tion. As mass tourism expanded after the Second World War, more and more people wanted to drive to ski resorts in cars. Grisons, once anti- car, was now ready. Canton of bypasses Switzerland’s second-ever stretch of motorway was built in the Rhine Valmotorway was built in the Rhine Valley between Trimmis and Landquart in 1958, while the first road tunnel through the Alps, between Hinterrhein and San Bernardino, was inaugurated on 1 December 1967 – 13 years before the Gotthard. Simon Bundi’s research shows how pioneering road infrastructure was even celebrated on postcards, bearing testimony to Grison’s proactive policy on personal mobility. Without cars, the canton’s economic transformation into a tourist destination would have been unthinkable. But more road traffic meant that the anti-car lobby at the beginning of the 20th century may have had a point. Towns and villages turned into traffic bottlenecks, leading to air pollution, noise and an increased risk of road accidents. Grison’s approach, both then and now, has been to build additional roads that bypass residential areas. “Grisons is the canton of bypasses,” says Bundi. “No other canton has so many of them. Usually costing a lot of money, they help to funnel people into the tourist destinations more quickly.” One thing has not changed in Grisons since the end of the car ban: traffic levels continue to rise, and a large proportion of traffic originates from outside the canton. Motorists are feeling the squeeze in urban areas, with no more than half of households in cities like Berne and Zurich still owning their own car. Yet four wheels remains the mode of choice for people travelling into the mountains. Congestion at the busy Landquart motorway junction has become the norm on sunny winter Sundays. Left: The tone of the argument against cars was, at least for a while, very reflective of the class struggle. Photo provided Right: Picture taken from the air during the construction of the Küblis bypass. As it makes clear, Grisons is also the land of bypasses. Photo provided Balts Nill: GR! 2025, Lokwort Verlag, Bern, 24 pages. Über «Stinkkarren» und «Modespielzeuge». Ein Lehrstück zur Schweizer Demokratie. Simon Bundi, Isabelle Fehlmann, Flurina Graf, Christoph Maria Merki, Kurt Möser: Das Jahrhundert des Automobils. Graubünden 1925 bis 2025. Institut für Kulturforschung Graubünden. 2025, AS Verlag, Zurich Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 18 Report
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