Mustér ([muˈʃteː]ⓘ, Romansh) or Disentis (German), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons.
The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is the site of one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland.
[3] The name Disentis is supposed to come from Latin Desertina, used for the deserted valley in late antique times, while the Romansh name Mustér refers to the monastery.
Situated on the road to the Lukmanier pass used by the German emperors on their way to Italy, Disentis became a place of international importance in the high Middle Ages and the prince abbot of Disentis was the lord of the Rhine valley.
In the later Middle Ages, the farmer communities in the valleys became stronger and the influence of the monastery decreased, but the abbot of Disentis still played an important role in the founding of the Grey League in 1395.
When the Grey League became a formal ally of the Swiss Confederation in 1497, Disentis, at the foot of the Oberalp pass which was the nearest connection to the confederation, was again in a strategically important situation, but later on it was overtaken in importance by the larger Ilanz.
Of the rest of the land, 1.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (54.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).
It also plays an important role as cultural center through the high school of the monastery.
The Basilica of S. Gada, Disentis Abbey, the Chapel of S. Luzi in Disla, the Chapel of S. Maria in Acletta and the Punt Russein bridge (shared with Sumvitg) are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
[4] The historical population is given in the following table:[3] From the 2000 census[update], 1,954 or 90.0% are Roman Catholic, while 79 or 3.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
[12] The municipality has four railway stations: Disentis/Mustér, Acla da Fontauna, Segnas, and Mumpé Tujetsch.