How the relocation works A village gives up - why Brienz no longer sees a future
Many inhabitants of Brienz/Brinzauls GR no longer see a future in their village. They have registered for permanent resettlement. What does that mean in concrete terms?
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- Several residents of Brienz/Brinzauls GR have decided to relocate due to the acute risk of landslides.
- The municipality is offering three voluntary relocation options.
- The village will remain evacuated over the winter, as geologists believe that a landslide could still reach parts of the valley within seconds.
A large proportion of the people of Brienz have given up hope of ever being able to return to their landslide-prone village in the canton of Graubünden. They have registered for permanent resettlement.
Those affected had until September 30 to register with the municipality of Albula to be resettled as quickly as possible. The municipality announced on Thursday that it had received 40 more applications than expected.
These registrations relate to 95 apartments in 45 buildings. Although most of them are second homes and vacation homes, the municipality estimates that a good 35 residents also want to give up their homes and relocate.
Only a few are holding on to hope
Before the evacuation in November 2024, the village had 90 inhabitants. Almost 30 of these have since moved away permanently or died. This means that only a small proportion of the existing population still has hope of ever returning to the village.
The preventive relocation is voluntary. The aim is to create security before an emergency occurs. Those affected who have registered can choose between three options:
Three ways out of the danger zone
- Option A: Those who opt for option A can build a new house or buy an apartment within the canton of Graubünden - for example in Chur, Lenzerheide or another safe location.
The compensation is based on the value of the previous house: building value (current value and new value), land value (CHF 270 per square meter in Brienz) and dismantling costs for demolition and restoration of the property.
These values determine how much support someone receives. However, the money is only paid out once the old building has been completely demolished and the land transferred to the municipality. - Option B: Option B is aimed at anyone who does not want to build a new house. Instead, they receive compensation for their house and land and move into a rented apartment, for example.
This option is the most flexible and can be implemented the quickest because it hardly involves any conditions. Those who opt for this option receive the so-called minimum amount - i.e. the minimum eligible compensation.
Here too, the land in Brienz/Brinzauls is taken over by the municipality and later rezoned as agricultural land. - Option C: Option C is probably the most emotional of the three options. The municipality of Albula/Alvra is planning new building zones specifically for the people of Brienz - in Vazerol West, Tiefencastel Cumpogna and Alvaneu Faderna.
This is where those who had to give up their old village could live in future - a "new Brienz" in the same valley, so to speak.
The principle also applies here: 90 percent of the costs are covered. However, the land is not simply compensated, but reallocated. Preference is given to first-time residents, i.e. those who have lived in Brienz permanently.
However, this option is more complex: it requires a partial revision of the local planning, which is expected to be completed in 2026. Only then can construction begin in the new zones.
Dismantling the abandoned buildings
The costs for the relocation will be borne 90 percent by the federal government and the canton. What will happen to the abandoned buildings is currently unclear. According to the federal forest law, they would actually have to be demolished.
However, the federal government has left a loophole for buildings of monumental value. This could apply in Brienz because it is a site of regional importance, explained spatial planner Roland Tremp at an information event for those affected on Wednesday. He heads the working group for the resettlements.
The municipality wants to try to preserve "a village worth living in" for the remaining residents of Brienz. A decision on what Brienz will look like in the future cannot be made until next spring at the earliest, according to municipal president Daniel Albertin.
Evacuation remains in place over winter
The evacuation of the village will remain in place. The pile of rubble at the top still poses a danger to the village, even if this is not visible to the naked eye, said geologist Reto Thöny at the information event.
According to computer simulations, in a worst-case scenario, a landslide could reach the railroad line and the cantonal road within 90 seconds. A debris avalanche could also reach the Albula river.
However, the municipal management team wants to allow those affected access to the village on a daily basis as often as possible during the winter months and allow farmers to cultivate their meadows. However, access times will be shortened due to the shorter days. From November 1, access will only be permitted from 9 am to 5 pm. It is forbidden to spend the night in the village.
Sliding movement since the ice age
The village of Brienz/Brinzauls is part of the municipality of Albula/Alvra in Central Grisons, which merged in 2015. Brienz/Brinzauls lies on a sunny terrace on the road linking Lenzerheide to Davos at an altitude of around 1150 meters.
The village has been on the move since time immemorial: The entire terrace has probably been sliding downhill since the last ice age. Over the past 100 years, Brienz/Brinzauls has moved a few centimetres per year. In the last twenty years, however, the slide has accelerated considerably: Currently, the movement is around one meter per year.
The slopes above the village have also been moving for 140 years: In 1877, rock masses of around 13 million cubic meters began to slide down the valley to the north-east of the village. As the landslide - now known as the "Igl Rutsch" - was relatively slow and took place over several weeks, no people were injured.
With material from the Keystone-SDA news agency
