The oldest evidence of civilisation in the region of Serfaus dates from the
Bronze Age. The remains of a 3200-year-old fireplace on the Komperdell, a nearby high alpine meadow, indicates that the area was used as a pasture or hunting ground. More archaeological research was undertaken at the "Zienerbichl" (a distinctive hill in the south-west of Serfaus), revealing traces of the period
Late Antiquity and from the
Middle Ages. Pre-Roman field names and some traces of the Celts bear witness to the early settlers of this region. Ancient historians described the area as
Raetia and its inhabitants as
Raeti. However, with the conquest of the area by the
Romans in about 15 BC the Roman and Raetic cultures began to mix, creating the
Romansh people. The
Romansh language, which is still spoken in some parts of the Swiss
Canton Graubünden, has survived in many of the regional field names. In the 6th century the German-speaking
Bavarii started to inhabit the plateau, gradually displacing
Romansh from everyday communication. The village itself was first officially mentioned in the 11th century. The towns of
See and
Kappl in the
Paznaun valley were partly settled via Serfaus. Up to 1891 See was also part of the rectory of Serfaus, which explains why there is still a graveyard for citizens of See in the village of Serfaus. Other important cultural landmarks include the pilgrimage church of St. Georgen. Built in the Middle Ages it is one of the oldest churches in the region. During the 19th century tourism started to flourish in Tyrol and after the
Second World War tourism became the main source of income for the village. In 1942 fourteen houses were destroyed by a fire, which left 16 families (a total of 89 people) homeless and caused about worth of damage. The village was rebuilt after the Second World War, also allowing the new buildings more space in contrast to the old layout of a clustered Romansh village. To cope with the increased traffic due to growing tourism in the region, Serfaus banned private traffic in winter in the 1970s. For the transportation of guests (and especially skiers) a bus service was established. In order to provide an even quieter and more environmentally friendly means of transportation from the entrance of the town through to the cable-car station, the small
underground train system, the
Dorfbahn Serfaus went into operation in 1985. The use of the underground is free-of-charge and along its 1280m-long route it has four stops (Parkplatz, Kirche, Zentrum (formerly named Raika), Seilbahn) and can transport up to 1500 people per hour. == Demographics ==