Reichenau
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- Alternate uses: Reichenau island
Reichenau is a village in the municipality of Tamins in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, where the two Rhine tributaries Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein meet. It is a major traffic junction of the routes from Chur towards the Operalppass and Lukmanierpass and from Chur towards San Bernardino Pass and Julierpass.
The civilisation of the place is traced back till 500 A.D. The name originates from the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau on Reichenau island in Lake Constance which owned properties in this location during the Middle Ages. The monastery was founded in 724 an drew to itself abbots with connections to the highest Carolingian and Ottonian society; it housed a school, and a famous scriptorium. See Abbey of Reichenau.
Already in the 14th century the first bridges were built over the Rhine tributaries.
A roadhouse was built 1570 to collect the bridge toll. In the 17th century the first buildings for the sovereignty of Reichenau were built which became the castle of Reichenau. The Rhaetian Railways reached Reichenau 1896.
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Missing image Reichenau.jpg Reichenau Switzerland: confluence of Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein |
Reichenau at the confluence of the Rhine tributaries
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