Brienz/Brinzauls (Romansh: Brinzauls) is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava merged to form the new municipality of Albula/Alvra. The majority of the population is German-speaking, with a large Romansh-speaking minority. History Brienz/Brinzauls is first mentioned around 840 as Brienzola. By the 12th century the village was an economic center for the Bishop of Chur. The Lords of Brienz were first mentioned as the owners of a fortified tower in the village in 1259. The tower fell in ruin and was demolished in 1880. Until 1851, the village was part of the Herrschaft of Belfort. Between 1869 and 1883 Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava were united into a single political municipality. In 1874, a fire damaged or destroyed much of the village. The village church was first mentioned in 840. In 1519 St. Calixtus became the patron saint of this church. In 1526 it separated from the parish of Lantsch/Lenz to become a parish. In 1725 Surava separated from Brienz/Brinzauls to form its own parish. In 1870-73 the Landwasserstrasse was built which helped connect the village to the rest of the country. Beginning in the 1960s the number of local farmers began to drop, however agriculture still remains important. In 1990, about 43% of all jobs in the municipality were in agriculture. In 1860 the entire population spoke Romansh. By 1990 it had dropped to only 58%. Geography Before the merger, Brienz/Brinzauls had a total area of . Of this area, 22.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 50.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (24.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The village is located north of the Albula River on the road from Lenzerheide to Davos. It is a Haufendorf (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) on a terrace to the north and above the Albula river It consists of the village of Brienz/Brinzauls and the hamlet of Vazerol at the Julier Pass. Until 1996 Brienz/Brinzauls was known as Brienz (GR). Demographics Brienz/Brinzauls had a population (as of 2013) of 128. , 1.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -12.6%. Most of