Crana is a village and former municipality in the district of

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

in the

canton of 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 . ...

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 ...

. In 1995 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities

Comologno Comologno is a village and former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 1995 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Crana and Russo to form a new and larger municipali ...

and

Russo Russo may refer to: *Russo (surname) * Russo (footballer, 1915–1980), full name Adolpho Milman, Brazilian football forward and manager * Russo (footballer, born 1976), full name Ricardo Soares Florêncio, Brazilian football defender *Russo brothe ...

to form a new and larger municipality

Onsernone Onsernone is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Ticino, near the city of Locarno. The river Isorno runs through this valley. The municipality was created in 1995 by a merger of Comologno, Crana and Russo.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Crana is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Grana''. In 1265 it was mentioned as ''Crana''. During the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, Crana belonged to the ''Squadra'' of Crana which included the territory of Vocaglia, Comologno and Spruga, and was part of the old municipality of Onsernone. The modern village was created during the institutional changes of the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

in 1803. Crana is known for the over 5,000 holders of '' heimatrecht'' in the village. The ''heimatrecht'' is similar to

place of birth The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

in other countries, and the ''heimatort'' is used on Swiss passports. A person maintains their ''heimatort'' regardless of whether they have ever lived in the municipality. The reason for the high number of ''heimatrecht'' holders is that the village sold the ''heimatrecht'', which conferred local citizenry (and thus Swiss citizenship) to help make up for the low village income. 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 ...

was created in 1787 when the village split away from the Russo parish. The Church of SS Peter and Paul was built in 1676. The present population is made up of retirees and commuters who work in the Onsernone valley and in the

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster". * Economies of agg ...

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following table:

References

* Former municipalities of Ticino Villages in Onsernone {{Ticino-geo-stub