Laax ( rm, Lags) 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

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.

History

Laax is first mentioned c. 1290–98 as ''Lags''.

Geography

Laax has an area, , of . Of this area, 35.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (29.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Ilanz 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 The municipality of Laax stretches from the village itself, to Plaun and the

Vorab The Vorab is a mountain of the Glarus Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Glarus and Graubünden. The summit (3,028 metres) is also named ''Bündner Vorab'' to distinguish it from a lower summit (3,018 metres) named ''Glarner Vor ...

, in the skiing area. This is all one valley and the river eventually flows to the

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

river. It consists of the village of Laax and the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Salums, Cons, Laax Murschetg, and Laax Dorf. The ski-lifts are in Laax Murschetg. A small lake,

Laaxersee Laaxersee or Lag Grond is a lake in the village of Laax, Grisons, 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 t ...

(Lag Grond), is located in the village. The village has views of the Signina group to the south and the Flimserstein to the north. The main facilities in the village include a swimming pool, a small supermarket, a post office and several shops, including a bakery.

Demographics

Laax has a population (as of ) of . , 16.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (50.3%), with Romansh being second most common (40.1%) and Portuguese being third ( 3.9%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 10-Nov-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 51.1% male and 48.9% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Laax is; 102 children or 8.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 147 teenagers or 12.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 152 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 212 people or 18.4% are between 30 and 39, 171 people or 14.9% are between 40 and 49, and 184 people or 16.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 110 people or 9.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 49 people or 4.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 23 people or 2.0% who are between 80 and 89.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the 2011 last federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 26.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (24.5%), the BDP (18.3%), and the FDP (13.3%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Laax about 74.6% 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 ...

''). Laax has an unemployment rate of 1.58%. , there were 27 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 61 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 construction. ...

and there are 14 businesses in this sector. 521 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 88 businesses in this sector. From the , 788 or 68.5% 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 240 or 20.9% 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 are 12 individuals (or about 1.04% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church. There are 18 (or about 1.57% of the population) who are

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. There are 7 individuals (or about 0.61% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 70 (or about 6.09% of the population) belong to no church, are

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 ...

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 15 individuals (or about 1.30% of the population) did not answer the question. The historical population is given in the following table:

In popular culture

In 2004 the resort was featured in the popular

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

snowboarding

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

which sold more than one million copies,

Amped 2 ''Amped 2'' is a sequel to Microsoft's snowboarding game '' Amped'', which was an Xbox launch title. The game was introduced as part of the XSN Sports lineup, which included such games as '' NFL Fever 2004'', '' Links 2004'', '' NBA Inside Drive ...

, and then in 2005 in the sequel

Amped 3 ''Amped 3'' is a snowboarding video game, the third and final installment of the '' Amped'' sports game franchise, developed by Indie Built published by 2K Sports and released exclusively for the Xbox 360 in 2005. It expands on previous versions ...

on the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

In fiction

The chapters ''No Rainbow'' and ''The Legend of The Fall'' in the English language novel ''Angel'' by Sebastian Michael are almost entirely set in Laax. (Optimist Books, 2009) (Hardback) (Paperback)

References

External links

*
Official Tourism website
*

{{Authority control Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland