Avers ( rm, Avras; wae, Òòver(s), , ) is a high

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

valley region and a

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

Viamala Region Viamala Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It had an area of and a population of (as of ).. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the Canton. Merger ...

in the

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. It includes

Juf Juf () is a village in the municipality of Avers in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland. At above sea level, it is historically the highest village with permanent residents in Europe, as well as one of its coldest localities. As of 2016, Juf had ...

, the highest-altitude year-round settlement in Europe.

History

Avers is first mentioned in 1292 as ''Anue'' or ''Avre''. In 1354 it was mentioned as ''Auers''.

Geography

Avers has an area, , of . Of this area, 50% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (44%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The following villages are part of the municipality: Campsut (and Maxsut, ), Cröt (), Cresta (), Pürt (), Am Bach (), Juppa (), Podestatsch Hus () and

(). Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Hinterrhein district and is the capital and only municipality in the Avers sub-district, after 2017 it was part of the Viamala Region. It includes the Jufer valley, the Averser branch of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

as well as the side valleys of Madris and Bergalga.

Demographics

Despite being surrounded by Romansh speaking areas and the Italian speaking side valley of Valle di Lei, the people here speak German due to the

Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named a ...

immigrants that settled the higher and remote valleys in Graubünden after migrating from the west. Their culture can be followed on a multi-day hike through all of the Canton of Graubünden, called the ''Walserweg''. Avers has a population (as of ) of . , 4.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -9.1%. , the gender distribution of the population was 46.5% male and 53.5% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Avers is; 28 people or 17.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 7 people or 4.4% are 10 to 14, and 5 people or 3.1% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 8 people or 5.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 22 people or 13.8% are 30 to 39, 27 people or 16.9% are 40 to 49, and 15 people or 9.4% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 18 people or 11.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 21 people or 13.1% are 70 to 79, there are 8 people or 5.0% who are 80 to 89, and there is 1 person or 0.6% who is 90 to 99.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 70.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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 ...

(19%), the CVP (5.8%) and the FDP (4.7%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Avers about 66.6% 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 ...

''). Avers has an unemployment rate of 1.56%. , there were 51 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 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 is 1 business in this sector. 31 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 12 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

Languages

German is spoken by the vast majority of the population and is the only official language of the municipality. 93.8% of the population speaks German, with Romansh being second most common ( 1.9%) and Italian being third ( 1.3%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 02-Oct-2009

Heritage sites of national significance

The Reformed Church in Avers is listed as a Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

Houses

A custom in the Avers valley (found also in

Bosco/Gurin Bosco/Gurin (Walser German: ''Gurin'' / ''Guryn'', Lombard: ''Bosch'' / ''Gürin'') is a municipality in the district of Vallemaggia in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The village is near the end of the valley of Bosco Gurin, near the Italian ...

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

) was to build houses with a ''Seelabalga'' ("soul-beam"). This was a sliding wooden door covering a small round hole through the wall, which was opened to allow the soul of a deceased inhabitant to depart.

Weather

Avers has an average of 120.2 days of rain per year and on average receives of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. The wettest month is August during which time Avers receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.4 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13.2, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 12.4 days., the weather station elevation is 1960 meters above sea level.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden