Walser
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German
Walser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s) who live in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
of Switzerland
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The Walser people are named after the Wallis
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
(Valais), the uppermost Rhône River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
valley. Prior, they are believed to have lived in southwest Germany.
The Walser settled the upper part of the Wallis about 1000 years ago, coming from the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
. Because of linguistic differences among the Walser
Walser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
dialects, it is supposed that there were two independent immigration routes. From the upper Wallis, they began to spread south, west and east between the 12th and 13th centuries, which is known as the Walser migrations.
Reasons for the Walser migrations
Different theories try to explain why the Walser left the Wallis between the 12th and 13th centuries.Some think that the large Walser migrations took place because of conflicts with the valley's feudal lords. Other theories say it was because of overpopulation. Other theories say that they were reinforced by the respective local authorities in order to settle previously unpopulated regions.
Characteristics of Walser settlements
The main characteristics of Walser settlements are the Walser GermanWalser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
dialects. It is also typical that they are located at a very high altitude in remote valleys that had not been settled before.
Although this is often believed, there is not only one type of Walser house.
Geographical distribution
In SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
is the original region of the Walser. There are 26 Walser communities that were settled by the Walser migration (and seven others that originally were, but where Walser German
Walser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
is not spoken any more). These are: Simplon
Simplon, Valais
Simplon is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:...
, in Canton of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
; Bosco Gurin, in Canton of Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
; and the following communities in Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
(Grisons): Obersaxen
Obersaxen
Obersaxen is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:Obersaxen is first mentioned in 765 as Supersaxa though this is from a copy which dates from later...
; Valsertal
Val Lumnezia
The Val Lumnezia is a Swiss high Alpine valley made up of the main Lumnezia valley, and a side valley, the Valser valley to the south-east. Located at , it forms also Municipality, which is composed of the communities Vella, Vignogn, Degen, Suraua, Vrin, Cumbel, Morissen, Vals and Lumbrein. Its...
(Vals
Vals, Switzerland
Vals is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-History:Archeological finds from the Bronze Age around the thermal baths and Tomül pass as well as Iron Age items on the slopes of the Valserberg indicate that this area was used before written history...
, St. Martin); Safiental (Valendas
Valendas
Valendas is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Valendas has an area, , of . Of this area, 21.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 48.7% is forested...
, Versam
Versam
Versam is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Versam has an area, , of . Of this area, 16.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 70.6% is forested...
, Tenna
Tenna, Switzerland
Tenna is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Coat of arms:The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules St. Valentin clad Argent and caped Or with his dexter raised in blessing and holding in sinister a crosier of the last...
, Safien
Safien
Safien is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Safien has an area, , of . Of this area, 45.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.2% is forested...
); Rheinwald
Rheinwald
The Rheinwald is a valley in the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland...
(Medels
Medels
Medels may refer to:*Medels im Rheinwald, a locality in the municipality of Splügen, Grisons, Switzerland*Medels im Oberland, the former name of Medel , Grisons...
, Nufenen
Nufenen
Nufenen is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:...
, Splügen, Sufers
Sufers
Sufers is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Sufers has an area, , of . Of this area, 13.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23.8% is forested...
, Hinterrhein
Hinterrhein, Switzerland
-External links:...
, Avers
Avers
Avers is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It includes Juf, the highest-altitude year-round settlement in Europe.-History:...
); Schanfigg (Arosa
Arosa
Arosa is a town and a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort.-History:...
, Langwies
Langwies
Langwies is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Langwies has an area, , of . Of this area, 48.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.6% is forested...
); Albula
Albula
The term albula can refer to:*Albula Range, a mountain range in Switzerland*Albula , in Switzerland*Albula , a district in canton Graubünden, Switzerland*Albula Pass*Albula Railway, which forms part of the Rhaetian Railway...
(Mutten
Mutten
Mutten is a municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-History:Mutten is first mentioned in 1363 as unz uff die Mutten though this identification is debated. In 1549 it was mentioned as Hans ab Mutten.-Geography:Mutten has an area, , of...
, Schmitten, Wiesen
Wiesen
Wiesen can mean several places:* Wiesen, Switzerland* Wiesen, Bavaria* Wiesen, Austria, a town in the district of Mattersburg in Burgenland* Wiesen...
); Landquart
Landquart
Landquart may be*the river that flows through the Prättigau valley, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, see Landquart River*a district in the Canton of Graubünden, see Landquart...
(Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
, Klosters
Klosters
Klosters-Serneus is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.Its well-known ski resort lies from Zurich, the nearest international airport. Transfer time is about 1.5 hours. Klosters is from Davos...
, Furna
Furna
Furna is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Demographics:Furna has a population of . , 0.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.5%...
, Says
Says
Says was a municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2008 the municipality was incorporated into neighboring Trimmis.-Geography:...
, St. Antönien
St. Antönien
St. Antönien is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.The municipalities of St. Antönien and St. Antönien Ascharina merged on 1 January 2007 into St. Antönien-History:St...
, Valzeina
Valzeina
Valzeina is a former municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2011 Fanas and Valzeina were merged with the municipality of Grüsch.-Geography:...
). Wartau
Wartau
Wartau is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Wartau has an area, , of . Of this area, 47.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.1% is forested...
, (Matug, Walserberg, Palfris) and Walser speaking people may live in the Republic and Canton of Geneve.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, there are nine communities that were settled by the Walser migration (and four others that originally were, but where Walser German
Walser German
The Walser language , also known as Walliser German , is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria and in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis , in the uppermost Rhône valley.The terms Walser and...
is not spoken any more). These are: Gressoney-La-Trinité
Gressoney-La-Trinité
Gressoney-La-Trinité is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy.-Geography:...
, Gressoney-Saint-Jean
Gressoney-Saint-Jean
Gressoney-Saint-Jean is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy.- Points of interest :* Giardino Botanico Alpino "Castel Savoia", an alpine botanical garden...
and Issime
Issime
Issime is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy. About a third of its population speak Walser German....
(Lys
Lys (torrente)
The Lys is a small 40 km river which flows from the Lys glacier on the Monte Rosa massif, at the foot of Vincent-Pyramide , and runs through the Lys Valley, flanked by a road, before converging with the Dora Baltea as a right tributary at Pont-Saint-Martin.Its left-side tributaries are Avant-Cir,...
Valley, in the Aosta Valley); Formazza
Formazza
Formazza is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 160 km northeast of Turin and about 50 km north of Verbania, on the border with Switzerland...
, Macugnaga
Macugnaga
Macugnaga is a mountain village at 1327 m altitude, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the north of Piedmont region .It is placed at the base of Dufourspitze 4638 m, the second tallest peak in Europe, in the Monte Rosa Massif, along Anzasca valley, one of the seven valleys around the...
(Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1996 through the fusion of three distinct regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara...
); Alagna Valsesia
Alagna Valsesia
Alagna Valsesia is a comune and small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy. It was originally settled by Walser...
, Rima San Giuseppe
Rima San Giuseppe
Rima San Giuseppe is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km north of Turin and about 70 km northwest of Vercelli...
, Rimella
Rimella
Rimella is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km northeast of Turin and about 70 km northwest of Vercelli...
(Sesia Valley or Valsesia, in Vercelli province
Province of Vercelli
Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is Vercelli., it has an area of 2,088 km², and a total population of 176,829...
).
In Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, there is one Walser community: Triesenberg
Triesenberg
Triesenberg is a municipality in Liechtenstein with a population of 2,564. Its area of 30 square kilometers makes it the largest municipality in Liechtenstein. The center of the municipality rests at an elevation of 884-1,000 metres.-History:...
, including Saminatal and Malbun. Until the 1930s, the dialects of Walser German and Romandy
Swiss French
Swiss French is the name used for the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. Swiss French is not to be confused with Franco-Provençal/Arpitan or Romansh, two other individual Romance languages spoken in areas not far from Romandy.The differences...
based on the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
was still spoken among a few hundred residents.
In Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, there are 14 Walser communities: Grosses Walsertal (Blons, Fontanella, Raggal, St. Gerold, Sonntag, Thüringerberg), Kleinwalsertal
Kleinwalsertal
Kleinwalsertal is a part of Austria, but only accessible from Germany to the north, and thus is an Austrian "practical exclave" or "pene-exclave". Prior to Austria joining the European Union, the area had tax-free status....
(Mittelberg, a practical enclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
of Germany), Brandnertal (Brand), Montafon
Montafon
Montafon is a valley in Austria that extends from the city of Bludenz to the Silvretta mountain range. It is also known in the local dialect as Muntafu....
(Silbertal), Reintal (Laterns), Tannberg (Schröcken
Schröcken
Schröcken is an alpine town located in the district of Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria.-Geography:Schröcken is located in the western province of Austria, Vorarlberg, Bregenz in the district south-south-east of the Bodensee. It is in the Austrian Alps and is at an altitude of 1,269 meters...
, Lech, Warth), all in Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
; and in Paznauntal (Galtür), in Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
.
Additionally, Walser communities are reportedly found in Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
, France (Vallorcine, in the Chablais
Chablais
Chablais was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains.This region is currently divided into three territories, the Chablais savoyard, the Chablais valaisan, and the Chablais vaudois, and is now split across two countries: France and Switzerland...
), where the local Walser dialect is no longer spoken, and in the Berner Oberland (or Bernese Highlands), Switzerland (Grimseljoch-Sustenpass area, Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.The municipality lies in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and comprises the villages Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren, Gimmelwald, Stechelberg and Isenfluh...
, Mürren
Mürren
Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, at an elevation of 1,650 m above sea level and unreachable by public road....
, etc.), where the local Walser dialect has assimilated to the (likewise Highest Alemannic) dialects of the Berner Oberland.
Walsers have even settled portions of eastern Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, most were found in the Tokay
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja is a historical wine region located in southeastern Slovakia and northeastern Hungary. Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region....
wine region. Walsers, along with French Swiss speakers and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
(Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
) vintners with wine-producing skills arrived in the 19th century by invitation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Their descendants in the early 20th century were known as Français du Banat or the "Banat French", as well the Romandie de l'Ungerne or "the Romandies of Hungary".