Zernez

Geschichte

Zernez is a village and a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Lavin and Susch merged into the municipality of Zernez.Zernez is a major node in the regional road network, with roads leading into the Upper Engadine and towards Italy, the Lower Engadine and towards Austria, over the Fuorn Pass into the Val Mustair and over the Flüela Pass. Zernez is the center for visitors of the Swiss National Park (Romansh: Parc Naziunal).HistoryZernez is first mentioned in 1131 as Gumpo de Ernece. In 1161-64 it was mentioned as Zarnetz though both references are found in a copy of the document from 1365.Geography and climateTopographyAfter the 2015 merger Zernez had an area of. Before the merger Zernez had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 203.91km2. Of this area, about 7.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and 55.9% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by 8ha and the agricultural land has decreased by 130ha.