Scuol () is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into Scuol.
Name
The official name has undergone several changes in the 20th century: Until 1943, the official name of the municipality was Schuls. In 1943, it was changed to Bad Scuol/Schuls. In 1970 Schuls was dropped as an official name, leaving only Bad Scuol. In 1999 Bad was dropped, leaving today's name, Scuol.
History
Scuol is first mentioned in 1095 as Schulles. At the end of the 11th and in the 12th century, the lords of Tarasp owned extensive estates in Scuol. In 1095/1096 their family founded a Marian monastery in Scuol and endowed it richly. In 1150 the monastery was moved to Marienberg in the Vinschgau valley. In 1178 Pope Alexander III confirmed all of the monastery's possessions in Scuol, including the church.
The village was destroyed in the Swabian War of 1499; in 1516 Bernardo da Poschiavo built a new church. Circa 1533 Scuol became Protestant. In 1621/1622 the village was devastated by Austrian troops; in 1652 it bought its freedom from Austria.
From circa 1860 onwards, the healing springs of Scuol were used on a larger scale and the time of spa tourism began. During the following decades, the bath house and numerous hotels were built between the two old parts of the village. The opening of the Bever–Scuol line of the Rhaetian Railway in 1913 stimulated further growth.
With the advent of winter sports in the middle of the 20th century, the second era of tourism in Scuol began. After the gondola lift to Motta Naluns (1956), numerous chairlifts and surface lifts were constructed. The spa tradition was revived in 1993 with the opening of the Bogn Engiadina ("Engadine bath"), including the first Roman-Irish bath in Switzerland.
The Neo-Renaissance style Grand Hotel Waldhaus Vulpera in Scuol-Tarasp with Sgraffito-Elements was opened on 8 June 1897. It was one of the first addresses in the Swiss Alps and a major Belle Époque monument in Europe.
Geography
After the 2015 merger Scuol had an area of . Before the merger Scuol had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 26.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and 46.1% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .
The whole southern face towards Piz Champatsch on is being used as a skiing area called "Motta Naluns", named after a place north of Scuol. The resort has 80 kilometers of slopes and 12 lifts (aerial cableway/ chair lifts / drag lifts).
Before 2017 it was the municipality is the capital of the Inn district and was located in the Suot Tasna sub-district, after 2017 it was part of the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region. It is a well known spa town and vacation spot and is the business center of the Unterengadin valley. It is the largest village on the left side of the Inn river. It consists of the village of Scuol with the section Pradella and the old mining village of S-charl. Until 1970 Scuol was known as Scuol/Schuls.
The God da Tamangur ("the forest back there") is the highest continuous stone pine (pinus cembra) forest in Europe, right at the furthest end of the Val S-charl, south of Scuol. The forest nature reserve covers an area of about at up to in elevation. Due to the altitude and weather, the trees grow very slowly and may live up to 700 years.
Demographics
Scuol has a population (as of ) of . , 23.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1.4%.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. The age distribution, , in Scuol is; 220 children or 10.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 106 teenagers or 5.0% are 10 to 14, and 139 teenagers or 6.6% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 248 people or 11.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 334 people or 15.7% are 30 to 39, 306 people or 14.4% are 40 to 49, and 278 people or 13.1% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 201 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 154 people or 7.3% are 70 to 79, there are 115 people or 5.4% who are 80 to 89, and there are 21 people or 1.0% who are 90 to 99.