Niedergesteln 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
Raron
Raron (french: Rarogne) is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
Raron is first mentioned around 1101–1200 as ''Rarogni''. In 1146 it was mentioned as ''Rarun''.
A settlement on the Heidnisc ...
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
Niedergesteln is first mentioned around 1179-84 as ''Chastellon''. In 1224 it was mentioned as ''Castellion''. The municipality was formerly known by its French name ''Châtillon-le-Bas'', however, that name is no longer used.
[
]
Geography
Niedergesteln has an area, , of . Of this area, 12.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 55.9% is unproductive land.[
The municipality is located in the Westlich Raron district, on the northern edge of the Rhone valley.
]
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 Azure issuant from Coupeaux Vert a house Argent, and Gules two Cavalry Sabres Argent hilted Or in saltire between three Mullets f SixOr one and two.''
Demographics
Niedergesteln has a population () of . , 4.6% 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 13.5%. It has changed at a rate of 6.5% due to migration and at a rate of 6.8% due to births and deaths.
accessed 13-October-2011German
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 ...
(556 or 97.0%) as their first language, French is the second most common (8 or 1.4%) and Bulgarian is the third (3 or 0.5%). There are 2 people who 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 ...
.[
, the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The population was made up of 315 Swiss men (46.3% of the population) and 17 (2.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 329 Swiss women (48.4%) and 19 (2.8%) non-Swiss women.][Ständige Wohnbevolkerung nach Geschlecht und Heimat am 31.12.2009.xls]
accessed 24 August 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 330 or about 57.6% were born in Niedergesteln and lived there in 2000. There were 178 or 31.1% who were born in the same canton, while 32 or 5.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 16 or 2.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11%.][
, there were 250 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 284 married individuals, 27 widows or widowers and 12 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 209 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household.[ There were 51 households that consist of only one person and 20 households with five or more people. , a total of 204 apartments (77.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 48 apartments (18.3%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (3.8%) were empty.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen]
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.5 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.33%.][
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Gestelnburg
The ruins of the Gestelnburg castle are situated above the village of Niedergesteln in Valais, Switzerland, on a rocky ridge called Feschti. The castle was probably built during the 12th century by the powerful Barons de la Tour ( en, Tower), whic ...
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Niedergesteln is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Sites of national importance
Types
The types are based on t ...
.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 78.84% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (8.99%), the SP (8.68%) and the FDP (1.37%). In the federal election, a total of 330 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 65.5%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 337 votes were cast, of which 13 or about 3.9% were invalid. The voter participation was 67.9%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 332 votes were cast, of which 11 or about 3.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 66.3%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Niedergesteln had an unemployment rate of 0.9%. , there were 35 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 29 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. ...
and there were 4 businesses in this sector. 56 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 16 businesses in this sector.[ There were 302 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.7% 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 90. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 16, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 29 of which 17 or (58.6%) were in manufacturing and 12 (41.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 45. In the tertiary sector; 11 or 24.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 37.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 9 or 20.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 4.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 8.9% were in education.
, there were 39 workers who commuted into the municipality and 257 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 6.6 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 10.3% of the workforce coming into Niedergesteln are coming from outside Switzerland.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 20.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 67.2% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 535 or 93.4% 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 11 or 1.9% 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 were 2 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.35% of the population). There was 1 individual who was 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. 3 (or about 0.52% of the population) belonged 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 ...
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 21 individuals (or about 3.66% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Niedergesteln about 221 or (38.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 37 or (6.5%) 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 37 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.6% were Swiss men, 27.0% were Swiss women.[
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 48 students in the Niedergesteln school system. The ]education system
The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
. During the school year 2011/12, there was one kindergarten class (KG1 and KG2) and 13 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
. In Niedergesteln there were a total of 3 classes and 33 students in the primary school. The secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools or vocational training. All the lower secondary students from Niedergesteln attend their school in a neighboring municipality Raron
Raron (french: Rarogne) is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
Raron is first mentioned around 1101–1200 as ''Rarogni''. In 1146 it was mentioned as ''Rarun''.
A settlement on the Heidnisc ...
.Obligatorische Schulzeit
accessed 24 August 2011
, there were 27 students from Niedergesteln who attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Valais
Cultural property of national significance in Valais