Brusio

Brusio (Brus; Brüsch) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. Brusio is first mentioned in 1106 as Bruse. It was first mentioned as Brusio in 1212. Previously it was known as Romansh: Brüsch and Brüs. The monastery of San Romerio (earlier, San Remigio) was founded above the Val Poschiavo before 1055. Soon thereafter the village of Brusio was settled on the valley floor below the monastery. The monastery influenced this early stage of settlement and growth in the village. By 1212 it was an independent municipality with its own dean or senior pastor who represented the municipality's interests. In the 13th century, the entire Val Poschiavo became part of the fief of the Bishop of Chur. During the 14th century, Brusio was part of the practically (although not officially) independent municipality of Poschiavo. Around 1498, Poschiavo (with Brusio) joined the League of God's House and by extension, the Three Leagues. During the conquest of the Valtellina valley by the Three Leagues, the hamlets of Campocologno (1518) and Zalende (1526) were founded. In 1610 Brusio tried to leave the municipality of Poschiavo, but it wasn't until 1851 that they were successful. In 1863 the previously Italian side valley of Saiento and the hamlet of Cavajone joined Brusio and became Swiss. Brusio has an area, , of . Of this area, 16.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 54.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (27%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The municipality is located in the Brusio sub-district of the Bernina district. It is located in the Val Poschiavo on the road from the Bernina Pass into Italy. Besides the village of Brusio itself, it consists of the hamlets of Campocologno, Zalende, Campascio, Piazzo and parts of Miralago as well as the small settlements of Viano and Cavaione high in the mountains. Brusio has a population (as of ) of . , 7.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.