Binn
Encyclopedia
Binn is a municipality
in the district of Goms in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
The Binn valley is known for its rich mineral
deposits, some types of which are unique to the area. The notable Lengenbach Quarry
is in Binn.
This village in the Swiss Alps
is located at an elevation of 1400 m (4,593.2 ft). It consists of the village of Schmidigehischere and the hamlets
of Ze Binne, Wilere, Giesse and Fäld as well as part of the pilgrimage
site of Heiligkreuz in the Leng valley.
Geisspfadsee
and Züesee are located in the municipality.
The Lengenbach Quarry (LGB) is noted among the mineralogical community for its unusual sulfosalt specimens.
The mineralogy has been studied for nearly 200 years. Lengenbach is the type locality
for 29 minerals.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure, issuant from Coupeaux Vert a triple (papal) Cross Or between in Chief two Greek Crosses of the same.
Most of the population speaks German
(152 or 98.1%) as their first language, Italian
is the second most common (2 or 1.3%) and French
is the third (1 or 0.6%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 52.1% male and 47.9% female. The population was made up of 72 Swiss men (50.7% of the population) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 66 Swiss women (46.5%) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 85 or about 54.8% were born in Binn and lived there in 2000. There were 32 or 20.6% who were born in the same canton, while 26 or 16.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 10 or 6.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 23.2%.
, there were 65 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 76 married individuals, 10 widows or widowers and 4 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.52 which is less people per room than the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 79.1% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 69 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 25 households that consist of only one person and 4 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 72 households that answered this question, 34.7% were households made up of just one person. Of the rest of the households, there are 19 married couples without children, 19 married couples with children There were 2 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 87 single family homes (or 61.3% of the total) out of a total of 142 inhabited buildings. There were 37 multi-family buildings (26.1%), along with 8 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.6%) and 10 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.0%).
, a total of 67 apartments (35.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 97 apartments (51.9%) were seasonally occupied and 23 apartments (12.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.53%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The entire village of Schmidigehischere and the hamlet of Fäld are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 70.68% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(19.75%), the SP
(7.1%) and the FDP
(2.47%). In the federal election, a total of 49 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 41.9%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 48 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 4.2% were invalid. The voter participation was 43.2%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 49 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 41.9%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 39. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 6, all of which were in manufacturing. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 26. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 7.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 18 or 69.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 1 was in education.
, there were 6 workers who commuted into the municipality and 33 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.1% used a private car.
. 5 (or about 3.23% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 5 individuals (or about 3.23% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is October during which time Binn receives an average of 125 mm (4.9 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 8.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 11.2, but with only 122 mm (4.8 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 70 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation over 9.3 days.
). Of the 12 who completed tertiary schooling, 75.0% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 7 students in the Binn school system. The education system
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Binn there was one class and 7 students in the primary school. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Binn attend their school in a neighboring municipality. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 5 students from Binn who attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Goms in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
The Binn valley is known for its rich mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
deposits, some types of which are unique to the area. The notable Lengenbach Quarry
Lengenbach Quarry
The Lengenbach Quarry is located in the Binn Valley and it is noted among the mineralogical community for its unusual sulfosalt specimens.-Location:...
is in Binn.
Geography
Binn has an area, , of 65 square kilometre. Of this area, 25.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 16.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 57.0% is unproductive land.This village in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
is located at an elevation of 1400 m (4,593.2 ft). It consists of the village of Schmidigehischere and the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Ze Binne, Wilere, Giesse and Fäld as well as part of the pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
site of Heiligkreuz in the Leng valley.
Geisspfadsee
Geisspfadsee
Geisspfadsee is a lake in Valais, Switzerland. Its surface area is 0.18 km². The lake is located in the municipality of Binn, at an elevation of 2439 m. It drains into Züesee . The nearby border to Italy can be crossed at two mountain passes: Geisspfadpass and Grampielpass ....
and Züesee are located in the municipality.
Lengenbach quarry
The mineralogy has been studied for nearly 200 years. Lengenbach is the type locality
Type locality (geology)
Type locality , also called type area or type locale, is the where a particular rock type, stratigraphic unit, fossil or mineral species is first identified....
for 29 minerals.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Azure, issuant from Coupeaux Vert a triple (papal) Cross Or between in Chief two Greek Crosses of the same.
Demographics
Binn has a population of . , 2.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -17.4%. It has changed at a rate of -22.1% due to migration and at a rate of 2.9% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(152 or 98.1%) as their first language, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
is the second most common (2 or 1.3%) and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
is the third (1 or 0.6%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 52.1% male and 47.9% female. The population was made up of 72 Swiss men (50.7% of the population) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 66 Swiss women (46.5%) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 85 or about 54.8% were born in Binn and lived there in 2000. There were 32 or 20.6% who were born in the same canton, while 26 or 16.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 10 or 6.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 23.2%.
, there were 65 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 76 married individuals, 10 widows or widowers and 4 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.52 which is less people per room than the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 79.1% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 69 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 25 households that consist of only one person and 4 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 72 households that answered this question, 34.7% were households made up of just one person. Of the rest of the households, there are 19 married couples without children, 19 married couples with children There were 2 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 87 single family homes (or 61.3% of the total) out of a total of 142 inhabited buildings. There were 37 multi-family buildings (26.1%), along with 8 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.6%) and 10 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.0%).
, a total of 67 apartments (35.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 97 apartments (51.9%) were seasonally occupied and 23 apartments (12.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.53%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Bogenbrücke (Bridge) with the chapel of St. Anton is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The entire village of Schmidigehischere and the hamlet of Fäld are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 70.68% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(19.75%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(7.1%) and the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(2.47%). In the federal election, a total of 49 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 41.9%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland)
In Switzerland, Conseil d'Etat is the name of the council constituting the cantonal government of French-speaking cantons. It is not to be confused with the Conseil des États which is a chamber of the Swiss parliament....
election a total of 48 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 4.2% were invalid. The voter participation was 43.2%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
Swiss Council of States election, 2007
Elections were held to the Council of States of Switzerland in October and November 2007 as part of the 2007 federal election. All 46 members of the Council of States were elected from all cantons of Switzerland. The first round was held on 21 October...
election a total of 49 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 41.9%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Binn had an unemployment rate of 0.2%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 7 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 2 businesses in this sector. 32 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 9 businesses in this sector. There were 71 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.4% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 39. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 6, all of which were in manufacturing. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 26. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 7.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 18 or 69.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 1 was in education.
, there were 6 workers who commuted into the municipality and 33 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.1% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 135 or 87.1% were Roman Catholic, while 10 or 6.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. 5 (or about 3.23% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 5 individuals (or about 3.23% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Binn has an average of 109.9 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1085 mm (42.7 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is October during which time Binn receives an average of 125 mm (4.9 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 8.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 11.2, but with only 122 mm (4.8 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 70 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation over 9.3 days.
Education
In Binn about 45 or (29.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 12 or (7.7%) have completed additional higher education (either University or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 12 who completed tertiary schooling, 75.0% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 7 students in the Binn school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Binn there was one class and 7 students in the primary school. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Binn attend their school in a neighboring municipality. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 5 students from Binn who attended schools outside the municipality.
External links
- http://www.binn.ch
- All information about the famous Binntal sulfosalt quarry