DAVOS

(German), Romansh Tavau town, Graubnden canton, eastern Switzerland, consisting of two villages, Davos-Platz and Davos-Dorf, in the Davos Valley, on the Landwasser River, 5,118 ft (1,560 m) above sea level. Davis is mentioned in historical documents of 1160 and 1213; it was then inhabited by Romansh-speaking people, but later in the 13th century it was settled by German-speaking people from the upper Valais. In 1436 it became the capital of the League of Ten Jurisdictions or Courts (see Graubnden), but it belonged to Austria from 1477 to 1649. After the 1860s it became a fashionable health resort, and in the 20th century it was developed as a winter-sports centre of international reputation; the Parsenn run from 8,700 to 5,100 ft, served by a cable car, is one of the world's finest ski runs. Davos is also the site of the Swiss Alpine College (1946). The population is mainly German-speaking and Protestant. Pop. (1983 est.) 11,423.