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TheWalser people are the speakers of theWalser German dialects, a variety ofHighest Alemannic.[1]They inhabit the region of theAlps ofSwitzerland andLiechtenstein, as well as the fringes ofItaly andAustria. The Walser people are named after theWallis (Valais), the uppermostRhône valley, where they settled from roughly the 10th century in the late phase of the migration of theAlamanni, crossing from theBernese Oberland; because of linguistic differences among the Walser dialects, it is supposed that there were two independent immigration routes.
From the upper Wallis, they began to spread south, west and east between the 12th and 13th centuries, in the so-calledWalser migrations (Walserwanderungen). The causes of these further population movements, the last wave of settlement in the highervalleys of the Alps, are not entirely clear. Some think[who?] that the largeWalser migrations took place because of conflicts with the valley's feudal lords. Other theories contend[who?] it was because of overpopulation and yet others[who?] that they were reinforced by the respective local authorities in order to settle previously unpopulated regions. Starting in 1962, every three years a meeting of Walser people calledWalsertreffen occurs in a Walser inhabited area.[2]
The Walser people originate from the Swiss canton of Valais. Around 1300, they started to migrate. As of 2022, the reasons are not historically documented and are speculated to be due to overpopulation, climate change or poverty.
In many places Walser settlers received the "Walser right" (colonist right), that is, personal freedom, with the right to form their own judicial communities and the right of the free hereditary rights of land. When a settler died, the estate passed to his heirs. The "Walser law" was granted against a moderate interest and the obligation to serve in the war.[3]
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InSwitzerland, the German-speaking part of the canton ofValais is the original region of the Walser. There are 26 Walser communities that were settled by the Walser migration (and seven others that originally were, but where Walser German is not spoken any more). These are:Simplon, in Canton ofValais;Bosco/Gurin, in Canton ofTicino; and the following communities inGraubünden (Grisons):Obersaxen;Valsertal (Vals,St. Martin);Safiental (Valendas,Versam,Tenna,Safien);Rheinwald (Medels,Nufenen,Splügen,Sufers,Hinterrhein,Avers);Schanfigg (Arosa,Langwies);Albula (Mutten,Schmitten,Wiesen);Landquart (Davos,Klosters,Furna,Says,St. Antönien,Valzeina).Wartau, (Matug,Walserberg,Palfris) and Walser speaking people may live in thecanton of Geneva.[citation needed]
InItaly, there are nine communities that were settled by the Walser migration (and four others that originally were, but where Walser German is not spoken any more (with exception of a few elders)). These are:Gressoney-La-Trinité,Gressoney-Saint-Jean andIssime (Lys Valley, in theAosta Valley);Formazza,Macugnaga,Campello Monti (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province);Alagna Valsesia,Riva Valdobbia,Carcoforo,Rimasco,Rima San Giuseppe,Rimella (Sesia Valley orValsesia, inVercelli province).
InLiechtenstein, there is one Walser community:Triesenberg, includingSaminatal andMalbun. Until the 1930s, the dialects of Walser German andRomandy based on theFrench language was still spoken among a few hundred residents.[citation needed]
InAustria, there are 14 Walser communities:Grosses Walsertal (Blons, Fontanella, Raggal, St. Gerold, Sonntag, Thüringerberg),Kleinwalsertal (Mittelberg, apractical enclave of Germany),Brandnertal (Brand),Montafon (Silbertal), Reintal (Laterns), Tannberg (Schröcken, Lech, Warth), all inVorarlberg; and inPaznauntal (Galtür), inTyrol.
Additionally, Walser communities are reportedly found inHaute-Savoie, France (Vallorcine, in theChablais), where the local Walser dialect is no longer spoken, and in theBerner Oberland (or Bernese Highlands), Switzerland (Grimseljoch-Sustenpass area,Lauterbrunnen,Mürren, etc.), where the local Walser dialect has assimilated to the (likewiseHighest Alemannic) dialects of the Berner Oberland.
Some Walsers later settled portions of easternHungary, most were found in theTokay wine region. Walsers, along withFrench Swiss speakers andFrench (Lorraine)vintners from the French with wine-producing skills arrived in the 19th century by invitation of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. Their descendants in the early 20th century were known asFrançais du Banat or the "Banat French", as well theRomandie de l'Ungerne or "theRomandies of Hungary".[citation needed]
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