Chur is situated at a height of 1949 feet above sea level, on the right bank of the torrent Plessur, just as it issues from the valley Schanfigg, and about a mile above its junction with the Rhine, almost entirely surrounded by the Alps, overshadowed by the Mittenberg (northeast) and Pizoggel (southwest), hills that guard the entrance to the deep-cut valley Schanfigg.