Flums 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 ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of
Sarganserland
The Sarganserland is a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, with a population of 36,892 ().
The constituency corresponds to the historical county of Sargans (13th to 15th century) and the later ''Landvogtei'' Sar ...
in the
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
of
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
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 ...
.
It is close to a large shopping complex and also is the gateway to a large skiing resort called ''
Flumserberg
Flumserberg is a resort area in the Swiss Alps, located in the canton of St. Gallen. It is composed of several villages at elevations between above sea level. The resort sits on a terrace overlooking the Walensee, above Flums in the Sarganserland ...
''.
History
Flums is first mentioned in 765 as ''Flumini''.
[
]
Geography
, Flums has an area of , of which 51.7% is used for agricultural purposes, 32.2% forested, 3.9% settled (buildings or roads), and 12.1% non-productive (rivers or lakes).[
The municipality is located in the Sarganserland ''Wahlkreis''. Until 2002 it was the capital of the Sargans district. In terms of area, it is the third largest municipality in the canton. Flums covers an area from the Schils valley to the border with the ]Canton of Glarus
The canton of Glarus (german: Kanton Glarus rm, Chantun Glaruna; french: Canton de Glaris; it, Canton Glarona) is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.
The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.
The majority of ...
, part of the Flumserberge, part of the Seez valley, and the western slope of the Alvier chain. It consists of the village sections of Flums-Dorf, Grossberg, and Kleinberg.
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 ''Trierced per fess Or, Sable and Argent.''
Demographics
As of , Flums has a population of . In 2007, about 23.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population , 20 were from Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, 126 from Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, 688 from ex-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, 14 from Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, 46 from Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and 77 from other countries.[Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009]
accessed 30 December 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.3%. , most of the population speaks 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
**Ger ...
(86.9%), with Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
being second most common (8.1%) 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 ...
being third (1.5%).[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 6 January 2010 , of the Swiss national languages, 4,242 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
**Ger ...
, 9 speak French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, 75 speak 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 ...
, and 4 speak Romansh.[
The age distribution in Flums is ; 691 children or 14.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old; 740 teenagers or 15.2% are between 10 and 19; 584 people or 12.0% are between 20 and 29 years old; 752 people or 15.4% are between 30 and 39; 629 people or 12.9% are between 40 and 49; 572 people or 11.7% are between 50 and 59; 395 people or 8.1% are between 60 and 69 years old; 332 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79; 163 people or 3.3% are between 80 and 89; and 24 people or 0.5% are between 90 and 99.][Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen]
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 493 persons (or 10.1% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 822 (or 16.8%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 3,099 (or 63.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 220 (or 4.5%) people who lived in a single parent home, while there were 60 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 29 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 18 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 141 who were either institutionalized or lived in another type of collective housing.[
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 52% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.1%), the SP (10.9%), and the FDP (8.1%).[
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Flums about 57.1% 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 ...
'').[ Out of the total population in Flums, , the highest education level completed by 1,372 people (28.1% of the population) was ]Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
, while 1,465 (30.0%) have completed Secondary
Secondary may refer to: Science and nature
* Secondary emission, of particles
** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products
* The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
, 298 (6.1%) have attended a Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
school, and 274 (5.6%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Gräpplang Castle (a prehistoric hilltop settlement and a ruined medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
castle), the Chapel of St. Jakob, and the catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Church of St. Justus are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
File:Gräpplang Tafel.jpg, Floorplan of Castle Gräpplang
File:Gräpplang.jpg, View of the castle ruins
Transportation
The municipality is located on the A3 motorway This is a list of roads designated A3. Roads entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order.
* A003 road (Argentina), a road connecting the junction with National Route 9 and Camino de Cintura to Tigre
* ''A3 road (Australia)'' may refer ...
.
Economy
, Flums had an unemployment rate of 1.04%. , there were 339 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 152 businesses involved in this sector. 996 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 construction. ...
with 65 businesses. 861 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 149 businesses.[ the average unemployment rate was 3.9%. There were 354 businesses in the municipality of which 68 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 147 were involved in the third. there were 1,403 residents who worked in the municipality, while 945 residents worked outside Flums and 664 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters]
accessed 31 December 2009
Religion
From the , 3,480 or 71.3% are 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 380 or 7.8% 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 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith, 92 individuals (or about 1.88% of the population) who belonged to the Orthodox Church, and 30 individuals (or about 0.61% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 614 (or about 12.58% 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, 5 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belonged to another church not listed on the census, 139 (or about 2.85% of the population) belonged to no church and were agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
or atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 137 individuals (or about 2.81% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Notable people
* Paul Kutter
Paul Robert Kutter (1863–1937) was one of Luxembourg City's early photographers. Born in Flums, Switzerland, he opened his first studio in 1883 at 6, rue Wiltheim, close to Luxembourg's Bock. In 1904, Kutter moved his business to 3, rue du Génie ...
(1863–1937) was one of Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...
's early photographers, born in Flums
References
{{Authority control
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen