A Section of the Graubünden St.James Trail from Tschiertschen to Chur

Saturday June 17, 2023 -- This was the 9th hike we did in the past 11 days, another beautiful but hot day.

We traveled to Chur this time, to visit a mountain village called Tschiertschen, something we had long wanted to do (mainly because of its cool name!). From there, the walk down to the large city of Chur was about the right distance for one of our day hikes.

It was surprisingly cool when we started at 9:30 in the very attractive village, and I was "under-dressed" in only shorts and a light sweater (I usually start out with light pants and we almost always take jackets along, but it has been so hot lately that I didn't think it would be necessary this time). By the time we got down to river level, though, I didn't miss the jacket at all.

The 13-km hike also had several forested sections, which was nice and cool, and even the final walk into the city of Chur was less hot than expected. One thing we really noticed was how dry the ground had become. With this long period without rain, the paths were so dry, that we found no grip with our shoes on steeper downhill sections.

The most memorable thing about this trip was when we were walking along a forest road and a nearby herd of cows all of a sudden started running up a side trail toward us! We moved along very quickly, as a herd of cows moving toward you is not something you take lightly!

This is the city of Chur as seen when we head up into the valley by bus, to Tschiertschen (final stop on this bus line). Chur, the capital city of Canton Graubünden, is reputedly the oldest city in Switzerland (can be dated back to 3900 BC). 

The mountains to the north of the valley

Final bus stop in Tschiertschen. There was a bit of cloud cover here and it was cold!

The first thing we noticed, and something we had never seen before, was that most of these old houses had stripes of text under the roof, usually a year of build (in this case 1855), the name of the builder (Georg Sprecher and relatives) and a saying of some kind. 

Lots of very nice wooden houses in this mountain village

Another very pretty house with some text, 1834. This seems to have been the church rectory (Pfarrhaus), i.e. the pastor's house. Now it is the village post office. 

This one has a date of 1832

We walked to the south end of the village to a ski lift. This is the view back toward the church. 

A view of the village of Tschiertschen from its south end. 

Heading back through the village. Obviously we have to look into the church. The originally Catholic church was built in 1405, but as with almost all other communities in Canton Graubünden, converted to Evangelical during the Reformation. 

The paintings and altars which were originally in the church were not destroyed at the time of the Reformation, but sold.

Interesting name for a street / town square

Some more of the many houses with text on the front. 

A look down at the circle where the bus line ends

And one more look up toward the church. Now the sun is shining, and it got warm fast!

As we were leaving the village, we had a look at this house on the north side. The date on it is 1622, and I can read this saying "Blumen des Glücks musst Du selber pflanzen" ("Flowers of Happiness you must plant yourself"). 

A final look back at Tschiertschen as we head out on our hike for the day. We spent over 45 minutes here, looking around this pretty village. 

Thank You and Goodbye!

We left Tschiertschen at 10:20 and arrived in Chur, at the train station, at about 3 p.m. This was a 13-km hike, not too difficult except that the small trails were dry and "slippery" on the steeper sections. 

This is Trail no.43: "Via Son Giachen", or the St. James Trail in Canton Graubünden. (Jakobsweg Graubünden). The time suggestions on trail signs in Graubünden always seem to be on the "quick" side. To Chur it's at least 3 hours, minimum. So maybe the people here walk fast.....

Across the valley on the north side is the village of Castiel

The first part of the trail is also a themed trail called "The Butterfly Trail". 

Even here you can see how dry the trail is. 

There were a few butterflies. This is the only one I managed to photograph

Another look at the north side of the valley. We have not yet walked over there

Glad to be in the forest!

It is unusual to see the cows grazing in the forest instead of open pastures. 

This is the place where we saw cows on a lower pasture, but then they raced up a side trail to follw us for a bit. 

This is Urs walking as quickly as possible to get away from the eager cows. 

The next village we came to along the road from Tschiertschen is called Praden. 

Heading down to the village of Praden

The church in Praden. Built in 1642

The small church had a very unique organ, a real work of art. The painted panels can close to protect the pipes. The keys were made of wood. This organ is from the 17th Century and may well be the oldest organ in Canton Graubünden which is still in use. 

This building next to the church used to be the town hall. 

A walk along the main road through Praden. 

Still too "tight" on the time! From here to the train station in Chur is 2 hours 45 minutes. 

This is a saw mill, and may possibly once have been operated by water, as it is built right next to the stream coming off the mountain. 

A look across the ravine (Sagentobel) to the village of Praden, as we continue along the road. 

We thought this more recently-built house was rather pretty. 

I wonder how many vehicles hit the low roof on their way down this narrow road? This hamlet is called "Usser Praden"

What a great patio and garden sitting spot! The view is down the valley to Chur in the Rhine Valley. 

More intriguing houses with text and dates in Praden and Usser Praden. The one on the upper right was built in 1762, and the one on the lower left in 1649

Everywhere the elderberry bushes as in full bloom. 

After struggling along a forest trail wrongly-marked on the map, we came to the most interesting section of the hike: A steep gorge with narrow trails.

We then had a 1-km stretch on this wide forestry service road. Luckily there was enough shade from the forested section, or it would have been miserably hot to walk here. 

Several times we got a glimpse of the city of Chur where we are headed. 

More elderberry 

We took a short-cut through this small farm called Grida. From there, the narrow trail to Passugg was particularly steep and we had little grip with our hiking shoes. 

This is the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in Passugg

We are glad for all forested sections with shade!!!

Now we are down at river level (the river here, which comes down from Arosa, is called the Plessur). It was surprisingly NOT hot here!

After a cool forested section on the left side of the river and past the Crematorium, we crossed to the main road on the right. 

In the 4th Century, Chur became the first bishopric north of the Alps (Diocese under a Bishop's control). The bishops here had great power over the centuries. Above us is the areal with the Bishop's Residence and 13th-Century cathedral. But we decided to postpone a visit there, as we were too tired from our hike. 

Walking along the main road to Chur, along the Plessur River (which joins the Rhine River on the NW side of the city). Our original plan was to take the Arosa train which stops near here on its way to the main station in Chur, but we would have had to wait too long, so decided to walk through the city instead.  

Walking through the city of Chur to the main station 

Interesting wall mural!

This is the tower of the Evangelical Church (Martinskirche). We had a quick look inside but didn't stay long, as there was major construction (renovation) going on next to it, and some event in the city with lots of noise and music. Not our thing. 

Details and impressions of the buildings in Chur.

Our hike from Tschiertschen in the Plessur Valley, to Chur, the largest city in Canton Graubünden. 

Location of Chur and the Plessur Valley in Switzerland