Saas-Grund
Encyclopedia
Saas-Grund is a municipality
in the district of Visp in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
. It lies east of Lenzspitze
and Dom.
Saas-Grund has an area, , of 24.6 square kilometre. Of this area, 11.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 75.2% is unproductive land.
The municipality is located in the Visp district. It consists of the village of Saas-Grund, the hamlets
of Unter dem Berg and Ze Laubinu and portions of the hamlets of Tamatten and Unter den Bodmen.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Vert, a bend wavy Argent in chief three Billets Or one and two, in base a Chapel Argent and a Billet Or.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,068 or 91.5%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
is the second most common (35 or 3.0%) and Albanian
is the third (35 or 3.0%). There are 3 people who speak French
, 11 people who speak Italian
.
Of the population in the municipality, 713 or about 61.1% were born in Saas-Grund and lived there in 2000. There were 210 or 18.0% who were born in the same canton, while 73 or 6.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 137 or 11.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 24.8% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.3%.
, there were 484 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 597 married individuals, 64 widows or widowers and 22 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 417 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 91 households that consist of only one person and 32 households with five or more people. , a total of 387 apartments (55.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 277 apartments (39.6%) were seasonally occupied and 35 apartments (5.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.7 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.4%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
It has a gondola up to the Kreuzboden (2400 m (7,874 ft), in two sections) and Hohsaas
(3200 m (10,498.7 ft)).
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 59.14% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(21.5%), the SVP
(15.63%) and the SP
(2.21%). In the federal election, a total of 465 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 57.7%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 679 votes were cast, of which 28 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 85.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 464 votes were cast, of which 8 or about 1.7% were invalid. The voter participation was 57.9%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 349. 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 64 of which 15 or (23.4%) were in manufacturing and 50 (78.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 266. In the tertiary sector; 34 or 12.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 36 or 13.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 35.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 4.1% were the insurance or financial industry, 13 or 4.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 12 or 4.5% were in education and 50 or 18.8% were in health care.
, there were 117 workers who commuted into the municipality and 271 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 22.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 43.7% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 35 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 3.00% of the population), and there were 30 individuals (or about 2.57% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 76 (or about 6.51% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 1 individual who belonged to another church. 15 (or about 1.29% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 44 individuals (or about 3.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 54 who completed tertiary schooling, 70.4% were Swiss men, 13.0% were Swiss women, 9.3% were non-Swiss men.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 201 students in the Saas-Grund 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 2 kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and 26 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Saas-Grund there were a total of 6 classes and 100 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. There were 101 lower secondary students who attended school in Saas-Grund. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 166 students in Saas-Grund who came from another municipality, while 22 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Saas-Grund is home to the Schul- und Gemeindebibliothek Saas Grund (municipal library of Saas-Grund). The library has 5,277 books or other media, and loaned out 9,058 items in the same year. It was open a total of 118 days with average of 8 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 Visp 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....
. It lies east of Lenzspitze
Lenzspitze
The Lenzspitze is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It is the southernmost peak on the Nadelgrat, a high-level ridge running roughly north–south, north of Dom in the Mischabel range, above the resort of Saas Fee to the east, and the Mattertal to the west.It was first climbed in August...
and Dom.
Geography
The municipality is located in the Visp district. It consists of the village of Saas-Grund, 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 Unter dem Berg and Ze Laubinu and portions of the hamlets of Tamatten and Unter den Bodmen.
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 Vert, a bend wavy Argent in chief three Billets Or one and two, in base a Chapel Argent and a Billet Or.
Demographics
Saas-Grund has a population of . , 12.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of -10.2%. It has changed at a rate of -10.4% due to migration and at a rate of -0.2% 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....
(1,068 or 91.5%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
is the second most common (35 or 3.0%) and Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
is the third (35 or 3.0%). There are 3 people who speak 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 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...
.
Of the population in the municipality, 713 or about 61.1% were born in Saas-Grund and lived there in 2000. There were 210 or 18.0% who were born in the same canton, while 73 or 6.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 137 or 11.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 24.8% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.3%.
, there were 484 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 597 married individuals, 64 widows or widowers and 22 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 417 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 91 households that consist of only one person and 32 households with five or more people. , a total of 387 apartments (55.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 277 apartments (39.6%) were seasonally occupied and 35 apartments (5.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.7 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.4%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sports
It is the starting point for a small independent ski area which is also part of the combined Saastal ski region, albeit connected to the other parts of the region by postal bus, rather than dedicated skilifts.It has a gondola up to the Kreuzboden (2400 m (7,874 ft), in two sections) and Hohsaas
Hohsaas
Hohsaas is a cable car station and a ski area in the Pennine Alps above Saas Grund in Valais.Although Hohsaas is not a mountain summit it still offers impressive views over the Dom on the Mischabel range and 18 four-thousand meters mountains, including the Weissmies which is easily accessible from...
(3200 m (10,498.7 ft)).
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 59.14% 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....
(21.5%), 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...
(15.63%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(2.21%). In the federal election, a total of 465 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 57.7%.
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 679 votes were cast, of which 28 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 85.1%, 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 464 votes were cast, of which 8 or about 1.7% were invalid. The voter participation was 57.9%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Saas-Grund had an unemployment rate of 2.2%. , there were 45 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 68 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 13 businesses in this sector. 335 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 61 businesses in this sector. There were 591 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 349. 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 64 of which 15 or (23.4%) were in manufacturing and 50 (78.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 266. In the tertiary sector; 34 or 12.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 36 or 13.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 35.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 4.1% were the insurance or financial industry, 13 or 4.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 12 or 4.5% were in education and 50 or 18.8% were in health care.
, there were 117 workers who commuted into the municipality and 271 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 22.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 43.7% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 943 or 80.8% were Roman Catholic, while 38 or 3.3% 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 35 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 3.00% of the population), and there were 30 individuals (or about 2.57% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 76 (or about 6.51% 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 1 individual who belonged to another church. 15 (or about 1.29% 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 44 individuals (or about 3.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Saas-Grund about 406 or (34.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 54 or (4.6%) 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 54 who completed tertiary schooling, 70.4% were Swiss men, 13.0% were Swiss women, 9.3% were non-Swiss men.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 201 students in the Saas-Grund 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 2 kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and 26 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Saas-Grund there were a total of 6 classes and 100 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. There were 101 lower secondary students who attended school in Saas-Grund. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 166 students in Saas-Grund who came from another municipality, while 22 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Saas-Grund is home to the Schul- und Gemeindebibliothek Saas Grund (municipal library of Saas-Grund). The library has 5,277 books or other media, and loaned out 9,058 items in the same year. It was open a total of 118 days with average of 8 hours per week during that year.