builders and plasterers emigrated from the Misox and the Calanca Valley. In the Engadin, Puschlav, Bergell, Münstertal and Albula valleys, many people travelled abroad to seek their fortune as confectioners and café owners.

Through the ages: From free state to canton

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Until the end of the 18th century, Graubünden was not a unified canton, but rather a loose union of three independent confederations: the Zehngerichtebund, the Grauer Bund and the Gotteshausbund. These confederations were loosely connected and administered their territories largely independently.

 

In 1512, the Grisons conquered the Valtellina, Chiavenna and Bormio, which from then on were considered subject territories. These areas were of great economic importance to Graubünden, as they controlled important trade routes and contributed to the canton's supplies.

However, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars brought profound changes to the political landscape of Europe and also to Graubünden. Napoleon Bonaparte demanded equal rights for the subject territories, which the people of Graubünden rejected. As a result, Napoleon annexed the fertile Valtellina and the Chiavenna region to Italy.

 

Graubünden as part of Switzerland: a new era begins

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The year 1803 marked a turning point in the history of the Grisons. After centuries of independence as a loose union of three confederations - the League of Ten Courts, the Grey League and the League of God's House - Graubünden lost its independence and became a canton of the Swiss Confederation.

This step was the result of political changes triggered by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte's demand for equal rights for the subject territories of Graubünden and the refusal of the people of Graubünden to grant this led to Valtellina and Chiavenna being ceded to Italy.
 
Economic consequences and emigration

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The loss of these subject territories had far-reaching economic consequences for Graubünden. The subject territories were important trading partners, particularly for the grain, vegetable and fruit trade.

In the Engadin, for example, the people had hardly been self-sufficient since the 17th century. The loss of these important resources probably led to famine and increased the pressure on the population to emigrate. Many people saw emigration as the only way to ensure their survival.

Once abroad, however, emigrants were often forced to perform menial, despised and poorly paid labour. Despite these difficult conditions, emigrants from Graubünden made a significant contribution to the economic and cultural development of their new homeland.

 
The Engadin in the 19th century: A region characterised by agriculture

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The 19th century in the Engadin was strongly characterised by agriculture. Life in the Engadin largely

revolved around the cultivation of fields and livestock farming. Almost every inhabitant of the valley was connected to agriculture in one way or another.

In the small Engadin villages, there were often more cows than inhabitants. Nevertheless, there was a limit on the number of cows per farming family, the so-called cow law. This law stipulated that each farmer was only allowed to own as many cows as he could bring through the winter with his own hay.

In contrast, there was no limit to the number of sheep or goats a family could own. The sheep's milk was processed into cheese, a speciality that was highly prized in the Alpine regions. In the Upper Engadine, agriculture focussed primarily on dairy farming and livestock breeding. Craft and trade did not play a significant role at this time.
 
Life in the Engadin in the 19th century: social differences and emigration

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In the 19th century, life in the Engadin communities was strongly characterised by the wealthy families, the so-called local citizens. These citizens dominated social life and held all the important offices within the communities.

 

The social differences between the local citizens and the other inhabitants were considerable. Newcomers who did not have citizenship had to pay high settlement fees and had no say in community affairs. They also paid higher taxes for goods and services. They were required to be obedient to the local citizens and were threatened with punishment or even expulsion from the village if they failed to comply.

 
Families in the Engadin were generally large, with five to seven children. However, only the eldest son was able to take over his parents' farm and thus have a secure future in the valley. For the other siblings, there were hardly any prospects in the Engadin after leaving school at the age of 14. Many young men were therefore forced to seek their fortune abroad.

 
Emigration as a necessity

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These young people were often cheated of their youth and education, as they had to emigrate early in order to earn a living. In some communities, it was mainly men who emigrated, while the women did the heavy field and housework in the Engadin. However, there were also women who emigrated, often to work as maidservants. Only a few of them were lucky enough to start a family. Middle-class girls had the opportunity to work as maids, at least in winter, while they could spend the summer months at home. 

The journey into the distance was often arduous and dangerous for the young people of Graubünden. They travelled in groups on foot, packed with a few belongings and natural products such as cheese, furs, sheep's wool and even snails from the vineyards. They sold these goods en route to finance their long journey.

 

Although there were stagecoaches, most emigrants could not afford these means of transport.

The future place of work was often determined in advance through relationships with relatives or acquaintances who were already living and working abroad. Northern to southern Italy was a favourite destination for young emigrants, which was probably due to the similarity of the Italian language to Romansh.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Venice was the favourite emigration destination for the people of Graubünden. Through diligence and ambition, they achieved economic fame in the lagoon city.

 

Expulsion and new goals

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At the end of the 17th century, 38 of the 48 shops in the confectionery industry were in Graubünden hands. However, enviers and opponents soon began to stir and, as a result of unwise political behaviour on the part of the Three Leagues, Venice dissolved an alliance that regulated the establishment of the Grisons in Venice and, in return, the opening of the Grisons passports. Numerous Graubünden confectioners were expelled as a result and had to look for new jobs. The emigrants now increasingly travelled to France, Germany and, via Prussia, to Tsarist Russia. By the middle of the 19th century, around 10,000 emigrants were living in over 1,000 towns throughout Europe.

 
Apprenticeship years and homecoming

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After the long journey, the young men were able to begin a four to five-year apprenticeship in a confectionery. Living conditions during the apprenticeship were often very poor and hard. Work began in the early hours of the morning and the conditions in the hot and cramped bakeries were detrimental to health. Many young lads died in foreign cities, far from home, partly from overexertion and partly from homesickness.

After completing their apprenticeship, the journeymen were sent to another town, where they themselves became shopkeepers or co-owners of a confectionery. If the confectioners were successful, they could return to Graubünden with the money they had earned to find a wife. After marrying, the newlyweds would return abroad, earn a living together and start a family. The families usually remained abroad for generations, thus securing their livelihood. 
 

Return to the homeland

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It was only with the rise of tourism in the Engadin that the economically minded expatriates from the Grisons, who had once emigrated as economic refugees, recognised new investment opportunities and returned to their homeland. They traded, invested their money in hotels and built magnificent manor houses. The trade they had learnt as confectioners was often no longer practised and many sold their businesses abroad. The families of the emigrant confectioners have disappeared from the villages of Graubünden in recent decades. However, it is important to recognise the achievements of the emigrants, who brought a wealth of knowledge and new perspectives to Graubünden through their work abroad.