Pontresina

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Coordinates: 46°30′N, 9°54′E

Pontresina
Country Switzerland Coat of Arms of Pontresina
Canton Grisons
District Maloja
46°30′N, 9°54′E
Population 1,877  (December 2004)
  - Density 16 /km² (41 /sq.mi.)
Area 118.24 km² (45.7 sq mi)
Elevation 1,805 m (5,922 ft)
Postal code 7504
SFOS number 3784
Surrounded by
(view map)
Lanzada (IT-SO), La Punt-Chamues-ch, Livigno (IT-SO), Madulain, Poschiavo, Samedan, Zuoz
Twin towns Gaylord (United States)
Website www.gemeinde-pontresina.ch

Pontresina is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

This alpine village located high in the in the Engadin region of Switzerland. It sits in Val Bernina, which is the highest altitude valley that branches off the Upper Engadin Valley. Pontresina is a noted tourist destination in its own right, but is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor St. Moritz.

[edit] History and name

The city was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as pontem sarasinam (1137) and ponte sarracino (1303). Some historians translate it as The Bridge of the Saracens and see in it a reference to a tenth-century Arab invasion of the lands that later became Switzerland.

[edit] External links