Grisons
Switzerland's largest canton hosts three languages including endangered Romansh—St. Moritz luxury and Davos WEF create elite tourism while sparse population preserves Alpine isolation.
Canton of Grisons (Graubünden) constitutes Switzerland's largest canton by area—sparsely populated Alpine territory where three national languages (German, Romansh, Italian) coexist. The trilingual character creates cultural complexity unique even within multilingual Switzerland.
St. Moritz and Davos anchor luxury tourism; the World Economic Forum's annual Davos meeting generates global attention disproportionate to the town's permanent population. This elite positioning creates employment and infrastructure that mass tourism destinations don't provide.
Romansh—Switzerland's fourth national language—survives primarily in Grisons valleys. Language preservation efforts maintain cultural heritage that modernization elsewhere eliminated. The tension between preservation and integration shapes educational and cultural policy.
Grisons demonstrates how mountain geography creates simultaneous isolation and opportunity: valleys that limited historical development now attract those seeking escape from density. Whether remote work transforms Grisons from seasonal destination to year-round residence will determine demographic trajectory.