Ilanz (Romansch Glion), the "first town on the Rhine", situated in the valley of the Vorderrhein, is the market town of the surrounding district of Surselva. The town first appears in the records in 765, when the first church of St Martin was built. In 1395 it became the nucleus of the "Gray League"
formed by the Abbot of Disentis together with the local feudal lords and peasants. The people of the Grisons were granted freedom of religious belief following a conference held in St Margaret's church in 1526.