Cultural hike: Langwies - Litzirüti

If you like to take it easy, you have chosen well. The hike from Litzirüti to Langwies is short, demands little, and offers a lot. There is plenty of time for looking, marveling, and enjoying. The highlight is the magnificent Langwieser Viaduct, the best-known attraction of the Arosa railway.

What does "Litzirüti" actually mean?

Hiking is experiencing landscape, nature, the past, and the present. Those on foot have the time to get familiar with their surroundings. The name Litzirüti, for example, reveals a lot about the place: "Litzi" means shady side – there is also the Sunnenrüti on the other side of the Plessur. The word "Rüti" comes from reuten or clearing. So you learn that the area of Litzirüti was once forested and then cleared to be used for agriculture. It was the Walser people who settled here in the Middle Ages, first in Davos and then in the area of Arosa, Langwies, and Litzirüti. That lies far back, but the Walser culture is still visible in the house constructions and audible in the language.

A forest walk along the railway

Our hike starts at Litzirüti station. You cross the road and follow the marked hiking trail to Langwies. At the first fork, take the lower path. Those wanting to reach the viaduct quickly cross the railway tracks soon and take the marked shortcut to Langwies. We take our time and stay on the forest road through the Ronenwald, passing experience stations of the elaborately designed learning trail "schutz.wald.mensch". Parallel runs the Arosa railway, which for over 100 years has brought travelers from Chur to Arosa and back. It is part of the landscape and shapes the lives of the people who live here. After Ronenwald, you reach the first clearing with a small farm and – after a short further walk through the forest – the second clearing right above the Langwieser Viaduct. Through the massive concrete supports of the viaduct, you look fascinated at the houses of Langwies. An impressive spectacle. Then follows the comfortable descent to the roaring Plessur. On the way, you encounter another cyclopean wooden installation of the learning trail. In the valley floor, after a few meters, you reach the first wooden bridge from where you can admire the 62 m high viaduct. You're lucky, the red train approaches from Langwies at a slow pace but quickly disappears behind tall spruces again. There was no time for a snapshot, but thanks to the regular timetable, another train will come soon. You sit on the wooden bench at the picnic site. The place couldn't be more fitting: the rushing stream, shade-giving trees, and the view of the viaduct, this masterpiece of engineering that has fascinated travelers for over one hundred years. The Langwieser Viaduct remains one of the most photographed subjects of the Rhaetian Railway. After a lengthy rest under the viaduct, a short climb to Langwies station remains. The next train will come soon.

Author: Hansjürg Gredig, ZHAW Life Sciences and Facility Management

A rest just below the Langwieser Viaduct

Author: Hansjürg Gredig, ZHAW Life Sciences and Facility Management