Imagine having to switch off your engine at a cantonal border and horses pulling your car for the rest of your journey. This is what happened in Graubünden, eastern Switzerland, for a quarter of a century: between 1900 and 1925 the canton held out against the automobile, writing a unique chapter in European transport history. It all ended at the cantonal border. Instead of stepping on the accelerator, drivers had to watch as two strong oxen or horses were harnessed in front of their vehicle. Only as a team were they allowed to head for their destination in canton Graubünden. What sounds like a scene from a bizarre comedy was a reality between 1900 and 1925 in Switzerland’s largest holiday region. While the rest of Europe was already revelling in the thrill of speed, the voters of Graubünden stubbornly stuck to a total ban on cars – and made Graubünden a “European one-off”. ‘Smelly and noisy monsters’ The phenomenon of the Graubünden car ban is therefore also an example of the …