Village Square, Water Springs and Bellevue in Scuol

26 July 2021

The water springs in Scuol (Graubünden, Lower Engadin/Unterengadin) and other villages are often the centres of a square surrounded by houses. The springs had a social (meeting place) and a domestic (water consumption) function.

Many springs also have a composition of minerals that are beneficial to health. In the region, this has been known or suspected for centuries. However, the application for tourism purposes in spas and baths only developed from the middle of the 19th century onwards. Bellevue, built around 1900, is an example, as are many other villages in Graubünden (and other cantons in Switzerland).

The mineral springs have copper plates with their composition on them. Viva, the Romansh  expression for ‘cheers or ‘to your health’.