Andiast () 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

Surselva Region Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton.Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of Graubünden. Until 1943, it was known as Andest.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 23 September 2009 Lying close to the ski resorts of

Waltensburg/Vuorz Waltensburg/Vuorz is a former municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and Waltensburg/Vuorz merged into the municipality of Breil/Brigels. History ...

and

Breil/Brigels Breil/Brigels is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and Waltensburg/Vuorz merged into the municipality of Breil/Brigels. The name of the municipality c ...

, Andiast is known for its winter sports. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Andiast and

merged into the municipality of

History

The area around Andiast was already inhabited in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

, as was confirmed by an archaeological dig in 1962. The first mention of the area is documented in 765 in the will of a Bishop Tello when it was mentioned as ''Andeste''. On September 8, 1526, Andiast was separated from the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and became an independent parish. It was influenced by the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, and in contrast to its parent parish, Andiast stayed Catholic. On October 8 and 9, 1799, the population was involved in the wars of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The French troops had driven Russian General

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

with his starving troops over the Alps in storm and snow. They staggered over the

Panixer Pass Panix Pass or Panixer Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass dil Veptga'', German: ''Panixerpass'') (2404 m) is a Swiss Alpine pass between the cantons of Glarus and Graubünden. The pass was once an important trade route between the canton of Glarus and Ital ...

and plundered the village.

Coat of arms

The description of the municipal coat of arms is ''Gules St. Julitta clad Or holding a downpointed sword Argent handled of the second leading a child''. The coat of arms represents the village church which is

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

to St. Julietta and the old village seal.

Geography

Andiast has an area, , of . Of this area, 42.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 26.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (29.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Ruis sub-district of the Surselva district, after 2017 it was part of the Surselva Region.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz - Mutationsmeldungen 2016
accessed 16 February 2017 It consists of the

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...

of Andiast at an elevation of on the southern face of the

Tödi The Tödi (), is a mountain massif and with the mountain peak Piz Russein the highest mountain in the Glarus Alps and the highest summit in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It is located on the border between the cantons of Graubünden, to the ...

mountain chain.

Demographics

Andiast has a population (as of ) of . , 4.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -13.1%. Most of the population () speaks Romansh (85.8%), with German being second most common (12.9%) and French being third ( 0.4%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 02-Dec-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 52.7% male and 47.3% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Andiast is; 35 children or 15.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 30 teenagers or 12.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 16 people or 6.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 30 people or 12.9% are between 30 and 39, 24 people or 10.3% are between 40 and 49, and 25 people or 10.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 25 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 37 people or 15.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 10 people or 4.3% who are between 80 and 89.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 42.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (33.1%), the SVP (20%) and the SP (3.7%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Andiast about 62.7% 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 ...

''). Andiast has an unemployment rate of 0.51%. , there were 39 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 11 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 constructi ...

and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 21 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 8 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

References

External links

Official Web site
* {{Authority control Breil/Brigels Former municipalities of Graubünden