Saint-Léonard, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Saint-Léonard is a municipality
in the district of Sierre in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
. The Saint-Léonard underground lake
situated there is a tourist attraction.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 9.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 13.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.3% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, 13.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.6% is used for growing crops and 4.6% is pastures, while 36.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 2.8% is unproductive vegetation and 1.5% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district. The original haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) was located on the left side of the Lienne and along the right side of the Rhone
valley. By the middle of the 20th Century, it had spread out into the valley floor.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure, issuant from Coupeaux Vert a Pine tree of the same trunked proper between in chief two Mullets of Five Or.
Most of the population speaks French
(1,741 or 93.0%) as their first language, German
is the second most common (53 or 2.8%) and Portuguese
is the third (38 or 2.0%). There are 20 people who speak Italian
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 864 Swiss men (41.3% of the population) and 155 (7.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 912 Swiss women (43.6%) and 163 (7.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 987 or about 52.7% were born in Saint-Léonard and lived there in 2000. There were 531 or 28.4% who were born in the same canton, while 117 or 6.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 191 or 10.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 24.5% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%.
, there were 718 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 973 married individuals, 103 widows or widowers and 78 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 712 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 169 households that consist of only one person and 54 households with five or more people. , a total of 680 apartments (91.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 51 apartments (6.9%) were seasonally occupied and 9 apartments (1.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.61%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
rock carving
at Crête Des Barmes is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 36.76% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(31.46%), the SP
(15.06%) and the SVP
(9.58%). In the federal election, a total of 1,053 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 72.6%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 355. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 40, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 87 of which 20 or (23.0%) were in manufacturing, 21 or (24.1%) were in mining and 45 (51.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 228. In the tertiary sector; 67 or 29.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 7.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 39 or 17.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 10 or 4.4% were in the information industry, 11 or 4.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 8 or 3.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 3 or 1.3% were in education and 54 or 23.7% were in health care.
, there were 223 workers who commuted into the municipality and 656 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.1% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 11 individuals (or about 0.59% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 20 individuals (or about 1.07% 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
. 31 (or about 1.66% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 64 individuals (or about 3.42% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 178 who completed tertiary schooling, 65.2% were Swiss men, 27.5% were Swiss women, 3.4% were non-Swiss men and 3.9% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 18 students in Saint-Léonard who came from another municipality, while 131 residents 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....
. The Saint-Léonard underground lake
Saint-Léonard underground lake
Saint-Léonard underground lake is located at Saint Léonard in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. With a length of 300 and a width of 20 m it is the largest underground lake in Europe. It was discovered in 1943 by Jean-Jacques Pittard...
situated there is a tourist attraction.
History
Saint-Léonard is first mentioned in 1218 as apud Sanctum Leonardum. The municipality was formerly known by its German name St. Leonhard, however, that name is no longer used.Geography
Saint-Léonard has an area, , of 3.9 square kilometre. Of this area, 1.83 square kilometre or 46.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.6 square kilometre or 15.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.11 square kilometre or 28.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.15 km² (37.1 acre) or 3.8% is either rivers or lakes and 0.17 square kilometre or 4.4% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 9.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 13.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.3% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, 13.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.6% is used for growing crops and 4.6% is pastures, while 36.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 2.8% is unproductive vegetation and 1.5% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Sierre district. The original haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) was located on the left side of the Lienne and along the right side 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...
valley. By the middle of the 20th Century, it had spread out into the valley floor.
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 Pine tree of the same trunked proper between in chief two Mullets of Five Or.
Demographics
Saint-Léonard has a population of . , 13.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 10.7%. It has changed at a rate of 8% due to migration and at a rate of 2.7% 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...
(1,741 or 93.0%) 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 (53 or 2.8%) 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 (38 or 2.0%). There are 20 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 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 864 Swiss men (41.3% of the population) and 155 (7.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 912 Swiss women (43.6%) and 163 (7.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 987 or about 52.7% were born in Saint-Léonard and lived there in 2000. There were 531 or 28.4% who were born in the same canton, while 117 or 6.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 191 or 10.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 24.5% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 60.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%.
, there were 718 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 973 married individuals, 103 widows or widowers and 78 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 712 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 169 households that consist of only one person and 54 households with five or more people. , a total of 680 apartments (91.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 51 apartments (6.9%) were seasonally occupied and 9 apartments (1.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.61%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
rock carving
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
at Crête Des Barmes is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss 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...
.
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 36.76% 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....
(31.46%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(15.06%) 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...
(9.58%). In the federal election, a total of 1,053 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 72.6%.
Economy
, Saint-Léonard had an unemployment rate of 3.6%. , there were 69 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 94 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 15 businesses in this sector. 287 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 46 businesses in this sector. There were 892 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.5% 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 355. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 40, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 87 of which 20 or (23.0%) were in manufacturing, 21 or (24.1%) were in mining and 45 (51.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 228. In the tertiary sector; 67 or 29.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 7.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 39 or 17.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 10 or 4.4% were in the information industry, 11 or 4.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 8 or 3.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 3 or 1.3% were in education and 54 or 23.7% were in health care.
, there were 223 workers who commuted into the municipality and 656 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.1% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,688 or 90.2% were Roman Catholic, while 46 or 2.5% 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...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 11 individuals (or about 0.59% 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 20 individuals (or about 1.07% 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...
. 31 (or about 1.66% 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 3.42% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Saint-Léonard about 645 or (34.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 178 or (9.5%) 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 178 who completed tertiary schooling, 65.2% were Swiss men, 27.5% were Swiss women, 3.4% were non-Swiss men and 3.9% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 18 students in Saint-Léonard who came from another municipality, while 131 residents attended schools outside the municipality.