Coire

Coire (Coira, Cuera, Chur), the Roman Curia Rhaetorum, is the capital of the Swiss canton of the Grisons, in the Upper Rhine valley, on a fertile plain in the valley of the Plessur, and about a mile and a half from the confluence of the Plessur and the Rhine, lying beneath the Mittenberg and the Pizokelberg. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is the transit trade between Germany and Italy, but there are also cotton, woollen, leather, and pewter manufactures, as well as dye-works and breweries, and some trade in cattle and corn. The bishop's palace and the Catholic quarter occupy a height separated from the rest of the town by walls and gates. The eighth-century cathedral of St. Lucius contains the bones of that ancient British king, and has some good paintings and old carving. The town is upon the road to Italy over the Splugen Pass, and is frequented by tourists. The Romanisch language is spoken there.