Grône
Encyclopedia
Grône is a municipality
in the district of Sierre in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.5% of the area Out of the forested land, 58.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.5% is used for growing crops and 2.7% is pastures, while 5.1% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.4% is in lakes and 0.2% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 6.1% is unproductive vegetation and 2.0% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district. The main village lies in the Rhone
valley with about ten hamlets
in the hills above the village. The hamlets include Loye, Daillet, Itravers and Erdesson. Erdesson was formerly known as Merdesson, but the name was changed after it was rebuilt following a devastating fire in 1912. In the early history of the municipality, the village was often destroyed due to the Rhone floods, so the settlements in the hills were much more important. In 1292, both Grône and Loye were both municipalities.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure an Ibex rampant Argent on Coupeaux Vert.
Most of the population speaks French
(1,720 or 92.2%) as their first language, German
is the second most common (54 or 2.9%) and Portuguese
is the third (41 or 2.2%). There are 26 people who speak Italian
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 895 Swiss men (40.9% of the population) and 185 (8.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 923 Swiss women (42.2%) and 184 (8.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 860 or about 46.1% were born in Grône and lived there in 2000. There were 543 or 29.1% who were born in the same canton, while 189 or 10.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 221 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 25.1% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.4%.
, there were 736 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 956 married individuals, 94 widows or widowers and 80 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 744 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 198 households that consist of only one person and 52 households with five or more people. , a total of 727 apartments (67.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 290 apartments (27.1%) were seasonally occupied and 53 apartments (5.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 12.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.85%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 36.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(24.77%), the SP
(13.25%) and the SVP
(12.71%). In the federal election, a total of 904 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 62.3%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 926 votes were cast, of which 78 or about 8.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 64.9%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 894 votes were cast, of which 52 or about 5.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 62.1%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 343. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 18, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 141 of which 23 or (16.3%) were in manufacturing and 112 (79.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 184. In the tertiary sector; 34 or 18.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 32 or 17.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 19 or 10.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 2.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 4 or 2.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 49 or 26.6% were in education.
, there were 176 workers who commuted into the municipality and 699 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 4.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.4% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.38% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 12 individuals (or about 0.64% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
, and 18 (or about 0.96% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
and 3 individuals who were Hindu
. 73 (or about 3.91% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 64 individuals (or about 3.43% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 166 who completed tertiary schooling, 69.3% were Swiss men, 25.3% were Swiss women, 3.0% were non-Swiss men.
, there were 290 students in Grône who came from another municipality, while 73 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Grône is home to the Bibliothèque communale et scolaire library. The library has 9,786 books or other media, and loaned out 6,042 items in the same year. It was open a total of 174 days with average of 11 hours per week during that year.
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 Sierre 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....
.
History
Grône is first mentioned around 1001-1100 as in Gruona. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Grün, however, that name is no longer used.Geography
Grône has an area, , of 21.1 square kilometre. Of this area, 4.07 square kilometre or 19.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.56 square kilometre or 64.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.64 square kilometre or 7.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km² (32.1 acre) or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes and 1.7 square kilometre or 8.0% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.5% of the area Out of the forested land, 58.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.5% is used for growing crops and 2.7% is pastures, while 5.1% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.4% is in lakes and 0.2% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 6.1% is unproductive vegetation and 2.0% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district. The main village lies in the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
valley with about ten 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...
in the hills above the village. The hamlets include Loye, Daillet, Itravers and Erdesson. Erdesson was formerly known as Merdesson, but the name was changed after it was rebuilt following a devastating fire in 1912. In the early history of the municipality, the village was often destroyed due to the Rhone floods, so the settlements in the hills were much more important. In 1292, both Grône and Loye were both municipalities.
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 an Ibex rampant Argent on Coupeaux Vert.
Demographics
Grône has a population of . , 16.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 14.6%. It has changed at a rate of 13.9% due to migration and at a rate of 1.6% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks 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...
(1,720 or 92.2%) as their first language, 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....
is the second most common (54 or 2.9%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
is the third (41 or 2.2%). There are 26 people who speak 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...
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 895 Swiss men (40.9% of the population) and 185 (8.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 923 Swiss women (42.2%) and 184 (8.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 860 or about 46.1% were born in Grône and lived there in 2000. There were 543 or 29.1% who were born in the same canton, while 189 or 10.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 221 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 25.1% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.4%.
, there were 736 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 956 married individuals, 94 widows or widowers and 80 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 744 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 198 households that consist of only one person and 52 households with five or more people. , a total of 727 apartments (67.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 290 apartments (27.1%) were seasonally occupied and 53 apartments (5.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 12.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.85%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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 36.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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....
(24.77%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(13.25%) and 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...
(12.71%). In the federal election, a total of 904 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 62.3%.
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 926 votes were cast, of which 78 or about 8.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 64.9%, which is much more 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 894 votes were cast, of which 52 or about 5.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 62.1%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Grône had an unemployment rate of 4.2%. , there were 44 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 149 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 21 businesses in this sector. 242 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 54 businesses in this sector. There were 910 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.5% 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 343. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 18, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 141 of which 23 or (16.3%) were in manufacturing and 112 (79.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 184. In the tertiary sector; 34 or 18.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 32 or 17.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 19 or 10.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 2.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 4 or 2.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 49 or 26.6% were in education.
, there were 176 workers who commuted into the municipality and 699 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 4.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.4% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,628 or 87.2% were Roman Catholic, while 63 or 3.4% 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...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 0.38% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 12 individuals (or about 0.64% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 18 (or about 0.96% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and 3 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. 73 (or about 3.91% 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 64 individuals (or about 3.43% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Grône about 660 or (35.4%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 166 or (8.9%) 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 166 who completed tertiary schooling, 69.3% were Swiss men, 25.3% were Swiss women, 3.0% were non-Swiss men.
, there were 290 students in Grône who came from another municipality, while 73 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Grône is home to the Bibliothèque communale et scolaire library. The library has 9,786 books or other media, and loaned out 6,042 items in the same year. It was open a total of 174 days with average of 11 hours per week during that year.