Raetia ( or , , also spelled
Rhaetia) was a
province of the
Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian (
Raeti or
Rhaeti) people. It bordered on the west with the
country of the
Helvetii, on the east with
Noricum, on the north with
Vindelicia, on the west with
Transalpine Gaul and on south with
Venetia et Histria. It thus comprised the districts occupied in modern times by eastern and central
Switzerland (containing the
Upper Rhine and
Lake Constance), southern
Bavaria and the
Upper Swabia,
Vorarlberg, the greater part of
Tirol, and part of
Lombardy. Later Vindelicia (today south-eastern Wuerttemberg and south-western Bavaria) formed part of Raetia. The northern border of Raetia during the times of Augustus and Tiberius was the River Danube. Later the
Limes Germanicus marked the northern boundary , stretching for 166 km north of the Danube. Raetia linked to Italy across the Alps over the
Reschen Pass, by the
Via Claudia Augusta. The
Romansh people living in Southeast Switzerland are believed to be direct descendants of the Raetians. However, the exact lineage of the Romansh (or Romansch) people remains incomplete.
