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The Walser are German -speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German Dialect s) that live in the Alps of Switzerland , Italy , Liechtenstein and Austria . The Walser people are called for the Wallis (Valais), the uppermost Rhône River valley. The Walser settled the upper part of the Wallis about 1000 years ago, coming from the Bernese Oberland . Because of linguistic differences among the Walser dialects, it is supposed that there were two independent immigration routes. From the upper Wallis, they began to spread south, west and east between the 12th and 13th centuries, which is known as the Walser migrations. REASONS FOR THE WALSER MIGRATIONS Different theories try to explain why the Walser left the Wallis between the 12th and 13th centuries. Some think that the large ''Walser'' migrations took place because of conflicts with the valley's feudal lords. Other theories say it was because of overpopulation. Other theories say that they were reinforced by the respective local authorities in order to settle previously unpopulated regions. CHARACTERISTICS OF WALSER SETTLEMENTS The main characteristics of Walser settlements are the Walser German dialects. It is also typical that they are located in a very high altitude in remote valleys that had not been settled before. Although this is often believed, there is not only one type of Walser houses. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION In ; Valsertal ( Vals , St. Martin ); Safiental ( Valendas , Versam , Tenna , Safien ); Rheinwald ( Medels , Nufenen , Splügen , Sufers , Hinterrhein , Avers ); Schanfigg ( Arosa , Langwies ); Albula ( Mutten , Schmitten , Wiesen ); Landquart ( Davos , Klosters , Furna , Says , St. Antönien , Valzeina ). In ); Formazza/Pomatt, Macugnaga ( Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province ); Alagna Valsesia , Rima San Giuseppe, Rimella (Sesia Valley or Valsesia, in Vercelli Province ). In , including Saminatal and Malbun. In (Blons, Fontanella, Raggal, St. Gerold, Sonntag, Thüringerberg), Kleinwalsertal (Mittelberg), Brandnertal (Brand), Montafon (Silbertal), Reintal (Laterns), Tannberg (Schröcken, Lech, Warth), all in Vorarlberg ; and in Paznauntal (Galtür), in Tyrol . Additionally, Walser communities are reportedly found in Haute-Savoie , France (Vallorcine, in the Chablais ), where the local Walser dialect is no longer spoken, and in the Berner Oberland (or Bernese Highlands), Switzerland (Grimseljoch-Sustenpass area, Lauterbrunnen , Mürren , etc.), where the local Walser dialect has assimilated to the (likewise Highest Alemannic ) dialects of the Berner Oberland. EXTERNAL LINK |