Icogne
Encyclopedia
Icogne 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 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.8%. Out of the forested land, 27.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.2% is used for growing crops and 3.4% is pastures and 10.8% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 1.5% is in lakes and 0.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 12.0% is unproductive vegetation and 37.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district, between Ayent
to the west and Lens to the east and on the left bank of the Lienne river. It consists of the village of Icogne and a portion of the ski resort of Crans-Montana
. In 1905 it separated from Lens and became an independent municipality.
The reservoir Lac de Tseuzier
is located on the border with Ayent
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Argent issuant from Coupeaux vert three Pine-trees of the same trunked proper on a chief Azure a Mullet of Five Or and an Edelweiss of the first seeded of the last.
Most of the population speaks French
(364 or 90.1%) as their first language, German
is the second most common (21 or 5.2%) and Italian
is the third (8 or 2.0%).
, the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 195 Swiss men (39.4% of the population) and 44 (8.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 211 Swiss women (42.6%) and 45 (9.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 172 or about 42.6% were born in Icogne and lived there in 2000. There were 95 or 23.5% who were born in the same canton, while 56 or 13.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 63 or 15.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 19.1% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.8%.
, there were 134 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 219 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 25 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 177 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 57 households that consist of only one person and 7 households with five or more people. , a total of 166 apartments (31.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 346 apartments (65.5%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.05%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SP
which received 32.14% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(28.09%), the SVP
(14.96%) and the Green Party
(11.76%). In the federal election, a total of 234 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 62.2%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 191 votes were cast, of which 25 or about 13.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 50.5%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 230 votes were cast, of which 12 or about 5.2% were invalid. The voter participation was 61.7%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 80. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 6, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 35 of which 5 or (14.3%) were in manufacturing and 30 (85.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 39. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 5.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 35.9% were in a hotel or restaurant and 1 was in the information industry.
, there were 11 workers who commuted into the municipality and 140 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 12.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 70.8% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 3 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.74% of the population). There were 2 individuals (or about 0.50% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 2 (or about 0.50% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
. 26 (or about 6.44% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 18 individuals (or about 4.46% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 66 who completed tertiary schooling, 34.8% were Swiss men, 31.8% were Swiss women, 22.7% were non-Swiss men and 10.6% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 62 students from Icogne 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 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
Icogne is first mentioned in 1233 as Ucogni. In 1249 it was mentioned as Ucogniez.Geography
Icogne has an area, , of 24.8 square kilometre. Of this area, 3.6 square kilometre or 14.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.7 square kilometre or 31.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.61 square kilometre or 2.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.57 square kilometre or 2.3% is either rivers or lakes and 12.5 square kilometre or 50.4% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.8%. Out of the forested land, 27.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.2% is used for growing crops and 3.4% is pastures and 10.8% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 1.5% is in lakes and 0.8% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 12.0% is unproductive vegetation and 37.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district, between Ayent
Ayent
Ayent is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:The Ayent area is first mentioned in 1052 as Agent. In 1250 it was mentioned as Argenta.-Geography:...
to the west and Lens to the east and on the left bank of the Lienne river. It consists of the village of Icogne and a portion of the ski resort of Crans-Montana
Crans-Montana
Crans-Montana is a ski resort in western Switzerland, in the heart of the Swiss Alps in the canton of Valais. It is located on a plateau above Sierre at an elevation of about 1500 m above sea level, allowing good view over the Valais Alps and Weisshorn in particular...
. In 1905 it separated from Lens and became an independent municipality.
The reservoir Lac de Tseuzier
Lac de Tseuzier
Lac de Tseuzier is an artificial lake in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is located in the municipalities of Ayent and Icogne. The reservoir has a volume of 51 mio m³ and a surface area of 0.85 km². It was formed by the dams of Zeuzier and Proz-Riond built in 1957.-External links:***...
is located on the border with Ayent
Ayent
Ayent is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:The Ayent area is first mentioned in 1052 as Agent. In 1250 it was mentioned as Argenta.-Geography:...
.
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 Argent issuant from Coupeaux vert three Pine-trees of the same trunked proper on a chief Azure a Mullet of Five Or and an Edelweiss of the first seeded of the last.
Demographics
Icogne has a population of . , 17.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 8.6%. It has changed at a rate of 16% due to migration and at a rate of -1.1% 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...
(364 or 90.1%) 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 (21 or 5.2%) and 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 third (8 or 2.0%).
, the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 195 Swiss men (39.4% of the population) and 44 (8.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 211 Swiss women (42.6%) and 45 (9.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 172 or about 42.6% were born in Icogne and lived there in 2000. There were 95 or 23.5% who were born in the same canton, while 56 or 13.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 63 or 15.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 19.1% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.8%.
, there were 134 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 219 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 25 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 177 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 57 households that consist of only one person and 7 households with five or more people. , a total of 166 apartments (31.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 346 apartments (65.5%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.05%.
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 SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 32.14% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(28.09%), 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...
(14.96%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(11.76%). In the federal election, a total of 234 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 62.2%.
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 191 votes were cast, of which 25 or about 13.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 50.5%, which is similar to 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 230 votes were cast, of which 12 or about 5.2% were invalid. The voter participation was 61.7%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Icogne had an unemployment rate of 2%. , there were 13 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 8 businesses involved in this sector. 36 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 9 businesses in this sector. 44 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 10 businesses in this sector. There were 202 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.1% 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 80. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 6, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 35 of which 5 or (14.3%) were in manufacturing and 30 (85.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 39. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 5.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 35.9% were in a hotel or restaurant and 1 was in the information industry.
, there were 11 workers who commuted into the municipality and 140 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 12.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 70.8% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 326 or 80.7% were Roman Catholic, while 26 or 6.4% 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 3 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 0.74% of the population). There were 2 individuals (or about 0.50% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 2 (or about 0.50% 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 was 1 person who was 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...
. 26 (or about 6.44% 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 18 individuals (or about 4.46% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Icogne about 145 or (35.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 66 or (16.3%) 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 66 who completed tertiary schooling, 34.8% were Swiss men, 31.8% were Swiss women, 22.7% were non-Swiss men and 10.6% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 62 students from Icogne who attended schools outside the municipality.