The Meanderings of Rivers and Roads – An Old Postcard from Hinterrhein

“What I like most of all are the wonderful country roads—where I walk for hours, sometimes toward the Bernardino, sometimes all the way up to the top of the Splügen Pass—without needing to watch my footing.”

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche enjoyed his stay in the Rheinwald valley around 1872. However, he would have been well advised to watch his step—at the latest—when ascending the Commercialstrasse beyond the small village of Hinterrhein toward the summit of the San Bernardino Pass. The road winds in tight hairpin bends and has served as a busy thoroughfare ever since its opening in 1823.

The serpentine route of the Commercialstrasse is clearly visible on a postcard dating from 1910—even if it does not appear quite as dramatic as the curves of the Hinterrhein, which at that time still meandered relatively freely.

Those interested in what else photographer Domenic Mischol from Schiers captured in Hinterrhein can find out more on site: the photograph is part of the Postkartengalerie Kabinetli exhibition in the historic Kabinet house, located not far from the village church.