Over the whole vast area of the Alps there is no other furrow that is so extensive like the line between Chur and Martigny: Almost in a straight line the three valleys Vorderrheintal, Urserntal and Rhonetal divide the mountain ranges into the North and South Alps.
From old documents, one can conclude with certainty that around the year 1100 "Ursaria" (from Latin "ursus" = the bear) was a region which was only cultivated and settled during the summer season. As far as the top of the pass, this terrain belonged to the Benedictine monastery in Disentis, which had already been founded in isolation ("desertina") around 750. The countryside was then like nowadays very romanic, a characteristic which also the names of the old villages point out to. In 1309, two men, called Konrad "an der Matte" (father and son), appear in a pact - the linguistic approach to the village name Andermatt is not difficult to derive from this. These people, nevertheless, must have been of German-speaking origin: They came from the Goms, that is the upper part of the Rhône valley. It was obvious that they would continue to wander further eastwards. The crossing of the Oberalp with its gentle hills and slightly wavy pastures posed no difficulties. This is the reason why today the scientists are convinced that some large families from the upper part of the canton Valais settled in the front area of the Rhein valley: Tschamut seems to be directly linked with the the typical name from the canton Valais "Zmutt". Is it not amazing how interesting analysis of names can be: If the village Ruèras is called "Riferis" in 1402, it is not a complicated task to deduce that there is a connection to "Rüfi" (landslide) in this word, which is still at the present days kept off the houses by means of a dike that diverts the river of mud.
