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29-586: Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja in the canton of the Grisons , the lower part within the Italian province of Sondrio . The valley includes the Swiss former municipalities of Vicosoprano , Stampa , Bondo , Soglio and Castasegna (now consolidated into the municipality of Bregaglia ); and the Italian municipalities of Villa di Chiavenna , Piuro , and Chiavenna . The Swiss part of

58-563: A federal state in 1848. The cantons retained far-reaching sovereignty but were no longer allowed to maintain individual standing armies or international relations. As the revolutions of 1848 in Western Europe had failed elsewhere, Switzerland during the later 19th century (and with the exception of the French Third Republic , until the end of World War I ) found itself as an isolated democratic republic, surrounded by

87-407: A federation of states was restored, at the time including 19 cantons (the six accessions to the early modern Thirteen Cantons being composed of former associates and subject territories: St. Gallen , Grisons , Aargau , Thurgau , Ticino , Vaud ). Three additional western cantons, Valais , Neuchâtel and Geneva , acceded in 1815. The process of "Restoration", completed by 1830, returned most of

116-662: A name otherwise lost except for a mention on Tabula clesiana , a Roman plate. On the other hand, 18th-century documents derive modern Lombard Bregaglia from Middle Latin Pregallia ("pre-Gaul, anterior Gaul"). The Latin name Pregallia was used for the valley from at least the 13th century. [REDACTED] Media related to Val Bregaglia at Wikimedia Commons 46°19′57″N 9°30′50″E  /  46.3324°N 9.514°E  / 46.3324; 9.514 Maloja (district) Maloja District ( Romansh : District da Malögia , Italian : Distretto di Maloja )

145-482: A particular municipality (the place of origin ) and the canton in which that municipality is part. Cantons, therefore, have a role in and set requirements for the granting of citizenship (naturalisation), though the process is typically undertaken at a municipal level and is subject to federal law. Switzerland has only one federal public holiday (1 August); public holidays otherwise vary from canton to canton . The cantons are listed in their order of precedence given in

174-538: A popular vote to amend the cantonal constitution or laws or to veto laws or spending bills passed by the parliament. Other than in the instances of general popular assemblies in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus, democratic rights are exercised by secret ballot. The right of foreigners to vote varies by canton, as does whether Swiss citizens living abroad (and registered to vote in a canton) can take part in cantonal voting. Swiss citizens are citizens of

203-775: Is a former administrative district in the canton of Graubünden (or Grigioni ), Switzerland . It had an area of 973.28 km (375.79 sq mi) and had a population of 18,698 in 2015. It was replaced with the Maloja Region on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the Canton. It was trilingual, with official languages used by municipalities inside the district being, in order of dominance, German , Italian , and Romansh . It consisted of two Kreis or circoli in Italian (sub-districts) and sixteen municipalities : All three of Graubünden's official languages: German , Romansh , and Italian , can be heard in

232-641: The Holy Roman Empire , they had become de facto independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 in Dornach. In the early modern period, the individual confederate allies came to be seen as republics ; while the six traditional allies had a tradition of direct democracy in the form of the Landsgemeinde , the urban states operated via representation in city councils, de facto oligarchic systems dominated by families of

261-758: The Maloja Pass (1815 m) which connects it to the Engadin (the valley of the Inn , which is part of the Danube basin). There the river Orlegna extends westwards and joins the river Mera to Chiavenna shortly after which the Mera joins with the Liro and turns south towards Lake Como . From Chiavenna to Maloja, a distance of 32 km, the valley rises 1482 m. In this valley sources of three important basins have their origin:

290-656: The Old Swiss Confederacy , formerly also Ort ('lieu/locality', from before 1450), or Stand ('estate', from c.  1550 ), was a fully sovereign state with its own border controls, army, and currency from at least the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848, with a brief period of centralised government during the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). The term Kanton has been widely used since

319-678: The Rhine (through the Avers Rhine ), which runs to the North Sea , the Inn , which runs to the Danube (near Passau ), and the rivers Mera and Adda , which run to the Po . The Bregaglia Range is the group of mountains to the south of the valley. Some scholars, including E. Dubois and James S. Reid, asserts the valley takes its name from the Bergalei Alpine tribe that inhabited it,

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348-616: The member states of the Swiss Confederation . The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte . Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte ('Eight Cantons'; from 1353 to 1481) and Dreizehn Orte ('Thirteen Cantons', from 1513 to 1798). Each canton of

377-589: The patriciate . The old system was abandoned with the formation of the Helvetic Republic following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798. The cantons of the Helvetic Republic had merely the status of an administrative subdivision with no sovereignty. The Helvetic Republic collapsed within five years, and cantonal sovereignty was restored with the Act of Mediation of 1803. The status of Switzerland as

406-595: The 16th century, the Old Swiss Confederacy was composed of 13 sovereign confederate allies (the Thirteen Cantons ; German : Die Dreizehn Alten Orte ), and there were two different kinds: five rural states ( German : Länder ) – Uri , Schwyz (which became eponymous of the confederacy), Unterwalden , Glarus , Appenzell – and eight urban states ( German : Städte ) – Zürich , Bern , Luzern , Zug , Basel , Fribourg , Solothurn , Schaffhausen . Though they were technically part of

435-491: The 19th century. The number of cantons was increased to 19 with the Act of Mediation (1803), with the recognition of former subject territories as full cantons. The Federal Treaty of 1815 increased the number to 22 due to the accession of former associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy . The canton of Jura acceded as the 23rd canton with its secession from Bern in 1979. The official number of cantons

464-570: The Confederation, a directorial system of government is followed by the cantons. The cantonal legislatures are unicameral parliaments , with their size varying between 58 and 200 seats. A few legislatures also involve or did involve general popular assemblies known as Landsgemeinden ; the use of this form of legislature has declined: at present, it exists only in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus . The cantonal executives consist of either five or seven members, depending on

493-488: The Federal Constitution). The cantonal constitutions determine the internal organisation of the canton, including the degree of autonomy accorded to the municipalities , which varies but almost always includes the power to levy taxes and pass municipal laws; some municipalities have their own police forces. As at the federal level, all cantons provide for some form of direct democracy . Citizens may demand

522-562: The canton. For the names of the institutions, see the list of cantonal executives and list of cantonal legislatures . The cantons retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the Confederation by the federal constitution or law: most significantly the cantons are responsible for healthcare , welfare , law enforcement, public education , and retain the power of taxation . Each canton defines its official language(s). Cantons may conclude treaties not only with other cantons but also with foreign states (respectively Articles 48 and 56 of

551-467: The district. Except for the municipality of Bregaglia, the area was predominantly Romansh-speaking. Today, Romansh is spoken the least out of the three official languages of Maloja. 46°24′9″N 9°41′42″E  /  46.40250°N 9.69500°E  / 46.40250; 9.69500 This Graubünden location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland are

580-525: The early 17th century. In the Old Swiss Confederacy, the term Ort (plural: Orte ) was in use from the early 15th century as a generic term for the member cantons. The founding cantons specifically were also known as Waldstätte 'forest settlements' (singular: Waldstatt ). The formulaic Stette und Waldstette for the members of the early confederacy is recorded in the mid-14th century, used interchangeably with Stett und Lender ('cities and lands', 'city cantons and rural cantons') until

609-483: The former feudal rights to the cantonal patriciates , leading to rebellions among the rural population. The Radicals embodied these democratic forces calling for a new federal constitution. This tension, paired with religious issues ("Jesuit question") escalated into armed conflict in the 1840s, with the brief Sonderbund War . The victory of the Liberal-Radicals resulted in the formation of Switzerland as

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638-511: The late 15th century (recorded in Fribourg in 1467), from a word for "edge, corner", at the time the literal translation of Early Modern High German ort . After 1490, canton was increasingly used in French and Italian documents to refer to the members of the Swiss Confederacy. English use of canton in reference to the Swiss Confederacy (as opposed to the heraldic sense ) dates to

667-572: The late 15th century. Ort was increasingly replaced by Stand (plural: Stände ) ' estate ' about 1550, a term taken to imply liberty and sovereignty. Abolished in the Helvetic Republic, the term 'Stand' was revived in 1815 and remains in use today. The French term canton adopted into German after 1648 , and then only in occasional use until the early 19th century: prominent usage of Ort and Stand gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland from

696-505: The modern era, since Neuchâtel ceased to be a principality in 1848, all Swiss cantons can be considered to have a republican form of government . Some cantons formally describe themselves as republics in their constitutions. This applies to the Romance-speaking cantons in particular: Geneva (formally République et canton de Genève , 'Republic and canton of Geneva'), Jura , Neuchâtel , Valais , Vaud and Ticino . In

725-631: The restored monarchies of France , Italy , Austria-Hungary and Germany . The Swiss Federal Constitution declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent that their sovereignty is not limited by federal law. Areas specifically reserved to the Confederation are the armed forces, currency, the postal service, telecommunications, immigration into and emigration from the country, granting asylum, conducting foreign relations with sovereign states, civil and criminal law, weights and measures, and customs duties. Each canton has its own constitution , legislature , executive , police and courts . Similar to

754-700: The time of the Helvetic Republic . Only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German Kanton become an official designation, retained in the Swiss Constitution of 1848. The term Stand ( French : état , Italian : stato ) remains in synonymous usage and is reflected in the name of the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament, the Council of States ( German : Ständerat , French : Conseil des États , Italian : Consiglio degli Stati , Romansh : Cussegl dals Stadis ). In

783-426: The valley at Vicosoprano, Bondo and Castasegna. The hydroelectric project at Vicosoprano was formed by damming the river Albigna, forming Lake Albigna . Located approximately 1000 m above the town and set back, the site is reachable by Albigna Bahn , an aerial tramway operated by EWZ. A 108 km tract of the valley has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International . The valley begins at

812-483: The valley is inhabited by the descendants of Italian Protestants , some descending from those who settled here in the mid-16th century to avoid persecution by the Inquisition , and today about 75% of the population is Protestant. The local dialect is a variety of Lombard with similarities to neighboring dialects of Romansh . Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (EWZ) operates three hydroelectric power plants in

841-534: Was increased to 26 in the federal constitution of 1999 , which designated former half-cantons as cantons. The areas of the cantons vary from 37 km (15 sq. mi.) ( Basel-Stadt ) to 7,105 km (2743 sq. mi.) ( Grisons ); the populations (as of 2018) range from 16,000 ( Appenzell Innerrhoden ) to 1.5 million ( Zürich ). The term canton , now also used as the English term for administrative subdivisions of other countries, originates in French usage in

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