Chur
[key], Fr. Coire, Romansh Cuera, city,
capital of Grisons canton, E Switzerland, on the Plessur River. Chur is an
important transportation junction near the Rhine Valley. Chur's main
industry is tourism, but it is also an important trading center for wines
and synthetic ammonia. Chur was capital of the Roman province of Rhaetia. In
the 5th cent. it became an episcopal see; the bishops were later made
princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The temporal power of the prince-bishops
was limited (c.1465) by the townspeople and later, when the Reformation was
accepted (1524–26), ended altogether. The modern inhabitants are a
mix of Roman Catholic and Protestant. Outstanding buildings are a restored
8th-century church, the Renaissance episcopal palace, the cathedral (begun
12th cent.), and the Rhaetian Museum (of folklore). Most of the inhabitants
speak German, but there are Romansh- and Italian-speaking minorities. The
Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann was
born in Chur.
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