Surselva Region
Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton. Surselva Region has an area of , with a population of as of .. It corresponds exactly to its predecessor, Surselva District, but the former subdistricts ("Kreise") of Disentis, Ilanz, Lumnezia/Lugnez, Ruis and Safien have been abandoned. "Surselva" ("above the forest") is the name of the valley of the Anterior Rhine in the local (Sursilvan) dialect of Romansh. The eponymous forest is that of the Flims rockslide; the  region "below the forest" is "Sutselva", where the Sutsilvan dialect used to be spoken. Geography. The Surselva encompasses the valley of the Vorderrhein/Rein Anteriur (the Surselva) and all its side valleys, from the source near the Oberalp Pass all the way down towards Reichenau (where the Vorderrhein joins the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur to form the Alpine Rhine). The region ends before that confluence at the huge forest on the giant debris of Flims Rockslide that is responsible for the name of the region: The debris area lack of water and soil and were ever left as a big forest  as it was useless for farming. This forest (romonsch: silva) is the border for "Sur-silva" (meaning "above the forest"). The Surselva is one of the few areas in Switzerland that is mainly Romansh-speaking (another notable valley being the Engadine, the valley of the Inn). The most important community in the Surselva is Disentis/Mustér, with its Benedictine monastery, which dates back to 720. There are a few German-speaking communities in the Surselva, e.g. Obersaxen and Vals, which were founded in the thirteenth century by the Walser. A long-distance hike is signposted to follow the full length  of the main valley of the Anterior Rhine. Municipalities. Surselva Region had 17 municipalities at the time of its formation. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and Waltensburg/Vuorz merged into the municipality of Breil/Brigels, for a total of 15 municipalities. Linguistic demography. Romansh is the predominant language in the region, most of which speak the Sursilvan dialect. There is a large German-speaking minority in Surselva, notably the Walser settlements of Obersaxen and Vals. History. Surselva District () was an administrative district in the canton of the Grisons, Switzerland, from 2000 until 2016. It had an  area of and a population of 21,325 in 2015. It was formed in 2000 by a merger of the former Vorderrhein and Glenner districts. During its existence there were several changes in its composition: It consisted of five "Kreise" (sub-districts) and forty-three municipalities. It was replaced with the "Surselva Region" on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the Canton.