It consists of two villages, Segl Maria (Romansh, German: Sils Maria; Seglias is part of Segl Maria) and Segl Baselgia (German: Sils Baselgia; Baselgia is Romansh for church); the Val Fex (German: Fextal); and three Maiensässe (Alpine pastures traditionally used for spring grazing): Grevasalvas, Blaunca and Buaira, above Plaun da Lej on the left side of the valley.
It is a combination of the historical village coats of arms, and represents the municipality's sunny, elevated location and the fish-filled Lake Sils.
In the Late Middle Ages, fishing was a major source of income: Salted and smoked trout were exported to Italy.
In the 19th century, numerous citizens of Sils/Segl emigrated; some of them returned wealthy and brought prosperity to the village.
The Waldhaus hotel was opened in 1908; among its guests were numerous artists, musicians, writers and philosophers.
[4] Located in the valley of Upper Engadine, Sils i.E./Segl nestles between Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana at the foot of Piz Corvatsch and Piz da la Margna and below the Val Fex, a valley in the south.
Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space increased by 6 ha (15 acres) and is now about 0.16% of the total area.
[13] Into the 19th century, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Putèr.
[7] In the second quarter of 2016 an average of 251 workers commuted from outside Switzerland to work in the municipality, representing a large minority of the employees.
The Furtschellas cable car begins near the village and leads to many ski runs and, in summer, to trails above the tree line.
Sils-Segl Maria features a cold subarctic climate (Dfc) on Köppen classification.
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche summered in Sils in 1881 and between 1883 and 1888, and the house he lived in – the Nietzsche-Haus – is now a small museum.
The area is the setting for much of the film Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloë Grace Moretz.
[21] Part of Coda (2019), starring Patrick Stewart, was also filmed there, in the countryside and at the Waldhaus Sils Hotel.