Scuol

Scuol (ˈʃkuɔ̯l) is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into Scuol. The official name has undergone several changes in the 20th century: Until 1943, the official name of the municipality was Schuls. In 1943, it was changed to Bad Scuol/Schuls. In 1970 Schuls was dropped as an official name, leaving only Bad Scuol. In 1999 Bad was dropped, leaving today's name, Scuol. Scuol is first mentioned in 1095 as Schulles. At the end of the 11th and in the 12th century, the lords of Tarasp owned extensive estates in Scuol. In 1095/1096 their family founded a Marian monastery in Scuol and endowed it richly. In 1150 the monastery was moved to Marienberg in the Vinschgau valley. In 1178 Pope Alexander III confirmed all of the monastery's possessions in Scuol, including the church. The village was destroyed in the Swabian War of 1499; in 1516 Bernardo da Poschiavo built a new church. Circa 1533 Scuol became Protestant. In 1621/1622 the village was devastated by Austrian troops; in 1652 it bought its freedom from Austria. From circa 1860 onwards, the healing springs of Scuol were used on a larger scale and the time of spa tourism began. During the following decades, the bath house and numerous hotels were built between the two old parts of the village. The opening of the Bever–Scuol line of the Rhaetian Railway in 1913 stimulated further growth. With the advent of winter sports in the middle of the 20th century, the second era of tourism in Scuol began. After the gondola lift to Motta Naluns (1956), numerous chairlifts and surface lifts were constructed. The spa tradition was revived in 1993 with the opening of the Bogn Engiadina ("Engadine bath"), including the first Roman-Irish bath in Switzerland. The Neo-Renaissance style Grand Hotel Waldhaus Vulpera in Scuol-Tarasp with Sgraffito-Elements was opened on 8 June 1897.