Pontresina, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland

🇨🇭 Pontresina (Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

History Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ad Pontem Sarisinam in 1137 and de Ponte Sarraceno in 1237. The name consists of the Latin word for bridge, pons (accusative form: pontem), and the male personal name Saracenus, which was widely known in the Engadin valley. The earlier assumption that the name was connected with the Saracens has been discarded.

Pontresina owes its importance to its location on the Bernina Pass and to tourism. In the Middle Ages, the place was more important than neighbouring St. Moritz. However, only a few buildings are reminiscent of this time, as Pontresina was hit by a major fire at the beginning of the 18th century. After the first inn was opened in 1850, tourism began to flourish. In the summer of 1885 there were already 2000 guests. In 1908, the resort received a further boost with the opening of the Bernina Railway.

Geography Pontresina has an area, as of 2006, of 118.2 km² (45.6 sq mi). Of this area, 16.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (72.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district, after 2017 it was part of the Maloja Region. It sits in Val Bernina, which is the highest altitude valley that branches off the Upper Engadin Valley. The municipality includes the highest mountain of the canton, Piz Bernina. Other high summits are Piz Zupò and Piz Palü. Pontresina is a noted tourist destination in its own right, but is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor St. Moritz.

It consists of the old village sections of Laret, San Spiert as well as Giarsun and the new sections on the mountain slopes (including Muragls).

Nearby glaciers include the Morteratsch Glacier and the Roseg Glacier. The Morteratsch has a ski lift and a long run down the glacier and the glacier is an economic mainstay of the town. The Roseg Valley has a groomed cross country ski trail along its length.

Languages Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (57.7%), with Italian being second most common (16.1%) and Portuguese being third (9.0%). Until the 19th century, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Putèr. Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880, still 45.7% of the population spoke Romansh as a first language, decreasing to only 33.61% in 1900. The Romansh language continues to decline without an interruption (1941 26.7%, 1970 16.22%, 2000 7.94%).

Transport Pontresina railway station is a fair-sized facility positioned to the west of the town which serves a wide area and a youth hostel. It is located on the Bernina line and has regular service to St. Moritz and Tirano. There are five additional railway stations within the municipality, all on the Bernina line: Surovas, Morteratsch, Bernina Suot, Bernina Lagalb, and Bernina Diavolezza.

Hauptstrasse 29, the main road across the Bernina pass, runs the length of the municipality, but bypasses the village of Pontresina to the west, passing between the village and railway station. It and linking roads provide links to the neighbouring, larger town of St Moritz. Several bus lines of the Engadin Bus company also serve the area and there is a chair lift for skiing in the winter months, and walking in the summer months.

Heritage sites The Church of S. Maria, Grand Hotel Kronenhof and the Spaniola tower are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The old parish church and currently a village church of S. Maria is a late-Romanesque structure. The church has several significant paintings on the walls. The tower and north and west walls are from an earlier church, most likely from the 12th Century.

A historical transport route of wine across the alps passes Pontresina and continues towards Davos across Scaletta Pass that lost importance completely when roads were built elsewhere.