Zuoz

Zuoz lies in the Upper Engadine, where the bishop of Chur held estates and authority in the Middle Ages. In 1244 the bishop appointed Andreas Planta of Zuoz chancellor of the valley, beginning his family's long prominence. The community joined the League of the House of God in 1367 and purchased the bishop's remaining revenues in 1492.

During the Swabian War of 1499, inhabitants burned their own settlement to deny it to the enemy. The bishop lost his remaining temporal rights under the Articles of Ilanz in 1526. Gian Travers of Zuoz wrote in the Upper Engadine Romansh tongue and staged a play about Joseph in the village square in 1534. Zuoz adopted the Reformation in 1554. Trade and transport brought prosperity, supporting a Latin school and the substantial houses of local families.