The Julierpass in summer - Graubünden / Zwitserland

The Julier Pass (Romansh: Pass dal Güglia, German: Julierpass, Italian Passo del Giulia) (elev. 2284 m) is a mountain pass in the Albula Alps of Switzerland. It connects the Engadin valley with central Graubünden. At its summit, the pass crosses the drainage divide between the basins of the rivers Rhine and Danube.

The Julier Pass lies between the towns of Bivio to the west and Silvaplana to the east. It is part of the Swiss N29 national road, but does not require a vignette (road tax sticker). The pass was heavily used in the Roman era and contains the most artifacts of Roman roads of any location in Graubünden. The modern road was built between 1820 and 1828. Between 1935 and 1940, the Julier Pass became the first Swiss alpine road paved with asphalt.

The Julier Pass is the most important northern entrance to the Engadin valley and one of three such paved road passes, the others being the Albula Pass and the Flüela Pass.

The Julier Pass was in regular use during the Bronze and Iron Ages. It saw heavy traffic in the Roman era, evidenced by the countless coins and remains of Roman roads discovered in the region; it has the most artifacts of the Roman roads of any location in the canton. Two monumental soapstone columns flank the modern pass road at its summit; excavations in the 1930s revealed that the columns were part of a Roman sanctuary.

Historically, the Julier Pass competed with the shorter but steeper Septimer Pass. Together, the two passes made up the Obere Strasse (lit. 'upper road'), which continued northwards via Lenzerheide to Chur, and southwards via the Maloja Pass. During the Roman era, the Julier and Septimer Passes were roads suitable for two-wheeled carts, the largest vehicles able to negotiate the steep slopes, and it is theorized that carts were sent over the Julier Pass when loaded and over the Septimer Pass when empty. At the time, the less-developed Splügen Pass was only suitable for pack animals.

The Julier Pass lost importance in 1387, when a small road over the Septimer Pass was built. In 1473, the path through the Viamala was expanded, and the Obere Strasse was no longer preferred for transalpine travel. The Viamala was part of the Untere Strasse (lit. 'lower road'), which ran via the Splügen Pass and San Bernardino Pass. Thus, in the High and Late Middle Ages, the Julier Pass was mainly used to provide access to the upper Engadin, Bernina Pass, and Fuorn Pass.This shift led the Bishop of Chur, who controlled the Obere Strasse, to acquire Thusis and Heinzenberg from the Counts of Werdenberg, giving him control of the Untere Strasse and a monopoly over the passes of the Three Leagues.

In the first millennium, the passes of Graubünden were controlled by a patchwork of feudal lords. By the second millennium, transport over the passes was operated by six cooperatives called Porten or Rodgenossenschaften. The Porten were commercial enterprises which transported goods for a fee. They were also responsible for maintaining the passes and roads and would work with local towns and governments to improve road infrastructure. The Porten, as associations of teamsters (Fuhrleute), also functioned similarly to guilds, with 3500 members by the late 18th century. Goods had to be offloaded and re-loaded onto new carts or pack animals for each Port that transported them, with the result that goods moving from Chur to Chiavenna or Bellinzona had to be off- and re-loaded no less than six times. Despite this inefficiency, the Porten of the Untere Strasse were the preferred transalpine route, ahead of the Gotthard and Brenner, except in times of war, until they were overtaken by the Brenner Pass in the early 19th century. By that point, large, efficient horse-drawn vehicles could cross the Brenner, allowing a single teamster to transport 30 Zentner (3000 pounds) of goods. In Graubünden, road conditions were still so poor that only pack animals or two-wheeled carts could cross the passes.