Monthey
Encyclopedia
Monthey is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.6% of the area Out of the forested land, 40.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.6% is used for growing crops and 4.8% is pastures and 16.2% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.5% is in lakes and 1.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.1% is unproductive vegetation and 1.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is the capital of the Monthey District. This urban center of the Chablais region is located on an alluvial fan of the Vieze on the left bank of the Rhone
, at the entrance to Val d'Illiez and the Pas de Morgins which leads to Val d'Abondance. It consists of the town of Monthey, the villages of Outrevièze and Choëx and exclaves in Collombey-Muraz
. Monthey is located on the west side of the Rhone
valley, south to the Leman Lake.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or, issuant from coupeaux Vert an Oak tree proper leaved and fructed of the second.
Most of the population speaks French
(11,856 or 85.1%) as their first language, Italian
is the second most common (520 or 3.7%) and Portuguese
is the third (430 or 3.1%). There are 295 people who speak German
and 7 people who speak Romansh.
, the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 5,515 Swiss men (33.6% of the population) and 2,539 (15.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 6,171 Swiss women (37.5%) and 2,212 (13.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 4,611 or about 33.1% were born in Monthey and lived there in 2000. There were 2,769 or 19.9% who were born in the same canton, while 2,508 or 18.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 3,586 or 25.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.6%.
, there were 5,724 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,463 married individuals, 836 widows or widowers and 910 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 5,949 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 2,161 households that consist of only one person and 340 households with five or more people. , a total of 5,697 apartments (80.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,058 apartments (14.9%) were seasonally occupied and 339 apartments (4.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.24%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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the most popular party was the CVP
which received 26.33% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(23.4%), the SVP
(21.95%) and the SP
(18.09%). In the federal election, a total of 4,267 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 47.5%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 3,342 votes were cast, of which 261 or about 7.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 37.0%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 4,131 votes were cast, of which 413 or about 10.0% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.8%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
, with the former chemical company Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis
, Syngenta
and Cimo) and the metallurgical company Giovanola
, there is an oil refinery in Collombey-Muraz, near Monthey. The city is close to the famous winter sports region, the Portes du Soleil
.
This city is also home to Bolliger & Mabillard
, world-famous roller coaster
designers.
, Monthey had an unemployment rate of 6.7%. , there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 25 businesses involved in this sector. 3,420 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 146 businesses in this sector. 5,453 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 616 businesses in this sector. There were 6,788 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.8% of the workforce.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 7,689. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 19, of which 15 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3,330 of which 2,062 or (61.9%) were in manufacturing and 696 (20.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 4,340. In the tertiary sector; 1,087 or 25.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 125 or 2.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 287 or 6.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 69 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 156 or 3.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 405 or 9.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 203 or 4.7% were in education and 1,504 or 34.7% were in health care.
, there were 5,264 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,700 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 3.7% of the workforce coming into Monthey are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 7.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.7% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 163 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 1.17% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 335 individuals (or about 2.40% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 8 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 744 (or about 5.34% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 28 individuals who were Buddhist
, 10 individuals who were Hindu
and 15 individuals who belonged to another church. 888 (or about 6.37% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 725 individuals (or about 5.20% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 1,361 who completed tertiary schooling, 53.6% were Swiss men, 28.7% were Swiss women, 11.1% were non-Swiss men and 6.6% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 256 students in Monthey who came from another municipality, while 389 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Monthey is home to the Médiathèque de Monthey library. The library has 41,818 books or other media, and loaned out 95,847 items in the same year. It was open a total of 265 days with average of 20 hours per week during that year.
with:
Tübingen
, Germany
Ivrea
, Italy
Diekirch
, Luxembourg
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
The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 as Montez At the 13th century, the counts of Savoy owned the village and its area. In 1352, the count Amédée VI gave more freedom to the inhabitants. During the first part of the 14th century, there were several industries including silk production and grinding mills.Geography
Monthey has an area, , of 28.6 square kilometre. Of this area, 7.86 square kilometre or 27.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.91 square kilometre or 45.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.47 square kilometre or 19.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.43 square kilometre or 1.5% is either rivers or lakes and 1.91 square kilometre or 6.7% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.6% of the area Out of the forested land, 40.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.6% is used for growing crops and 4.8% is pastures and 16.2% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.5% is in lakes and 1.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.1% is unproductive vegetation and 1.6% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is the capital of the Monthey District. This urban center of the Chablais region is located on an alluvial fan of the Vieze on the left bank of 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...
, at the entrance to Val d'Illiez and the Pas de Morgins which leads to Val d'Abondance. It consists of the town of Monthey, the villages of Outrevièze and Choëx and exclaves in Collombey-Muraz
Collombey-Muraz
Collombey-Muraz is a municipality in the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. There is an oil refinery in the town.-History:Collombey is first mentioned in 1263 as de Columberio...
. Monthey is located on the west side of the Rhone
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
valley, south to the Leman Lake.
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 Or, issuant from coupeaux Vert an Oak tree proper leaved and fructed of the second.
Demographics
Monthey has a population of . , 29.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 17.5%. It has changed at a rate of 16.2% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% 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...
(11,856 or 85.1%) 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 (520 or 3.7%) 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 (430 or 3.1%). There are 295 people who speak 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....
and 7 people who speak Romansh.
, the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 5,515 Swiss men (33.6% of the population) and 2,539 (15.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 6,171 Swiss women (37.5%) and 2,212 (13.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 4,611 or about 33.1% were born in Monthey and lived there in 2000. There were 2,769 or 19.9% who were born in the same canton, while 2,508 or 18.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 3,586 or 25.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.6%.
, there were 5,724 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,463 married individuals, 836 widows or widowers and 910 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 5,949 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 2,161 households that consist of only one person and 340 households with five or more people. , a total of 5,697 apartments (80.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,058 apartments (14.9%) were seasonally occupied and 339 apartments (4.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.24%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sport and Culture
In winter 2005, Monthey was chosen to be the host of the EYOF (European Youth Olympic FestivalEuropean Youth Olympic Festival
European Youth Olympic Festival, known by its initials EYOF, is a biennial multi-sport event for youth athletes from the 48 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. EYOF has a summer edition, held for the first time in Brussels in 1991, and a winter edition, which began...
)
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 26.33% 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....
(23.4%), 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...
(21.95%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(18.09%). In the federal election, a total of 4,267 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 47.5%.
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 3,342 votes were cast, of which 261 or about 7.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 37.0%, 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 4,131 votes were cast, of which 413 or about 10.0% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.8%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
Monthey is important to Swiss industryEconomy of Switzerland
The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Its policy of long-term monetary security and political stability has made Switzerland a safe haven for investors, creating an economy that is increasingly dependent on a steady tide of foreign investment...
, with the former chemical company Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
, Syngenta
Syngenta
Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...
and Cimo) and the metallurgical company Giovanola
Giovanola
Giovanola Freres SA was one of the prominent thrill ride manufacturers in the world. It was well-known for thrill rides and also built electrical power stations, water storage tanks, pipelines, highway bridges, and many other steel products. The company started out as a small metal forging shop,...
, there is an oil refinery in Collombey-Muraz, near Monthey. The city is close to the famous winter sports region, the Portes du Soleil
Portes du Soleil
Les Portes du Soleil is a major skisports destination in the northern French alps encompassing thirteen resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland...
.
This city is also home to Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...
, world-famous roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
designers.
, Monthey had an unemployment rate of 6.7%. , there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 25 businesses involved in this sector. 3,420 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 146 businesses in this sector. 5,453 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 616 businesses in this sector. There were 6,788 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.8% 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 7,689. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 19, of which 15 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3,330 of which 2,062 or (61.9%) were in manufacturing and 696 (20.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 4,340. In the tertiary sector; 1,087 or 25.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 125 or 2.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 287 or 6.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 69 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 156 or 3.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 405 or 9.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 203 or 4.7% were in education and 1,504 or 34.7% were in health care.
, there were 5,264 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,700 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 3.7% of the workforce coming into Monthey are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 7.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.7% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 9,790 or 70.3% were Roman Catholic, while 1,381 or 9.9% 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 163 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 1.17% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who belonged 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 335 individuals (or about 2.40% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 8 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 744 (or about 5.34% 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 28 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...
, 10 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...
and 15 individuals who belonged to another church. 888 (or about 6.37% 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 725 individuals (or about 5.20% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Monthey about 4,644 or (33.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,361 or (9.8%) 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 1,361 who completed tertiary schooling, 53.6% were Swiss men, 28.7% were Swiss women, 11.1% were non-Swiss men and 6.6% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 256 students in Monthey who came from another municipality, while 389 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Monthey is home to the Médiathèque de Monthey library. The library has 41,818 books or other media, and loaned out 95,847 items in the same year. It was open a total of 265 days with average of 20 hours per week during that year.
Famous inhabitants
- Cycling: Steve MorabitoSteve MorabitoSteve Morabito is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .- Palmares :2006**...
, born in Monthey - Cinema: Pierre-Yves BorgeaudPierre-Yves Borgeaud-Biography:Born August 25, 1963 in Monthey, Switzerland, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud has a bachelor’s degree in arts at the Lausanne University in 1990, with a thesis about the influence of jazz on French writers . He has worked as an independent journalist, writing about music and moving images in...
- Football: Philippe PottierPhilippe PottierPhilippe Pottier was a Swiss footballer.-External links:*...
- Amusement: Bolliger & Mabillard
Twin towns — Sister cities
Monthey is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Diekirch
Diekirch
Diekirch is a commune with city status in north-eastern Luxembourg, capital city of the canton Diekirch and the district of Diekirch. The city is situated on the banks of the Sauer river....
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...