Langwies

Langwies is a former municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Langwies, Calfreisen, Castiel, Lüen, Molinis, Peist and St. Peter-Pagig merged into the municipality of Arosa.

History

Langwies is first mentioned in 1384 as die lang Wise.

Geography

Before the merger, Langwies had a total area of 54.9 km² (21.2 sq mi). Of this area, 48.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (27.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

The former municipality is located in the Schanfigg sub-district of the Plessur district. It is located on the shortest route between Chur and Davos which is over the Strela pass. It consists of the village of Langwies and the hamlets of Platz, Litzirüti, Fondei and Sapün.

On the south-western edge of the village of Langwies, and lower down the hillside from the centre, is the Langwies railway station, on the Chur-Arosa railway line. Additionally, in the hamlet of Litzirüti is the Litzirüti railway station.

Langwies (Rhaetian Railway station)

Langwies (sometimes "Langwies GR") is a railway station on the Chur-Arosa line (the "Arosabahn") of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It is situated in Langwies, lower down the hillside from the centre of the village. A minor level crossing straddles the tracks at the station.

Viaducts

Two notable railway viaducts (or bridges) carry the line over deep valleys near to Langwies. Down the line (towards Chur) is the Gründjitobel Viaduct (or Gründjitobel Bridge; German: Gründjitobel-Viadukt) which is 145m long, and a short distance up the line is the Langwieser Viaduct (or Langwies Viaduct; German: Langwieser Viadukt) .

The latter viaduct is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. It is 284m long (though some sources state it as 287m) and, like the former viaduct, is a pioneering reinforced concrete structure.

Services

Hourly passenger services operate on this line (service "R4" on the Rhaetian network), between Chur and Arosa. The route is shown as timetable 930 in the Swiss national timetables. Currently all passenger trains stop at Langwies, with the exception of the late night service, which stops on request.