Collonges () is 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 district of
Saint-Maurice in the
canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
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 ...
.
History
Collonges is first mentioned in 1239 as ''Colunges''. The village of Collonges was built on the site of the former village of Arbignon, which was known as ''desertum Alpinonis'' in the 11th and 12th Centuries. Arbignon was probably abandoned due to flooding of Aboyeu creek.
[
]
Geography
Collonges has an area, , of . Of this area, or 16.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 52.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 4.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 24.7% is unproductive land.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area Out of the forested land, 48.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.2% is used for growing crops and 1.9% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops and 8.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 10.0% is unproductive vegetation and 14.7% is too rocky for vegetation.[
The municipality is located in the Saint-Maurice district, on the right side of the Rhone. The municipality stretches from the valley floor to the Dent-de-Morcles.
]
Coat of arms
The blazon
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. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
is ''Impalled: 1. Azure, on a Saltire Or five Roses Gules barbed Vert and seeded of the second, 2. Or a Bar wavy Azure in chief three Trefoils slipped Vert in fess.''
Demographics
Collonges has a population () of . , 10.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 6.5%. It has changed at a rate of 5.5% due to migration and at a rate of 2% due to births and deaths.
accessed 21-September-2011Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
is the second most common (20 or 4.1%) and Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
is the third (10 or 2.0%). There are 8 people who speak German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.[
, the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 229 Swiss men (42.4% of the population) and 31 (5.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 252 Swiss women (46.7%) and 28 (5.2%) non-Swiss women.][Ständige Wohnbevolkerung nach Geschlecht und Heimat am 31.12.2009.xls]
accessed 24 August 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 190 or about 38.9% were born in Collonges and lived there in 2000. There were 133 or 27.3% who were born in the same canton, while 78 or 16.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 77 or 15.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.4%.][
, there were 179 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 253 married individuals, 31 widows or widowers and 25 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 198 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household.[ There were 56 households that consist of only one person and 10 households with five or more people. , a total of 183 apartments (77.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 42 apartments (17.8%) were seasonally occupied and 11 apartments (4.7%) were empty.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen]
accessed 28 January 2011
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 37.87% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (28.39%), the SP (15.35%) and the SVP (11.79%). In the federal election, a total of 289 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
was 68.8%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 248 votes were cast, of which 15 or about 6.0% were invalid. The voter participation was 60.6%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 284 votes were cast, of which 13 or about 4.6% were invalid. The voter participation was 67.6%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Collonges had an unemployment rate of 7.5%. , there were 18 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 43 people were 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 were 7 businesses in this sector. 18 people were 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 7 businesses in this sector.[ There were 232 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 37.5% of the workforce.
the total number of ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employee, employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to me ...
jobs was 66. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 12, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 41 of which 11 or (26.8%) were in manufacturing and 31 (75.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 13. In the tertiary sector; 1 was in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 7 or 53.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 3 or 23.1% were in education.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Betriebszählung: Arbeitsstätten nach Gemeinde und NOGA 2008 (Abschnitte), Sektoren 1-3
accessed 28 January 2011
, there were 17 workers who commuted into the municipality and 184 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 10.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 11.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 72.4% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 386 or 79.1% were Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, while 46 or 9.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 5 members of an Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
church (or about 1.02% of the population), and there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 5 (or about 1.02% of the population) who were Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
. 25 (or about 5.12% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 17 individuals (or about 3.48% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Collonges about 183 or (37.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 29 or (5.9%) have completed additional higher education (either university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
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 ...
''). Of the 29 who completed tertiary schooling, 72.4% were Swiss men, 17.2% were Swiss women.[
, there were 31 students in Collonges who came from another municipality, while 54 residents attended schools outside the municipality.][
]
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Valais