With over thirty geometrically arranged menhirs, numerous cup stones and a length of over 400 metres, the prehistoric cultural site at the entrance to the Graubünden Oberland village of Falera is the largest and most important of its kind in Switzerland. A short walk over hill and dale with a wonderful view gives you an insight into the astronomy, mathematics and cult of the Bronze Age inhabitants.
The meadow and forest area between the large visitor car park and the historic church of St. Remigius, which includes both the megalithic site and the site of a prehistoric settlement, has been declared the Parc La Mutta Falera archaeological centre. However, it is not a park in the usual sense: cows still graze between the impressive boulders; there are no asphalt paths, solid fences or extensive signage. The only thing that has been done is information boards at the village entrance and ten discreetly designed signs in the area, which provide information about the interesting menhirs, megaliths, stone rows and cup stones in the form of an educational trail.
Many of the stones, erected between 1600 and 1200 BC (Middle Bronze Age), evidently served as calendars and still indicate the summer and winter solstices today. The most important row of stones consists of six column-like stones between one and three meters high and evenly spaced.
The menhirs of the main alignment show the sunrise 30 days before and 30 days after the summer solstice, i.e. around May 21st and July 21st, and the sunset around November 11th and February 2nd. The so-called moon arrow stone is particularly fascinating, as it points to the exact position in the sky where an almost complete solar eclipse took place on December 25th, 1089 BC at 10:17 a.m. More detailed information about the individual stones can be found at www.parclamutta.falera.net .
But of course there are still unexplained occurrences: for example, the smiling human face carved into a boulder remains a mystery. Although intensive research has been carried out over the past thirty years, not all of the connections have been clarified.
Terms
megalith
Big stone (Greek: mega = big, lithos = stone)
Menhir
Stone placed along the longitudinal axis (Celtic/Breton = long stone)
Schalenstein
Stone or rock surface with man-made bowl-shaped depressions
Location
Falera is located on a sunny terrace in the canton of Graubünden, twenty minutes by car from Chur and ninety from Zurich.
By car
Take the A3/A13 motorway to Chur or the San Bernardino route and take the Reichenau exit (number 18). You can also reach the region via the Lukmanier or Oberalp passes. At the beginning of Falera there is a large car park that you can use - Falera itself is a car-free town.
By train
Take the train to Chur. There, change to the post bus to Flims, Laax and Falera. The same applies if you arrive in Ilanz with the Rhaetian Railway.
Access / Contact
Accessible at any time.
For individual visitors, descriptions are available on the overview boards, which can be borrowed for the tour (information material and a map can also be printed out from the website). Anyone who would like more detailed explanations can join one of the numerous guided tours until mid-October of each year or book a special tour.
www.parclamutta.falera.net
Phone: 081 921 30 30
