On historical paths to Ticino – From Chur to Bellinzona

Do you know which is the oldest city in Switzerland? Admittedly, I should have guessed I was wrong. This is due to the fact that many people only know the train station and the eye-catching post bus station of Switzerland’s oldest city. It is still a crossroads of the traffic routes from the Rhine Valley to the Oberland and over the Julier, Septimer, San Bernardino and Splügen passes to the south. Well? Do you know now which city is meant?

The traces of settlement in Chur can be traced back to 11,000 BC. Since then, Chur has experienced an eventful history as a Roman settlement, later bishop’s seat, guild town and cantonal capital of the canton of Graubünden.

If you want to travel back in time, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to discover the Alpine town of Chur behind the backdrop of its train station. We take this to heart and leave the Schlosshotel Wartegg early in the morning. The way back from the castle through the castle park to the Staad train station is a similar puzzle as on the way there. It’s hard to imagine how many forks in the road can be created in just a few 100 meters. We reach the train to the minute.

We drive from Rorschach along Lake Constance to the border station St. Margrethen. There we change trains and chug leisurely up the Rhine Valley for an hour. At the Chur train station the first surprise, our host Adrian K. Müller drove up with the polished classic car. “The clever one arrives in the train,” writes the Hotel Stern on its website – with this sentence, the star gets the full number of sympathy points from me.

Passers-by are noticeably impressed. One or the other stops. “How much horsepower does it have?” asks a very curious person. Admittedly, even though I don’t know anything about cars and they don’t arouse any emotions in me, I’m a little bit over the moon that I can get into this vehicle (by the way, a Buick built in 1933, as the friend kindly explains to me).

The family-run Hotel Stern is located in the heart of the city of Chur, directly adjacent to an intact piece of the old city wall, and is known far and wide for its exquisite cuisine in the magnificent Bündner Stube. However, the Hotel Stern also helps to shape the long tradition of guest houses at the Chur transport hub. The “Gasthaus zum Stern” was already known in 1677. At that time, the inn was also a horse exchange centre with its own stables.

Today, the Hotel Stern impresses with a typical Graubünden charm. Not only do politicians and important personalities come and go here, but you can also see a small, fine private collection of original works by the well-known artist Alois Carigiet in the parlour named after him. Even the placemats in the restaurant have an exclusively made Carigiet motif. The hotel offers the perfect starting point to spend more than just ten minutes of transfer time in Chur (room rate from 118 CHF/night).

Unfortunately, we don’t have much time left to discover all the nooks and crannies in the hotel. After a short detour to the extremely charming old town of Chur, the journey continues to warmer climes. Like many before us, we take the historic route from Chur via San Bernardino to Bellinzona by post bus. Although, we almost failed. “Do you have a reservation?” the Postbus driver asks us as we get in. “Reservation?” No, do you need one?, I answer in amazement. Yes, it does. But since there are only a few people on this rainy Friday, we still get a place.

The trip over the San Bernardino takes a little more than two hours with the fast course and leads through an impressive alpine landscape. Sit back for two hours and let beautiful landscapes pass by. A travel experience of a special kind.

Another classic from Chur is, of course, the Albula/Bernina route of the Rhaetian Railway, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

The post bus takes us to Bellinzona. Here, too, it is worth making a short stop to visit the castles of Bellinzona, a World Heritage Site. If you don’t have much time, it’s best to do it like we do. From the train station, follow the signs for Castelgrande. The way to the lift, which takes you directly up to the castle free of charge, is well signposted. A large part of the castle complex can also be visited free of charge. From Castelgrande there are beautiful views over the old town of Bellinzona with the striking Renaissance building of La Collegiata and to the Castello di Montebello opposite. The short detour was worth it despite the gloomy umbrella weather. We make our way back to the train station on foot (a narrow stairway leads down to the old town).

Our destination for the day is still about an hour away – which historical place will we end up in this evening? You’ll find out tomorrow :).

Note: My journey through time was supported by Switzerland Tourism and Swiss Historic Hotels. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.