Engadina

Geschichte

The Engadin or Engadine is a long high Alpine valley region in the eastern Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in most southeastern Switzerland with about 25,000 inhabitants. It follows the route of the Inn from its headwaters at Maloja Pass in the southwest running roughly northeast until the Inn flows into Austria, one hundred kilometers downstream. The En/Inn subsequently flows at Passau into the Danube, as the only Swiss river to drain into the Black Sea. The Engadine is protected by high mountain ranges on all sides and is famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities.EtymologyThe Romansh toponym Engiadina was first attested as Latin vallis Eniatina in AD 930. A derivation from the reconstructed ethnonym *Eniates (with a Celtic suffix -ates denoting "settlers, inhabitants", as in Licates or Atrebates) has been suggested, with the first part of the ethnonym in turn containing the name of the En (Aenus (Enus)).GeographyThe Engadine lies at the most southeastern end of Switzerland and at the western end of the Eastern Alps and constitutes the Swiss part of the -long valley drained by the En/Inn until it turns northeast again after a large bend to northwest just before Landeck in Austria (the Austrian part is simply called Inntal aka Inn Valley). From the Maloja Pass (1815m) to the border of the Austrian Tyrol just before the Schergenbach, coming from Samnaun, enters the Inn, it runs for the whole Swiss length of always above in elevation.