Alvaneu ('' Romansh: Alvagni'') is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of

Alvaschein Alvaschein ( Romansh: Alvaschagn) is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzaul ...

, Mon,

Stierva Stierva is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava merged to form ...

Tiefencastel Tiefencastel ( rm, Casti) is a village and a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/ ...

, Alvaneu,

Brienz/Brinzauls Brienz/Brinzauls ''( Romansh: Brinzauls)'' is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/B ...

and

Surava Surava is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava merged to fo ...

merged to form the new municipality of

Albula/Alvra Albula/Alvra is a municipality in the Albula Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava merged to form the new ...

.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013 On 20 March 2007 Peter Martin Wettler, a media expert and resident of Zurich was appointed Prince of Belfort by the village's authorities.

History

Alvaneu is first mentioned in 1244 as ''Aluenude''. In 1530 it was mentioned as ''Allweneü''.

Geography

Before the merger, Alvaneu had a total area of . Of this area, 27% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (38.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The former municipality is located in the Belfort sub-district of the Albula district. It is located on a terrace above the Albula river. It consists of the village of Alvaneu (''Alvaneu-Dorf'') and Alvaneu-Bad on the valley floor. The municipality also includes the settlement of Aclas d'Alvagni as well as the alpine settlements of Creusch and Ramoz.

Demographics

Alvaneu had a population (as of 2013) of 403. , 7.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -6.2%. In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 42% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (25.1%), the

SPS SPS may refer to: Law and government * Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO * NATO Science for Peace and Security * Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy * The Standard Procurement System, fo ...

(22.8%) and the FDP (7.9%). In Alvaneu about 69.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). Alvaneu has an unemployment rate of 0.27%. , there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 37 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 124 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 23 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009

Languages

The traditional language of the population until the middle of the 19th century was Romansh. However, in 1880, only 80.1% of the inhabitants spoke Romansch as their native language. This erosion continued (1910: 68.06%, 1941: 56.0%, 1970: 47.03%). 1960 was the last census that counted a Romansch-speaking majority. Although 31% still speak some Romansch, German is now the only official language for municipality business. Most of the population () speaks German (76.4%), with Rhaeto-Romance being second most common (16.9%) and Italian being third ( 3.5%).

References

External links

Gemeinde Alvaneu
��official site of the municipality
Bad Alvaneu
��thermal baths * {{Authority control Albula/Alvra Former municipalities of Graubünden