Tarasp

Tarasp is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Its eleven settlements are situated within the Lower Engadin valley along the Inn River, at the foot of the Sesvenna Range. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol. Originally a Romansh language area, the majority of the population today speaks High Alemannic German. Unlike the surrounding municipalities, the Tarasp parish is mainly Catholic. Primitive grinding stones known as Schalensteine or Hexensteine were found in the Tarasp area. This indicates that Stone Age food processing happened in the area. However, there are no records or indications of settlements in the area until the 11th century. The Lordship of Tarasp Castle was established in the 11th century and for centuries claimed by the Bishopric of Chur and the Counts of Tyrol. After the Lords of Tarasp had become extinct, their estates became a Tyrolean fief in 1239.